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Welcome Sugar Pies and Merry Christmas to y’all! The farmhouse is twinkling and sparkling with the sights, sounds and aromas of  “the most wonderful time of the year!”  So come on in out of the frosty air…

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Step into my kitchen and grab a cup of something hot and yummy to warm your innards…as they say here in the Ozarks!

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My theme this year is Christmas on the Farm… above my stove I’ve lined the shelf with vintage canning jars filled with “snow” evoking delightful memories of  the first snowfall of the season….gleeful snowball fights…building snowmen….making angels in the snow…tasting homemade snow ice cream… and  dreaming of moonlit sleighrides.

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Sing a song of snowflakes flying in the air,

sing a song of sleighbells tinkling everywhere

Earth in dazzling white, sparkling in the light. ~Louise Liddell

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Just a touch of Christmas sparkle was added to my white farmhouse coffee pots, chippy washtub, milk pail, a piggy and a hen by stringing old fashioned colored lights up and around these vintage treasures of days gone by. These are things I already had and decided to incorporate them into my Christmas decorating.

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“Christmas on the Farm”…my theme for an old fashioned Christmas….was written on an old twin headboard with my favorite Chalkboard Markers! Cheery lollipops and candy canes bursting from a galvanized flower vase help to make the message loud and clear that  Christmastime is here!

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In the  early morning, late afternoon or when dark storm clouds hang heavy in the sky,  these colorful lights blaze a cozy glow. Back in the day when I was little we always used these kinds of lights on our Christmas tree, so it really brings back a warm nostalgic feeling for me.

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A tiny Christmas tree near my sink trimmed with vintage kitchen gadgets and adorned with sweet little cookie and cake ornaments makes cleaning the kitchen a lot more enjoyable! Although it does make me hungry for chocolate cake!

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A bright red bowl and a vintage milk bottle (filled with salt) sprouting a bouquet of candy canes is such a simple way to bring cheery Christmas charm into the kitchen.

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I kept my baking center/pantry pass-thru clean and simple with the crispness of snowflake white and candy cane red.

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I have a thing for milk bottles as you can see! I remember when the milkman delivered them to our home (I’m telling my age here!) It was a time in our country when the world seemed a lot more down-home and  friendly. The milkman in his clean white uniform tipped his hat and said “howdy-do!” with a smile. Mamas filled their cookie jars for their youngin’s when they came home from school to enjoy with an ice cold glass of dairy goodness.  Although now we get our milk from the grocery store, there are still mamas filling up the cookie jars making home a happy place to be. Decorating with milk bottles is my way of preserving the goodness of small town America.

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My greatroom fire place mantle embellished with sparkly twigs, painted candy canes (ones I’ve had since my kids were babies) and a bucket of snowballs.

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My 12 year old daughter Summer and I made these snowballs by dipping syrofoam balls into a bowl of watered-down white glue and then rolling them in another bowl of clear glitter. We used bamboo skewers (sticks) to hold onto them and stuck them into a block of styrofoam to dry. The glitter will get clumpy from the glue…but that’s good, it give the “snowballs” a more realistic look.

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And now….Joy to the World! The reason for the season! Jesus is the reason why we celebrate with childlike wonder and excitement!  He is the reason why we make the effort to add beauty and sparkling light to our homes…in honor of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Splendor and majesty are before Him; Strength and joy in His dwelling place. 1 Chronicles 16:27

‘I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! The Savior – yes the Messiah, the Lord  has been born tonight in Bethlehem!’     Luke 2:10 -11 TLB

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Jesus came to bring us the gift of His amazing love, sweet forgiveness, inspiring hope, joy unspeakable and full of glory, peace that passes understanding, radiant redemption, wonderful salvation, miraculous healing, tender comfort, fresh grace  and mercy every morning, and the anticipation and assurance of a heavenly home full of such splendor we can’t even imagine!

Glory to God in the Highest! He is worthy to be praised!

“God’s forgiveness not only delivers us from the darkness of our past, but also shines a light of hope upon our future.”

~ Roy Lessin

Do you want to know  Jesus? Click here. Jesus is everything wonderful.

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But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

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This sweet dollhouse was a birthday gift from my hubby (He gave me the money, I picked it out!) I found it at one of the best antique stores in these here parts…Leola’s in Ozark Missouri!  I tucked white lights inside to give it a happy home glow. The snowy runners on the shelves are just natural cotton quilt batting that I cut to fit , then trimmed the edges in icicle shapes…reminisent of the felt icicle edging from the 1940’s.

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Hobby Lobby sells dollhouse miniatures and I found this galvanized tub for $1.50 and filled it with snowballs ( a tiny garland that I cut apart)

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Remember what I said about milk bottles? Here they are again! Purchased from ebay for $1.25! Moo!

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I had Summer draw a two little sisters looking out of the window, watching the snow fall.

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Dream big! I got this shimmery banner a couple years ago…it reminds me that God has a wonderful plan for our life and to dream big. Walt Disney said” if you can dream it you can do it.”

“You got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”~Oscar Hammerstein

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Time worn silver teapots and an old tic-toc clock  hanging with tinsel garland..once again using what I already have and making it fit in with my Christmas decor. I saw this idea in a Pottery Barn catalog…they have some great ideas!

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Although I like to change my things around a bit, putting our Christmas village in the entry way is a tradition. Most of my houses are from Walmart from years ago, one is a Department 56 and one from Lowes…

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Christmas Barn Dance from Lowes. The couples swirl and twirl!  This delightful barn represents part of one of my BIG dreams! My big fat dream is to build a big ol farmhouse (with lots of rocking chairs on the front porch) to serve up pies, soups, salads and sandwiches  along with a gift shop  featuring vintage furniture and farm goods mixed with adorable new things. I also want a barn to host Barn Dances every Saturday night, like in the good ol days, for the entire family…serving only wholesome refreshments. They’ll be a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree lot for families to come for fun and make happy memories….a quaint wedding chapel for couples to say “I do” and to hold old-timey Hymn sing-alongs!  To top it off , a hayride, around the perimeter of the farm, during warm-summer-starlit evenings and apple-crisp fall afternoons….lemonade and hot cider included! Yeah, that’s my Big Disney-kind-of-dream! A place for families to re-capture the vintage charm of yesteryear and make sweet memories to boot! If nothin’ else it’s fun to think about!

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The “old” oak secretary was one of my first furniture purchases when I was newly married. It was new when I bought it. Turn-of-the-century oak reproductions were very popular then. Well, up until a couple weeks ago it still looked new…and well, I got a hankerin’…I decided I wanted it to look old…soooo….I took out my handy dandy very loud electric sander and went to town! Yes-sir-ree! Good thing hubs wasn’t home he probably would have thought I was nuts! (Actually he wouldn’t have been surprised, this is why he calls me  “Lucy” and I call him “Ricky”!) He really doesn’t care, bless him, he leaves all the decorating up to me! (thank the Lord) This spring the secretary is going to be painted white then distressed again, so I was just preparing it in advance! Anyhoo, I took yellowed vintage sheet music and scotch-taped them to the back board …I didn’t want to be committed to this look in case I wanted to do something different in the future…I do get a hankerin’ every now and then don’t-cha-know! LOL!  I also added more quilt batting icicle runners to continue my snowy down-on-the-farm theme.

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Vintage flash cards tucked in a tree! How easy is that?

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Christmastime is sure to find me

on a high snow-covered hill,

Where an old farmhouse is standing weather-tight and sturdy still

There the plumes of smoke ascending from the Chimneys low and wide

And are a silent invitation to the glowing fires inside.

Where the warm sweet air is laden with fragrance that combines

The pleasant smells of cookery and the spicy scent of pines.

~ Ida M. Brookshire

 

holiday_home_button_rhoda-236x3002Hey girls! For more Christmas house tours head on over to Rhoda’s place at Southern Hospitality …Rhoda’s home is gorgeous! There are also tons of links to other beautiful homes decorated for Christmas at the bottom of her post. Have fun!

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Also…the Funky Junk Sisters are having a fabulous giveaway! Head on over there! Click here!

 Oh yes…and a delightful blog that I just discovered is having a linky Christmas decorating party is over at Faded Charm!

Sugar Pies, enjoy this Christmas season, it’s a blessing when you think of the reason!

Hugs y’all!

Aunt Ruthie

 

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