Christmas stitching: The First Homestead Christmas

I've missed you, stitching and nesting friends all over the world!

 I have been one busy lady this past week all in good timing with working through some very important issues. I can't really explain now but all I have to say is God is good and His timing is perfect.

I've not stitched but a few stitches this week. For 6 days, I had a flare of ulcerative colitis and was very sick but praise God, I'm on the uphill to myself again. I hadn't had a flare in quite some time and it zapped alot of energy from me. But good news is that I'm much better and the first real food included the largest Cinnabon I could pick out at the store yesterday!!!

Can you believe the magical Christmas time of year is almost hear upon us? Christ's birthday. What a celebration. This year will be NOTHING like the last of spending it alone. I am surrounded by loving friends and one special person that has my heart, and his mine. Yup, Mr. Darcy.

I know Thanksgiving is next week and I will be putting up my village this year on the piano as usual, so if you like to see BIG villages, come back and visit again, and I'll have some pics!

Next week is such a big week of preparation for all of us and in the hustle and bustle of things this morning, I was inspired to create another Christmas sampler, this time not in traditional green and red but deep teal blues, light teal and gold.
 

The First Homestead Christmas designed today. 

 

This sampler is inspired by many things that is happening in my life right now.

Good tidings of great joy!

For now though, I wanted to design one that would or could be stitched in a 4 x 6 frame or over 1 stitch for a small ornie.

I selected other colors besides the traditional green and red for Christmas,

deep teal blues and gold which blend well into the meaning behind this piece.

 

As this is not my first Christmas at the homestead, in many ways it is. Christ has filled my heart in a different way and I want to celebrate it with this and I thought so many could share my thoughts on homesteading with this ornie. For some at their home, the tree is donned by many old, traditional ornies that have deep meaning when each one is hung on the tree.

For some, like myself, I like to add a special one. I've always added one special ornie on the tree in memory of my son Aaron, a different little angel each year. I have at least 27 angel ornies now.

 

 

 

 

 Miss Abigail says she is wearing her "Baby, it's COLD outside" hoodie right now. She's our lump of sugar that brings joy.

 

Thank you so much for sharing personal emails of encouragement. I do so appreciate these and comments here on the blog. I consider each person special and only wish I could meet all of you in person, but no matter how many oceans apart, you are always in my heart!

 

I'll leave you today with some encouragement from a book I've had for years. It's a go-to small book for me in times of reflection.

 

" It is often said that to love someone, we must first love ourselves. Yet, I believe it is equally true that the more we feel love for and from other people, the more we learn to love ourselves."

 

~~Merle Fossum from the book, Seasons of the Heart

 

With a fire in the fireplace and warmth in my heart,

Jennifer