Boo Mama 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes

Yeah, it's finally here. Boo Mama's 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes. So, I'll open the front door, and ya'll come on in!
This is my first year to use a boxwood wreath, and I already love it. The best part is I can use it all year long! And the initial. How southern is that! Thanks, Nana, for the wreath and the initial!

Look, even my foxtail fern received a little holiday cheer!

Just inside, the foyer table is decorated with my nativity scene. I received this sweet set from the hostesses of my bridesmaids' luncheon. Although I married in June, I thought this was a very original and ideal gift for newlyweds!

I try to place my nativity scene as soon as you come in our home to keep the true meaning of Christmas at the forefront of our Christmas celebration!

To your left is the dining room. Mom and I purchased these adorable snowpeople earlier this year, and I had so much fun decorating with them and all of my snowy white and sugar coated ornaments and decorations.

Here's the buffet. I kept it simple this year, using the planter and peace plant that I keep out year round. I simply added a wreath around the top of the planter for a bit of holiday cheer. I had fun decorating with my regular and Christmas china and my silver. I have a weakness for china and silver, so I have thoroughly enjoyed having it displayed this season.

Through the dining room, we enter the kitchen. This year a fluffy rooster ornament from my best friend, Valerie, inspired this tree. The tree is decorated with all of my silver demitasse spoons, Christmas spreaders, other small kitchen gadgets and some packaged gingerbread men.

I placed the tree in one of my favorite bowls and filled the bowl with oranges and gumdrops.

Surrounding the tree are more of my rooster items and some baking ingredients. I have had fun this year simply decorating with practical items instead of tons of decorations, and the plate filled with cinnamon, vanilla, sprinkles, nutmeg and other baking goodies is just one example!

Another reminder of the Reason for the season!

Here is my fun snowman dish collection on top of the refridgerator. Again, to keep things practical, these dishes are in easy reach for warm winter soups and other quick meals.

As you enter the living room, you will see the mantle decorated with my favorite pear and pine garland, with some guinea feathers added in. The planters are filled with rosemary plants and ivy. The smell of rosemary fills the room and makes up for the artificial tree:)

Also displayed are my snowglobes from Neiman Marcus. My mother has purchased one for us each of the years we have lived here. It's so hard to believe it's been five whole years!!

And finally, the tree...
Even the dogs atop the tv cabinet received a little sprucing up!

Here are my paper white bulbs! We're hoping for some blooms before Christmas. I just love the smell of paperwhites!!The sweetest little bowl in the house. I have a theory that if I eat little bits of chocolate throughout the season, maybe I won't "binge" during the actual Christmas celebration. Probably won't work, but I'm having a fun time testing this theory out!

This year, I made little bags as a countdown for Christmas. Each morning, Walker and Kathryn open their bag to find a Christmas goody. I had so much fun picking out little gifts like candy, chalk, stickers, socks, etc. And they have had the best time opening the bags!

Here's today's bag. It's actually my favorite!

And don't forget the little green man, the Grinch! He holds down the rocking chair that is perfect for curling up and reading a book. I keep the basket next to the chair filled with Christmas books and other fun things like Santa hats and reindeer antlers!

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our home. May you and yours have a joyous and blessed holiday season! Good tidings of great joy (Luke 2:10) from our house to yours!

Oh, you better watch out!

We had reindeer for dinner a couple of nights ago. I felt just like Sarah Palin when she made moose chili and hot dogs for Greta van Sustern and crew:)

No, we didn't eat real reindeer, just these cute reindeer sandwiches made from peanut butter, pretzels, raisins and the all important red M&M. I usually use craisins for the nose, but since we are out, the kiddos got an extra special treat!


The best thing about these sandwiches is you can always change up the ingredients--use any type of pretzel for the antlers (or small candy canes depending on your concern for nutritional value!), chocolate chips would work for the eyes, and you could always use a cherry for the nose.

Here's Walker with a mouth full of reindeer!

And here's Kathryn singing her new favorite song, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town!" Thanks, Aunt Mak, for being such a good teacher. You couldn't have taught her a better song!

Happy Birthday, Nana and Papa!

This past weekend, we traveled to Birmingham to celebrate Nana and Papa's 60th birthdays! On Saturday, Nana and I headed out for some Christmas shopping. We drove all around town hitting the Summit, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover, Vestavia and then back to the Summit!

For once this season, being an Auburn fan proved to our advantage. It seems all of the Alabama fans were either in Atlanta or at home watching the game, so we practically had all of the shopping to ourselves:)

Here's a picture of Papa taking Walker and Daniel to the park.

After the girls got back from shopping, the men headed to the new Bass Pro Shop in Leeds. Here's Papa by the big bear!

That evening, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Vestavia Country Club in honor of the birthday boy and girl (pictured below). We had our own room, our own waitress, wonderful Christmas music, the most delicious food, and a great time of fun and fellowship!

Here's a picture of the six of us after dinner. We sure missed having Amy and Jason with us, but we look forward to the entire family being together Christmas!

After dinner, we enjoyed a walk down memory lane as we watched a video Matt put together for this special event. With help from Amy, Cori, Aunt Bea and Aunt Sissy, Matt was able to collect pictures of Nana and Papa's childhood as well as wonderful pictures of their family over the years. It was truly a treat and a wonderful end to a wonderful evening!

The grandchildren all provided a special message for the end of the video. Here's Kathryn and Walker's contribution. Enjoy!

Pizza and Football

Jennifer, thank you for your guess! We would have spent our time more wisely had we been baking yummy cookies!! This last round of pictures was taken during the Iron Bowl. Even though Auburn got a big goose egg, I still had to show some pictures of the little ones sporting their orange and blue! Although I have to say, these two pictures acurately show how excited we were about the outcome of the game!!

At least the pizza was good:) And nobody ever complains about a sleeping baby!!

Guess who we saw in North Carolina???

This guy...

Daniel, Cori and Little Daniel were in Cashiers with Daniel's family. Aunt Coco invited the whole gang up for breakfast at the most adorable country club and inn. Here are the fun wagon rides they were offering the children.

Back at Mary Sue and John's, Aunt Coco and the cousins had fun gathering rocks and throwing them in the stream.

Our North Carolina Thanksgiving adventure posts are almost coming to an end. Only one more round of pictures left. Can you guess what they might be of????

Fly Fishing

The day after Thanksgiving, the guys went on a fly fishing adventure. Here are some pictures of them in action!

Matt had a wonderful time (maybe because he caught the most fish!). He's even asking for a fly fishing rod for Christmas now! Thanks, Pops, for setting up such a fun filled trip for the guys while also freeing up a whole day for the girls to go SHOPPING!! Good planning!