Sparks of Faith

Well, I had high hopes for Waypoint Church's Sparkle event yesterday and it did not dissapoint :-) Besides the glitter on every table, there were the brilliant smiles of my fellow MOPS friends to buoy my holiday fervor. Reminiscing over setting up my grandmother Ruth 's nativity set brought about both tears and laughter- what ever happened to all our baby Jesus'?!
Hearing my tablemates reflections on the Reason for the Season, and our speaker's shared gratitude for the lessons Jesus shared with his followers... well, I suppose it was fitting that Rainie and I were then invited by three seperate families to stroll through the Living Nativity put on by Discovery Baptist of Gig Harbor, where my sweet friend Adria and family showed us a glimpse of life in Bethlehem that first Christmas evening. 

Lo and behold, there lay an actual baby in the manger, quietly allowing a small nation of children to visit with their own coos and gasps of awe. I remember when I first realized Jesus was a real person...what a wonderful overlap of memories our oldest daughter and I were able to share with our framily (friends that are family) this evening ♡

Art deco

Every year I strive to create decorative spots of Christmas magic about our home which reflect our current life style and location, etc. This year, I've tried to banish red in general and focused on rustic bronzed metals, unfinished wood, and feathers. One of my favorite little spots features a quartet of polar bears who seem to point toward the glittering star mounted high on the mantel mirror across the room...like, "Do you see what I see?"

We have antique wooden duck decoys all over the house throughout the year.  I have been repeatedly told they are a sign of a well decorated home set for the holidays as well. A little mini garland around their neck is sure a cute way to dress them up!

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have an abundance of verdant green to gaze upon all year long as well, so I only put a bit of faux garland about and we decided as a family to forgo a live or cut evergreen tree this year. We have often had a tree decorated outside, and we still do, but it's on the front porch!

Our main living space's window looks into the back yard, so often times I'll just take a break out front and gaze on the twinkling lights reflecting off a few (red!) ornaments also hanging out there. There is also a sort of sea star sitting on top of a small weeping willow out there, next to a metal sculpture of a sting ray I had made years ago. Nautical goes a long way at the Bradshaws :-) You should see the carved driftwood dolphin mounted near the ceiling with his Santa hat on!