When Christmas is Messy

 I have always loved Christmas. 

I have wonderful memories of singing carols, baking cookies with my Mom and sister,

wrapping gifts, (though admittedly, mine end up looking more like lumps of coal when I'm done with them), night time drives to see the twinkling Christmas lights,

parties and reading the Advent story with my family.

There's excitement in the air as little children count down the days until Christmas,

when they finally get to open their presents.

The smell of cookies in the oven permeates the house while the carols

softly play in the background.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

But in the middle of it all, life gets messy.

Children fight and spouses argue,

bills pile up and the cookies get burnt.

Disappointments threaten to steal the very joy we talk about so freely,

and soon the pain of living in a broken world

trumps the glory of the supernatural.

When I take a minute to actually reflect on the Advent of Christ,

I realize His coming was hardly the dreamy picture of Christmas I have conjured in my mind.

It was messy.

He was born to a young girl who was most likely rejected for what people thought was a horrible sin she'd committed.

She traveled with her soon-to-be husband to a town miles away while she was great with child,

and birthed the Son of God in a feeding trough.

I can only imagine the glory that came down from heaven that holy night,

and the wonder that Mary and Joseph must have felt

when they held Him for the first time.

But the circumstances of his birth, though full of heavenly glory,

were far from our idea of what the perfect Christmas should look like.

 And I am so grateful that it wasn't.

Because Christ - God in human form - became one of us.

He faced every temptation we face.

He was exhausted, He had bills to pay.

He struggled with relating to people who had hurt Him, even though He never sinned like we do.

He was lonely, He was rejected, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief".

Friends, if anyone gets messy, it's our God.

He knows just how ugly sin is;

He died because of it.

The wonder of Christmas is Emmanuel: God with us.

Because Christ came to this earth,

we have hope.

And the hope we have because of Jesus is the greatest gift of all.

My prayer for myself - and for all of us - is that the wonder of Christmas

would be in the joy that comes from knowing Jesus,

God with us.

Merry Christmas, friends!

xoxo, Ruby

My Christmas Home

I love everything about Christmas:

the songs, twinkling lights on trees, the daily reminders of the birth of our Saviour,

the pile of gifts, the cookies and of course, the decorations!

Come on in for a tour of my Christmas home!

In the dining room:

Magnolia leaves are a favorite of mine, so I was excited to find some at a cousin's house!

I love the texture they add to traditional winter greens.

Copper, gold and brass give so much warmth to spaces in your home!
I had fun pulling a collection of antiques {platter, gold tipped vase + deer candle holder} and mixing them with the new: copper mug from Home Goods and mirrored frame from Hobby Lobby.

My sister-in-law hosted a wreath making party, and mine hangs on the wall above the desk.

And this year, I attempted a garland above the doorway.

Clearly, I'm not an expert! But I love the warmth that greens give a room.

We started a gingerbread-house-making tradition this year,

and it was fun,

even if it meant more candies got eaten than got glued on!

A friend and I dug up these mini trees.

They're such a great addition to my Christmas decor!

On the table, I used a striped Ikea hand towel for a runner and my small collection of bottle trees.

In my living room:

This pillow - a watercolor from Craftberry Bush - is a favorite of mine!

You can order them here.

I used all white and gold ornaments on the tree this year.

This one was handmade from a friend at church and I love its simplicity!

For the first time ever, I have all four stockings hung on the mantle!

The first and third were from Target last year, and the second and fourth ones came from Home Goods (I am obsessed with that store).

Don't tell the kiddos, but I already stuffed their stockings! Eeek.

I love the sweet whimsy of this garland I found at New Creation!

The skis were in the dollar bins at Target,

and the deer was a piece I had that got a fresh coat of gold paint. 

On Black Friday, I bought this print from Lindsay Letters. I adore her art!

I added some magnolia leaves and pine cones to the evergreen to finish off the mantle.

This is my $10 Walmart tree that I pulled out for the kids to decorate.

It was just their size, 

and they had a blast hanging ornaments on it!

{Confession: I'm OCD about the placement of ornaments,

so I may or may not have rearranged a few.}

Outdoors:

For the first time ever, I actually decorated my front porch! 

{Unless hanging a wreath on the door qualifies}

It came together much more easily than I envisioned, and I now I don't know why I waited so many years to do it!

We filled this old milk can with greens and berries,

and I love the finishing touch it gives the porch,

along with the Noel sign I painted!

I need to give credit to my adorable assistant,

who was by side through so much of the fun, "helping" me decorate!

Thanks for stopping by for a tour of our home!

And don't forget to savor every minute of this special Christmas season.

xoxo, Ruby

Christmas Giveaway

This past week has been full of preparations for Christmas!

We've been baking cookies, mailing cards and shopping for presents.

Since Christmas is less than 2 weeks away,

I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway!

I painted this NOEL sign on some reclaimed barn wood,

and loved the finished product!

So I decided to give it to one of you!

(I'm keeping the cutie with golden curls, just in case you were wondering)

The giveaway is for local people only. I apologize if you don't qualify, but I plan to do another 

sometime around the beginning of the year so stay tuned for that!

You can enter the giveaway by commenting on this post. A winner will be selected on Monday at noon. Best of luck!

Happy weekend friends!