These are a few of my favourite things...

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things....

Do you remember the story I told about how I never did anything small, and that the very first cross stitch I learned to do was pretty intricate for a beginner? It was of an angel's face. I found three patterns; each one seemed to represent all of my girls at their exact age, 12, 6 and 1. Below is the very first cross I ever made. It won 1st place when I entered it in the Forest Fall Fair. This little angel reminded me of my oldest daughter, Niki.

This little angel reminded me of my daughter Holly. The picture below this one was taken with no flash; Isn't it funny how the expression seems to change.

And last but not least, the baby of the family - Paige. Tracey and I could never get over how I could always find patterns in 'threes' of little girls. Even the hair is the right colour for each one of them.

Another favourite ornament of mine is one that was made for me by a pen-pal several years ago. We never kept in touch, which often happens with pen-pals, but I wish I could find her to let her know how much I LOVE this ornament and how much I have enjoyed it all these years. I can't even imagine how she knit such a tiny sweater.

This next ornament is also hand-made. It was purchased at the Big Sister craft sale that is held annually in Sarnia. At that time, Paige belonged to the Big Sisters and she was volunteering at the sale too. My sister Kathy had entered a vendor booth and I offered to help her out at the sale. Next to our table was a vendor selling all these teeny-tiny bears made from little pieces of twigs. She sat and cut the pieces of wood and created ornaments right there on the spot. It was fascinating. I guess my excitement was pretty evident because this little ornament magically appeared at Christmas. (I have great sisters, they would always buy some thing for me at Christmas for my girls to be able to put something under the tree for mommy. Paige was pretty excited to give it to me because she knew how much I would like it and she knew I had no idea her and Aunt Kathy's secret)

I've tried numerous times to get a picture of the entire tree all decorated, but you just can't seem to capture how pretty a tree is with a camera. To use the flash - you loose the sparkle of the lights, and well... it just doesn't look the same. And if you don't use the flash - you just can't see the ornaments. So, I've taken just a snapshot of a 'portion' of the tree to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Enjoying the evening with family and friends, good company, great conversation, homemade cookies and hot apple cider, sitting in the living room with all the lights dimmed and just the glow of the tree....

....these are a few of my favourite things.

Bonnie