25 December 2009
On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner of Pork Chops and Rice. We only have this meal one or two times a year, making it extra special. The Chops are lightly breaded and we sprinkle the rice with brown sugar.
After our meal Breezy and I read aloud a few poems, a story, and sang duets of several of our favorite Christmas carols by the candle light.
Bently wishing he new what was in the five packages behind him under the tree. He was quite the patient puppy . . . and he was well rewarded with a stuffed squeaking beaver (just a toy, just a toy) and some very special dog treats. He especially enjoyed pretending the beaver was a rat.
But first Daddy read aloud the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 1:57-2:40.
Little packages under the tree. We were low on brown paper, so Momma cut up a small brown paper sack which worked perfectly!
Hand-embroidered ornaments from my dear mother – what a delightful surprise! She finished them on the morning of Christmas Eve. These will be safely tucked away into my hope chest.
Momma crocheted Breezy and I each an afghan in our colors of choice. We were allowed to see them while she was working on them . . . until they grew large and she kept them hidden. Not until Christmas Eve were we able to see their full size – they are beautiful and cozy, and most definitely large enough for ourselves and a few wee ones!
My dear parents! What a blessing it has been to be raised by such wonderful, godly parents! I am thankful to the Lord for making them my mother and father!
Our Christmas Sugar Cookies that we make every year. We enjoyed these cookies, pretzels, cheese, and donuts (inspired by the dear Chancey family) while watching Scrooge (1935).
And as we do every Christmas morning . . . Momma and I made the Monkey Bread.
Over the river and through the woods (really and truly) to grandmother’s house we go!
I hope that you all have had a most wonderfully happy and blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas, Emily Rose!
The afghans are beautiful and you have a very talented Mama!
I’m glad that you had a lovely holiday!
Your friend,
Cassie
Merry Christmas to you all as well!
You received such precious homemade gifts from your mom. You are truly blessed with wonderful parents.
The picture of Bently was sweet.
This Christmas I received three movies from my hubby! Elizabeth Gaskell’s “North & South” & “Cranford”, and Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” (The TV BBC version).
Sending hugs to all!,
Marie :)
Oh, I so enjoyed this sweet little glimpse into your Christmas! How delightful and cozy it must have been. :) Thank you for sharing all the precious pictures. And how very talented your dear mother is!! :) What special hopechest items you received!
God bless you, dear friend! I’m so glad you had a great Christmas (we did, too, and our doggie was quite happy, as well :) ).
That looks delightful!
A beautiful Christmas celebration. I adore the ornaments your mother made for you!
Brown sugar on rice sounds delicious!
The ornaments from your mother are lovely, and I love ‘brown paper packages tied up with string.’ I wanted to wrap a few presents in it this year, but couldn’t find any, so I stooped to using old flight charts of my dad’s. The afghans are beautiful and look so nice and cozy! I keep telling myself to hurry up and get yarn to start on an afghan, but when I stand in front of racks of yarn I can never decide what color to make it, and then comes the wondering if I should make one for Cait first, and what would she like… I can convince myself to do or not to do anything!
We love monkey bread over here, too. Nate always requests it instead of birthday cake. Our traditional Christmas breakfast is cinnamon rolls – completely from scratch – and REAL pig bacon (because pork is so hard to find here, and expensive, as Muslims can’t eat it!).
Blessings,
Kyleigh
It all looks so peaceful and cozy!! Your Mother is so talented!! I LOVE the ornaments and the afghans are just lovely!
Our traditional Christmas breakfast is my great aunts butterscotch coffee cake, reserved only for Christmas. Christmas just isn’t the same without a smoke filled kitchen on Christmas morning (never failed! Until we discovered the trick of sticking a cookie sheet under the pans. :P). LOL
What lovely Christmas musings….dear Emily! ;)
I so enjoyed your post!
Your mother’s afghans are gorgeous!!!
What a treasure indeed. :)
That Pork Chop and Rice Dish
sounds quite yummy… *sigh*
with sprinkling of brown sugar. ;)
*smiles* Which recipe do you use?
Many Blessings~ Miss Jen
I LOVE the ornaments and the afghans! They are lovely!!!
Lovely gifts made by your lovely mother:) Do you all ever have rice for breakfast? We absolutely love brown rice with butter, brown sugar, and evaporated milk for breakfast–try it some time!
Cute photos! The cookies you guys made look delicious. And I love monkey bread! I’ve only had it once at a party, but it was great. I need to learn how to make it.
Hello Emily Rose~
How sweet. What a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas! We had a busy, full, joyfilled day with one another. Perfection. :) That monkey bread looks so delicious… we make monkey bread too, (that I love!!!), but I think I’m just going to have to get your sweet Momma’s recipe! :)
It was so wonderful to get to visit with you, Breezy and your Momma at the SOS conference! We girls loved the time spent with you all. :)
May the Lord bless you, Emily Rose!
love in Christ, xoxo,
Abigail
Those afghans are so pretty! I really want to make one now… :)
Kara
I just stumbled upon your blog after typing in “Simply Vintage” in a search engine. I was blessed to find a beautiful blog! Your Christmas looks wonderful! So simple, so beautiful.
It definitely looks like you and your family all had a wonderful Christmas!
Love the photos you took. They’re always so crisp and beautiful. :)
Blessings,
Kira
So happy to see you include your puppy in the holiday celebration! We do too and I think of how our Creator must enjoy the funny antics of doggies under the Christmas tree!
-Holly
Hi! I have been reading your blog for a while now, and last year I think i read in your mom´s blog that you or your sister were going to explain how to make those handmade ornaments that your mother sew for you. I don´t know if I misunderstood it, or if I simply can´t find it, but maybe, if you have time, could you explain how to make them, or let us know where to find the pattern? I know it is quite early, but I have a large family, and would like to give each of my cousins a few of those ornaments. They look so beautiful! Thank you very much!!!!
hi emily rose,
i just happened to find your site while googling handmade christmas crafts. im very glad that i found your page. your crafts are beautiful and i love everything vintage.
warmest regards,
kristine : )
was just wondering what kind of dog bently was?
Betty, Bently is a Miniature Rat Terrier.