Inspired by Stacy Julian blog of 12 pics in 12 minutes. I like the idea of 9 in 9 minutes for 2009. Here are mine! Welcome to 2010!

Taking a moment to reflect on the last few months here and the prep work that I always put into the holiday season. Maybe this will help others too. I hope so! This year has been one of challenge for lots of people out there with the economy dumping setbacks on so many. Our own family has been fortunate to still have our employment and our health and both kids well etc. Even so, I decided we were going to scale back on spending as a preventative measure. I don't believe in scaling back on gift giving though. I still give gifts and give them to many. I just decided I wasn't going to strain myself or my budget shopping for them the three months before the holidays. Forewarning, this is going to be one of those stories of how God helps us keep it simple, yet great... :) I decided early in the Fall this year to make my 2009 Christmas gifts with things I had on hand. It just seemed like there must be a simple abundance in my life that I could somehow share better if I looked at ...