‘TIS THE SEASON!!

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Granddawg Shadow, my inspiration for

Sarge the doxie

SUNNY AND BRUNO'S CHRISTMAS

Our family always enjoys getting together, because it's seldom that we can all be under one roof. That was true for our holidays as well. Our daughter Bethany and son-in-law Kurt couldn't come from Arizona this year, but we'll see them in February for an extended stay. 

Sunny and Bruno were a tad bewildered about all the hustle and bustle, wrapping of gifts, comings and goings, and all the baking and cooking going on--they wanted a piece of THAT action! Below, Bruno's face in the first pictures says it all.

Bruno, the begging boxer

 

Bruno with his new ball

Sunny sitting on my lap, awaiting food

Sleeping in the van on the way to NC

"We're ready to open presents, Mom!"

MERRY DOXMAS!

"An' I want a hot dog bed, lots of squeak toys so I can'
kill 'em, and plenty of treats so we'll never EVER run out!

Doggie Santa and doxie Elfette

"Seriously, Mom . . ."

"Merry Doxmas from us weendeer!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DOXIE LOVERS!

TWO MORE DAYS!

Christmas is almost here, and I've just finished wrapping the last of the gifts today. Perhaps I'm weird, but I enjoy buying, wrapping, and giving gifts to my friends and loved ones. I even made gift tags on the computer this year, because it is fun.

Families have different Christmas traditions, but one I miss after my mom passed away January 2013 was her Christmas morning tradition in our family when she was healthy: she always made a homemade fresh coconut cake, and that's what we ate for breakfast on Christmas morning! My
brother and I would drink a tall glass of cold milk with our cake, while Mom and Dad had steaming cups of hot coffee with theirs. Not healthy? Well, coconut is fruit, and the cake had eggs, milk, butter--so it could have been worse! Besides, it was so yummy!

I pray you have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. Keep in mind that the holidays can be brutal for those who have recently lost loved ones. I lost my mom in January 2013, and that Christmas 2012 was her last one with us--we knew it would be, so it was highly poignant for all of us. Yes, God will comfort those who grieve, but humanly speaking, it is a difficult time for many. Let's be extra kind to those we know who are missing husbands, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, or even children, unfortunately.

Merry CHRISTmas, doxie friends, and have a happy new year as well!

MORE CHRISTMAS DOXIES

The big day is almost here! I love everything about Christmas: the music, the hustle and bustle, the happy moods of shoppers (most of the time), and buying and wrapping gifts for friends and loved ones.

Not to be outdone in the holiday department, here are more Christmas doxies--enjoy!

Merry CHRISTmas! Dachshunds . . . you gotta love ' em!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DOXIE STYLE

It's been quite a week around the Hinton household. Going to parties, church programs, and then a birthday party for our daughter Bethany last night--we've been busy. Oh, did I mention that some of us also had the good fortune of getting the stomach flu as well?? Ugh, I was so sick. But I'll spare you the details.

In any case, the Christmas season is in full swing, and I wanted to share some Christmas doxies with you, so here they are. Enjoy!

I'll be posting a few times before Christmas, so until then, stay well, enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and remember the true meaning of this holiday!

Merry CHRISTmas!

AND SO IT BEGINS!

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving together, and I hope yours did as well. NOW IT IS TIME TO BEGIN CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS!

Here are some photos to get you in the mood for Christmas (if you aren't already!):

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'M B-A-A-CK!

I suppose you thought I was never going to post again!  I must say that our Christmas holidays were jam packed with family, activities, FOOD, and fellowship. In the midst of December, the grandchildren had their Christmas play with Holly directing; our youngest daughter celebrated her birthday on Dec. 16; Clark and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary on the 20th; Christmas was was on the 25th, of course; and our oldest daughter and hubby celebrated their 15th anniversary on the 30th at Pigeon Forge, TN. We had the grands during that time, and they returned to spend New Year's Eve with us. Whew! Wonderful, wonderful, but tiring.

In the vein of "showing" rather than "telling," I'm posting photos of our family and various activities. Hope you and yours had a blessed time as well:

Bethany and Holly

Better!

SIL Kurt with two of Holly's kitties

Clark and me after the grands' Christmas play

CHRISTMAS DOXIE #4

FAMILY AND CHRISTMAS DOXIE LIGHTS

Alexa 9, Annika 10, Asher 4

Dear Blog,

Sorry I've neglected you of late.  There is just so much going on in November and December.  Why, in November alone our family has three birthdays!  And, then there's Thanksgiving . . .

And in December, we have one birthday and two anniversaries.  Before my mom died, there were two birthdays.  And then there's Christmas, along with special Christmas programs at church, Christmas parties, gift shopping, gift wrapping, decorating, cooking . . . and I love all of it.

The grandchildren and our daughter Holly and son-in-law are with his family in NC.  They'll be back Christmas Day.

Our daughter Bethany and hubby who live in AZ are flying in to Atlanta TONIGHT!  Oh, there will be great rejoicing in the Hinton household, let me tell you!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  I'll have to neglect this blog again until after New Year's--but I'm sure you understand.  Many blessings and love from on high to each of you.

Philip and Holly

Kurt and Bethany

Look what we found!  Christmas doxies!!

SHADOW THE DOXIE-DEER

Granddawg Shadow, 13, seems to have gotten the hang of Christmas:  he somehow managed to get a berry stuck to his nose, so daughter Holly took his picture.

He is now known as Shadow the doxie-deer, LOL.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DOXIE FRIENDS!

DACHSHUND ROAST

They do this all winter when the fireplace is in use!  And in the summer, it's lying in the sun.  Doxies seem to love heat!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, doxie lovers!

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

THE REASON FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

Up front and personal, with the Christmas season upon us, I wish to say unequivocally that JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.

As Christians, our family enjoys all the fun holiday traditions, of course, but always mindful that Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, who came as Savior to all who accept Him.  That is great cause for rejoicing!  I'll be posting lots of Christmas photos and decorations this month, because I enjoy it so much.

So . . . I want to wish each of you a blessed and spectacular Christmas season.  May the Lord grant you peace, joy, and love.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS, ACCORDING TO A DOXIE

"Hi there.  From my vantage point on the couch, I see my humans scurrying around with boxes and paper--they take the paper and wrap it around those boxes, then put them under a tree that has lights on it.  Curious behavior, if you ask me.

 

"Then, the big humans tell the little humans not to touch those wrapped boxes yet, and even glare at me if I so much as try to smell them myself--why, I've gotten scolded for merely walking past those boxes on my way to someplace else in the house!  Geez.

"Back to that tree with lights on it:  the female human enlisted the help of the small humans in putting all sorts of objects on the tree last week.  Ranging from snowflakes to a fat man in a red suit, they
were varied and interesting.  Some, I couldn't quite make out, but others were easily recognizable to me:  candy canes (although they never let me eat those), angels (I've seen those on TV), various shiny balls in different colors (but I'm warned to never touch any of them).  What is the fun in that, I ask?  I mean, just staring at a decorated tree with wrapped boxes under it sounds kinda dumb to me--but then, my humans do lots of things that I just do not understand!  And they say dogs are dumb.  HAH!

"Well, this Christmas thing is a really big deal, I'm finding out.  My humans constantly play what they call Christmas music, which features such words as reindeer, sleighs, Santa Claws (sounds like a weird creature), snow, ringing bells (ouch, my sensitive ears), and this Santa Claws creature coming down the chimney.  In our house, they have the chimney closed off, so this creature must have some sort of magic properties to get inside THIS house THAT way! 

"But perhaps the strangest point of it all is the fact that they also talk about it being somebody's birthday.  All this for a person I've never seen, met, or much less heard about??  Everything I've watched on TV about Christmas has Santa Claws, elves, snow, holly and greenery--and that's it.  But my humans seem to think it's about a big birthday party for a man who died many, many years ago.  What gives with that?

"The other night my pack leader read to the rest of the human family from a book they call the Bible.  It did shed some light on the idea, and as I twisted my head in contemplation, my pack leader said to
the rest of them:  'Hey, look at the dawg twisting his head about the Christmas story!'  He looked over at me and said, 'That's okay, buddy.  Dogs just cannot understand spiritual concepts, but we're glad you want to listen to the Christmas story, which took place in Bethlehem.  We just wish more humans would pay attention to it, too!  Good dog.'

"And with that, he got up and gave me a treat for doing absolutely nothing but lie there, trying to make sense of it all.  I'll never understand humans, but I do try.  I really do."