Decking The Halls

I love Christmas decorations!  I am excited every year to get the tree put up and all the other Christmas things put out around our home.  I don't have extremely fancy decorations, but the ones I have are things I have collected over 17 years of marriage and each decoration holds a special meaning.

This is our main tree which is in the front room of our house.  It is a 7 1/2 foot artificial tree.  We got it on sale at Ole Time Pottery our first Christmas in Florida.  I love clear lights!  The tree has two strands on it and next year I think I'm going to put a third strand on the tree.  I just don't think you can have too many lights!

Our tree is covered with mostly homemade ornaments...

like this one.  The ladies ministry at our previous church in MS had an ornament exchange each year.  You brought 12 homemade ornaments (all alike) and you left with 12 different ornaments at the end of the evening.  We were at this church for four years, so my tree is full of beautiful homemade ornaments.  The greatest thing about this is they all tell a story.  So, our tree is full of stories and I love it!  

The "M" ornament in the picture above was the one I made the last year we were at the church.  I just took wooden m's from Wal-Mart and spray painted them gold and hot glued a frosted cranberry and ribbon for hanging.  

Cecily is one of many "angels" on our tree.  She made this ornament in Kindergarten.  The body of the angel is a tracing of her foot and the wings are a tracing of her hands.

Here is Mr. Smore Angel...

And isn't Rudolph cute...even though he has an antler missing!

This next ornament is very special.  In January of 2006 a member of our church, a 53 year old woman, died unexpectedly of a heart attack.  She had just had a grand baby born in September of 2005 and another daughter getting married in April of 2006.  Her death really shocked our little church.  Her name was Trevette.  Trevette loved scarves!  At our ornament exchange in December of that year, her daughter Templete had taken her mother's scarves and wrapped them around clear glass ornaments and gave each one present a "Trevette" ornament...

I am honored to have it hanging on my tree along with other ornaments Ms Trevette had made for the ornament exchange in previous years.

I also have all three kids "baby's first" ornaments...

Cecily's

 

Bentley's

JennaBeth's

All the kids have trees in their rooms...

 

 

 

I have Santas on a shelf in the front room with the main Christmas tree...

 

We also have a porcelain nativity set that is 17 years old and has survived 5 moves!  A couple gave it to me and Mike our first Christmas as a married couple.  I think I've only had to glue the donkey's ear back on once!

A former pianist at our present church made this ceramic winter church piece for Mike one year for Christmas.  We enjoy it in our living room.

I have a Snowman theme in the kitchen...

 

I enjoyed getting to purchase a fifth Christmas stocking this year!  And instead of being hung by the chimney with care, they are hung almost from the ceiling with care!  Why you ask...

because this little sweetheart of an active and mobile 9 month old could pull up and reach them where I normally hang them!  I would rather have them hanging in an odd place than have her pull the heavy stocking hanger down on herself.  So...

Mike (Santa), Me (Ms Snowwoman!), Bentley (the moose), JennaBeth (Rudolph) and Cecily (the panda bear).

Thank you so much for stopping by our home today!  Our family prays you have a blessed Christmas this year!

 

Don't forget to take a chocolate mint candy cane on your way out!!

Doing less and enjoying more,

Jennifer