Merry Christmas!

The Christmas season begins for us (usually) the weekend after Thanksgiving when we pull out the lights and the ornaments, and begin our nightly Advent devotions.  I love the anticipation that comes with this beginning; looking ahead at what is to come in December, and I also love the memories that are unpacked as each ornament is unwrapped and laid out in preparation for hanging.  Almost all of our ornaments are either homemade or gifts and it is fun to watch the collection grow each year.

A couple years ago my mom gave me this cute pair, which I was tickled to find perfectly match the existing decor in our living room.

Between four boys, a dog, and a cat, it’s not really surprising that a couple years ago our tree took a tumble.  A few ornaments broke and since then there are some I’ve been leery to hang on the tree.  That is why this year’s favorite new accessory is the hanger for my Noah’s Ark collection and a few other special pieces.

 

 

The most meaningful ones though, are the ones that tell the story of our family…

From the year we were married:

 

The year our eldest was born:

 

As our family has grown, so has the snowman family.  Here is the group from the year our children numbered three:

 

 

And the group of four waiting their turn on the tree:

They didn’t actually all make it up as one needed a repair…

(Between homemade and the ones that need fixing every year, I’m thinking that by the time our kids leave home our tree may be made up mostly of glue. )

 

With four of course we have plenty of these:

 

And the older ones have begun bringing them home from school:

 

Preparing our home and our hearts for Christmas was special when it was just the two of us; it is even more special now that we have four eager little persons to share it with.  I look forward to the many years of awe and wonder ahead of us, as we prepare to celebrate the Christ child and his amazing gift to us.