The Story of Us

I look forward to Christmas for 364 days a year. I love every aspect of this season … the sights, the smells, the decorations. All of it. Normally I restrain myself and insist that we wait until the day  after Thanksgiving to begin decorating, but this year was a slight exception. I broke down and decorated the mantel the week before. And then promptly re-did it. I think this is just one of those years when I needed the joy of this season to surround me. Maybe it is being in our own home this year? I don’t know ….

I know many people were up bright and early on Black Friday to shop til the dropped. Not us. We slept in, had our coffee and then headed off to pick out the perfect tree. Our usual pick is the Charile Brown esque tree, but this year a Noble fir caught our eye and we brought her home. She is full and bountiful and smells of the most delecious evergreen. I can never get enough of that. Reminds me of the mountains. By mid afternoon Michael had all the lights on. We had to go back and buy 3 more sets so there would be enough, because lets face it, you can NEVER have too many lights. By that time little man was up and tree decorating and 2 year olds just are not conducive around our house. It would have to wait.

The next day we embarked on a trip to Lubbock to see old friends of mine from college. We met them at Holland Gardens to view the 100 or so trees they have on display there. Each with it’s own “theme”. Beautiful to look at and kind of fun to make fun of. I am just not a themed tree kind of girl. Home again and the tree had to wait another day. Church today. Lunch. Finish an engrossing book. Pick up the boy from GiGi’s. Daddy off to work. Boy to bed. School work to be done.

Finally a glass of wine. My tree and my ornaments. Opening that box each year is like rediscovering old friends. A trip down memory lane. But tonight, it was so much more. I realized it was the story of us. My tree can tell you in all its humble ornaments of the 12 Christmases I have spent with my amazing husband and of the almost three Christmases we have spent with our miracle son. In previous years I will admit to succumbing to the boxes of colored balls that fill the aisles of Michael’s and Hobby Lobby. I already told you I was not a “theme” girl, but I will say that I used to believe that more was more when it came to tree decorating. Perhaps the overall “downsizing” we have done in the past year led us to downsize our tree as well. Last year it was a mere 5 footer and most of the ornaments were “kid friendly” for the sake of our then almost 2 year old. I left the multi-colored balls and garlands and ribbons in the box and then I sold it all in a garage sale this summer. I kept what was special. What meant something and what tells our story. So hear it is my photo essay of the “Story of Us: Our Life in a Christmas Tree”

The Nativity: The Reason

 

Christmas 199: We are Engaged!!!

 

Year One: Priorities

 

Year Two: My Leopard Phase ... enough said.

Year Three: My mom brings us and ornament from Vancouver.

 

Year Six: A Reindeer!!

Year Nine: What we have been praying for ...

Year One for Baby Boy

 

Year Two for Baby Boy (11 for us)

 

And that brings us to this year …  What we are praying for …

And a few of the boy’s favorite things …

His favorite

His other favorite

And his own little tree bought in the hopes he keeps his hands off mine!

 

So there you have it friends … what I look forward to most is what this post could look like a few years from now: more anniversaries for My Love and me, seeing hoe Eph’s personality emerges in the ornaments he picks to add to our tree each year, and the Hope of adding to our family …maybe a few pink ornaments and some more little boy ones too?

So tonight I am listening to some Bing Crosby and Sufjan Stephens Christmas music and enjoying this tree … celebrating what it represents and imagining all that it could. God bless you all and your families this holiday season. Merry Christmas.