oh christmas tree, how lovely are your branches

we always get and decorate our christmas tree the sunday following thanksgiving. we are a one christmas tree family. there is no theme to our tree. i confess, that sometimes i have tree envy. the obsessive compulsive person in me would like a themed tree. but our tree shares our history. there are ornaments from mine and michael's childhoods, ornaments given to me from former preschool students, ornaments the kids have made (that i tolerate), and more. getting out the ornaments always takes us on a walk down memory lane. it causes us to see God's faithfulness in our story over the years.

this sweet little house was given to us the year we moved into this house (thanks jeff & kelly). do you see the holly hobby ornament from my childhood!
this ornament, is a crocheted me. my g-ma made this in 1992 for me when i had my first apartment. she also made one for my roomate julie (my b.f. since jr. high). i have both.

because it really is a "wonderful life." if you have never seen It's A Wonderful Life, stop everything, get it, and watch it! it is the BEST Christmas movie of all time.

this is one of those ornaments i tolerate. noah made it. doesn't everybody want a snowman ornament made from a soda can?when the kids were born, michael's mom began a tradition of giving each kid thier own themed ornament each christmas. noah gets animals (because of the ark thing), emilie gets angels (because she is one), josie get stars (cause she is one too).
we put off school work one day last week and painted ornaments instead (hey,it's art!) emilie painted this one. btw- you can find ornaments for just 50 cents at michael's craft store.
josie painted this one for me when she was 4. i love it.
i love these kids! how do you like josie's p.j.'s? she is really into layering her p.j.'s. too bad you can't see her wild socks!
and finally, my favorite christmas tree this year. a lego tree made by all 3 kiddos. it even lights up!