Christmas and all the Trimmings

I have always loved decorating for Christmas. I can still remember the excitement in the air while getting the decorations out with my mom as a little girl.  We couldn't wait to hang the big twinkling start and the small ceramic tree with colored lights always went on the piano top.  I also remember trimming the tree singing Christmas songs.  I remember, my favorite part was the manger scene. I use to love playing with the manger scene nativity set on top of the piano, and I was always sad when we had to put it away.  So naturally, when you have fun childhood memories that bring warm feelings to your heart, you want to pass those on to your own children. . . .so I love to decorate for Christmas with them.  They share this love too.

The kids were so excited this year to help decorate for Christmas.  They finally felt they could do it themselves and they liked placing the ornaments while the music was playing and drinking Hot Chocolate.  Grandma and Pappy Bumbaugh give each of us ornaments each year from Hallmark, so the kids love hanging their own ornaments. This year, while we were hanging them, I would read the note from each individual ornament that Grandma and Pappy wrote, while they were hanging that ornament on the tree.  This was the first year they remembered ornaments from last year and they actually listened as I read the notes. 

Ava, my little organized one with the leadership skills, was telling our sweet passive Christian where to hang his, and he was listening. I had to break in and tell them that they each could choose where to hang their own.  Then I had to make a very conscious effort NOT to change or correct or rehang ANY of them, even if they all seemed not symmetrical. :) I will say the tree did look better this year than last and I anticipate it getting better each year. ;)

We had the Christmas music on and Jamie Blue Eyes was in his swing just watching the pretty lights and enjoying all the crazy commotion of us singing and dancing and trimming the tree.  The kids enjoyed this so much, that they even worked it out that they spent the night with Grandma and Pappy and helped them trim their tree. :)