O Christmas Tree!

Setting up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving has been a long time tradition in our family. Some may say it's too early... but I say that Christmas is a season... and Thanksgiving helps to bring it in. I mean, what more can we be thankful for? We've be given a Savior! 

This is our tree from last year. I would post a picture from this year... but it will look pretty much the same. That's what makes it special. 

Our tree has ornaments from 20 years ago and even older than that. I have every ornament that my children have made me over the years, and my oldest is 25. Beginning in Kindergarten, each of my kids would bring home a special ornament they made in school.

The angel above was made by my oldest son "Little Boy" when he was in the first grade. He will be 25 next week... and his angel is still on our tree. It has had to be repaired a couple of times. But it's hanging in there.

The little gingerbread man was made by my second oldest son... we'll call him "Kid". (He got that name because my youngest son could never pronounce his name. After many attempts... he began calling him "Kid"... and that is what he called him for many months.) He made this ornament in elementary school. He is now 23 and his ornament is still on the tree every year.

Not sure about Rudolf the Red-Nosed 'Milk Bone'... but he's been around for years. My kids can always remind me when I forget who made one of the ornaments.

This one is special because my Grandmother made it. She actually made 3 for me and they have been on the tree every year since. I didn't know her for very long and my kids were too young to know her... but her memory lives on each year on our tree.

When my oldest daughter "Little Lady" was in Kindergarten, there was a Carl's Jr. right down the street from us. The kids and I would walk over for lunch. It was a fun treat for us. Back then they had pretty cool toys in the kids' meal boxes. This ornament is one of them. We also have a Carl's Jr. reindeer star ornament as well.

This is one of our newest additions to our tree. I want to always remember the true meaning of Christmas. The gift of Jesus. It reminds me of a picture I once saw that said... "Even Santa needs a Savior".

These and more are the ornaments that adorn our tree. They are many. Just as we are. They have seen many years and show signs of wear... just as we do. Our tree tells the story of our family. Our history...

Handmade ornaments from my mother and my grandmother... special ornaments from my husband's mother...the first ornaments that my husband, children, and I picked out together the first year we were married... the first ornaments (at least the ones that survived) that I bought when I first set out on my own... and all the special ornaments that each of my children have made over the years hang there... and will as long as they last. To me... they are priceless.

I actually started to take photos of each ornament just in case one of them didn't make it to the next year. That way... we will always have the memories.

Yes, I could go out and buy new things and they would be beautiful. But they don't have a story to tell. They don't have the history that these do. It took us many years to get our tree to tell our own story... and I plan to keep adding to it. As long as the Lord allows.
 
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Mary Ann :)