Decorating For Christmas

Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday.  But it seems like the American thing to do is move on to Christmas just as soon as you possibly can!  Like I mentioned, we're not big Black Friday people in this house.  But we do decorate for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving.  I'll admit it...I look forward to it!  And it's funny, even though we have basically the same decorations every year, the house seems to come together a little differently each time.  We add just a little here, and a little there.  It makes me excited to see what our house will look like 20 Christmases from now!

One of the big additions to our Christmas look this year was lights for the house!  We were back and forth on whether or not to do it, and then some sweet couple in our ward gave us a box full of lights.  It was a sign!  So Danny got himself up on the roof and put up the Christmas lights.  And he looked good doing it. :)

Our house looked beautiful!  I've always wanted to do white lights along the roofline, and it looked even better than I could have imagined!  I loved the wreaths on the garage lamps as well.  Yuletide perfection!

Decorating for Christmas was extra special for us this year.  We were so excited last year for the holiday season!  But things were derailed a bit with Luke's diagnosis.  And then we hadn't been sure as the holidays approached whether or not Luke would still be with us.  So to have the opportunity to decorate our house together, ALL together, was a special treat.  The girls and Johnny helped get the tree assembled...

...while Lukey supervised. :)

It was a few days later before we had the chance to actually decorate the tree.  We did it for Family Home Evening, and we had so much fun together.  Claire has such an artist's eye that we let her decide where a lot of the ornaments should go.

Luke was very excited about all the shiny things!  

Sophie was very careful with the glass ornaments, and she decorated her height of the tree perfectly.

And Johnny?  Well, Johnny provided the entertainment. :)

Here is our beautiful tree, all donned in beautiful ornaments!  Our new additions this year included our beautiful star (which I absolutely LOVE), and the use of mesh ribbon.  I've never used it before, but I think it turned out pretty good!  I found the tip on a blog somewhere...and I got my Christmas craft on.  And it was only the beginning. :)

Sophie and Claire were so excited to put up my Christmas Village!  My Aunt Cindy started giving me this set when I was 13, so that by the time I left the house at 18 I would have a complete Christmas set to decorate with.  I love these porcelain houses.  Claire and Sophie found some little trees at the store, and wanted to add them to our village.  I think we'll have to buy something every year and see how it grows.

This little tree, and the ornaments on it, is a special addition to our home this year.  This was Luke's Christmas Tree for his hospital room last Christmas.  The ornaments are our family ornaments.  The ones our kids have made, and the ornaments that we decorated it with last year for Luke.  It always makes me emotional to remember the feelings I had while we decorated it this first time.  This tree has more Christmas Spirit than any other Christmas tree, in my opinion.  It is precious to me.  

And, of course, our nativity!  This is a fun story.  Danny's Grandma Lovell had a TON of Christmas decorations.  When she was preparing to move here, each item was sorted through and given to a grandchild.  We ended up with the American Indian Nativity.  Wonder why? :)  The set didn't have the angels with it.  Those came from my Dad... or my Mom.  My Dad bought a set of six Indian angel ornaments when I was a kid.  But they're porcelain, and very heavy.  They never lasted long on the tree.  Over the years, their numbers have dwindled, and they are now only four.  My Mom ended up with these in the divorce (not purposely, I'm sure), and she understandably hates them.  So I got them!  They make a perfect addition to the Nativity, don't you think?  And good thing I have every intention of painting this blue wall someday and so had no problem poking holes in the wall so my Injun Angels could fly. :)

I have always wanted a banister to decorate for Christmas!  Well, that and a mantle.  Still waiting on the mantle. :)  I got my Christmas craft on, and actually tried making my own bows out of wired ribbon.  It took me an hour or so of watching YouTube tutorials and sifting through blogs to make it work, but I was pretty proud of how they turned out!  

I still love the snowman mugs that my Mom bought me last year...

...and little crafts from the kids to add a personal touch. :)

And of course, Christmas Bob!  Danny and I bought Bob at Yellowstone as a souvenir from our honeymoon.  Since our first Christmas, Bob has always donned the Santa hat.  We love Bob!

This was the last of my Christmas craft efforts.  My sister-in-law sent me the neatest idea that she found on a blog.  A way to get big bang for little buck...and it worked perfectly in our little alcove-ish hallway!  The kids and I worked on it, and it turned out so lovely!  

Christmas is such a special time.  And the older I get, the more I enjoy decorating for the season.  I love creating traditions with our kids, and I love how they are old enough to start remembering what we've done in the past and want to do it again.  Because that's what Christmas is for them.  

Now that the decorations are up, and December has begun, it's time to enjoy the Christmas Season!!