I'm so glad we didn't skip the tree this year

I la,la,LOVE our Christmas tree! But I have to confess... I came very close to skipping it all together this year. Especially after seeing how hard it was to be on guard every waking hour with the twins while we were visiting my dad's home at Thanksgiving (and there were 4 of us adults watching them!)

The whole drive back from KY, I kept thinking how in the world are we gonna keep the babies from tearing down our tree!??

Finally I came to a conclusion - instead of putting it up in the den -this year we'd put it in the front room and add yet another gate to our "gated community" and just simply keep the babies outta there for the next few weeks.

and although we didn't get out all of our special ornaments this year.. and we didn't even put on the red ribbon that I love...we did put up several of our old memories as well as a few new ones that Nora made this year. ;)

This first one is my favorite new one from this year b/c of what it means.. Learning to use scissors was a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT for Nora this year in preschool. I still remember her huge proud smile when I picked her up from school and she showed me this candy cane she made all by HERSELF. :Da star that Nora brought home from School this year. She also made a flower pot bell at Vacation Bible School this summer and I saved it for the tree - but forgot to take a photo of it.

and speaking of made "by myself" - this Noel wreath will always be special - my mom and I went through a huge crafting stage in the 80's - we had an awesome room in the basement set up with all our paints and made lots of stuff. She let me make this wreath all by myself! ;) I still wonder why I didn't give the letter "L" a design... maybe I ran out of ideas?

This cross is one I made at Vacation Bible School one year.

and this glass ball was made by a friend in Georgia.. in our BC life (before children) we gathered with about a dozen other BC couples every week for Friday Night Steaks... and that year one of the wives made these for each of the couples. Wasn't that sweet? I wonder where everyone is living these days since Augusta... Only one of those couples do we still keep in touch with now almost 12 years later..

and the bear in the stocking is another I painted at home with mom.... and the candle below was the one she made that year.. I'm so grateful to have an ornament made by my mother.

I'm looking forward to making ornaments with Nora, Olivia and Paul Thomas in the years to come...