Monday, December 15, 2008

Ornaments Galore

I'm not sure what others trees look like - but mine is a hosh posh of ornaments. Stuff that the kids have made, stuff that I made as a kid, stuff that other family members have made and then the store bought stuff that has been given to us over the years.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is decorating the tree and remembering the stories that go along with each ornament. So many of them have a special meaning behind them.

This year, Boy 2 actually helped in decorating the tree so it wasn't the peaceful memory filled time that I enjoy so much. Instead it was filled with:

"Don't pull the ornaments off the tree!"
"Stop pulling the metal clips out of the balls!"
"Don't throw the ornaments!"
"SF, get him!"
"Boy 1 - you can't reach that high. You're going to knock the tree over!"

You get the point. I think I have a few more years before I can actually enjoy the tree decorating like I use to. Now, don't get me wrong... we had fun and the kids really had a blast.

I just can't wait til they get a little older and I can pass down the stories behind each of the ornaments to them and eventually pass those ornaments onto them as they were passed to me.

Fortunately, SF and I had a quite night without the kids this weekend and I did all my reminiscing with him. I'm sure he gets tired of hearing the same stories year after year, but every year he acts like he actually cares and listens intently :-)

Here are a few of my favorites:

This one is a mailbox that my grandmother made for me in 1982. In side this mailbox is a letter. I love to read this letter every year!

Dear Amy,

Merry Christmas! You're a very speical little 1 1/2 year old girl, who has a beautiful little smile. We enjoy being with you and watching you grow.


We wish for you a beautiful, happy, healthy year ahead. it will be a busy one for you as your words increase and you discover the world around you.


We love you very much.
Love, Grandma & Grandpa Murphy



I'm not real sure why I've always loved this one but I know this was the first one I picked when ornaments were handed down a few years ago. Dad actually made this. The bird feeder is made out of felt and an old pill bottle with bird seed inside. It's always a challenge to get the bird to sit just right next to the feeder!






This is a new one on our tree. I bought this one last year for SF. It is the lamp from A Christmas Story, SF's favorite Christmas movie of all times! This movie is on in our house nonstop starting Christmas Eve until we leave the house Chritmas morning.




Then of course there is the ode to the Cowboys! The first one was actually mine before we got married. The next two were SF's that he brought into the marriage and the last one is one I bought for SF a few years ago. (Santa wearing Cowboys gear on the rooftop - priceless!)



There are many, many others but I would be here all night writing the stories behind all of them. So I'll leave you with one final picture of our tree.



Do you have any favorite ornaments? Post about them and then come back here and leave me a comment so I can come visit. And if you don't have a blog that's ok too. Email me a pic and I'll post it here on my blog!

5 comments:

Mike said...

Actually, your Grandmother made the pill bottle feeder too, it was just in my possession for many years. So many in fact, that on our tree was the only place you ever saw it :-)

ly,

ToadMama said...

I'm so glad Dad commented. I was just feeling bad thinking that was another pre-me memory that I had screwed up!

I can attest to your fondness for the letter ornament. It used to be me that listened to that story every year when it came time for tree decorating.

By the way, I miss having you here to decorate the tree with me. You're the only kid that didn't outgrow that one!

Tiff said...

I just put a post up about my ornaments. I too have some that I love pulling out looking at them and then telling the story of them, its one of my favorite things about Christmas.

Anonymous said...

I was reading through your older posts and had to comment on this one ... even though it was from a while ago.

We have the leg lap ornament too ... as it is Big Daddy's favorite movie. We probably watch it 20 times over the holiday and ALL DAY on Christmas. Over and over and over again. LOL!

Also, have the Cowboys ornament ... again, Big Daddy's team. :)

Your "prize" will be shipped out next week. :) Just an FYI.

Lewisville Sandblasting said...

Great blog youu have here

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