Trimming the Tree

For the first time, our Boy got to hang his own ornaments on the tree this year! Note the burlap coffee bags under the tree stand. We are a coffee family through and through...

Followed by a mug of hot cocoa with Daddy...

After Jack was asleep, Matt and I finished decorating the tree.

This one is for all of my fellow sampler-lovers out there...

This had us cracking up! It was completely un-planned, honest! I hung the reindeer in a low hole on the side of the tree, and he later hung the feed sack not realizing that he hung it so strategically. I'm afraid this will be a new tree tradition...

Now I am going to share some of my favorite tree ornaments with you:

The circa 1970's Angel-with-Bell ornament that so many children from that era were given. It was always my most favorite to hang on the tree, because it had MY NAME on it!

Anyone remember Shrinky-Dinks? Wish I knew how old I was when I made this... it has hung on my tree every year since.

The blown glass ornament made from Mt. St. Helens ash that Matt and I picked out together the day he proposed to me (I said YES!). Our first official date was an all-day visit to the mountain, so he picked it as the site for our engagement as well. (Maybe that's why our First was born during an ice storm, and our Second's birth was commemorated with a tornado... Note to self: volcanoes may not be the best place to accept marriage proposals)!

The resin penguin ornament hand-painted by my cousin Holly when she was just 12 (such talent!). Three years later, she lost her decade long battle with leukemia. I miss her.

The old pineapple colored ornament I found at an antique mall several years ago...

My very first attempt at cross-stitch. This one has been hidden away for years, because it really isn't all that pretty, but it has become priceless to me this year in light of my new venture of selling my cross stitch designs.

A pretty glass ornament that my Grandmother picked out for me a few years ago...

And last but not least, the ornament that our Boy picked out when he was just shy of 1 year old. It is silly and sparkly, and he just couldn't take his eyes off of it!
Because of this ornament, each year not only will the kids get one special ornament from their parents, they will also get to pick one out themselves for their collection. I will be dating each one to add to the yearly joy of unpacking and trimming the tree.