It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas.....

....at least inside my house.

We got our tree put up.  It is a new tree this year.  The last one I bought on sale, the day after Christmas the second year we were married.  I figured after 16 years of service, I had gotten my $17 worth out of it. 

This year I bought a slender pre-lit tree.  The girls were, um, less than excited about the tree.  They have referred to it as the Charl*e Brown tree. 

But we have a very small living room.  When Wayne & I designed and built this house, we had 3 girls living at home and sharing Christmas morning with us.  This year however, we will have a total of 11 kids and grandkids having Christmas here.  Wayne is chomping at the bit to add on an additional living room and turn this room into a big dining room, but I just can't start that yet.  We still have alot of money to save and raise to complete Abbey's adoption, so I am a bit leery to tackle a big construction project right now.

Anyhooooooo, on to my tree.  I like it.  And it fits our tiny space very well.  I thought I would share some of our sentimental ornaments with y'all.  I get a bit misty looking at some of them and remembering all the things we've done together.  I love having that history on our tree.

Here she is in all her skinny glory. 

Hey if I can't manage to take off a few inches this year, at least my tree will. 

We'll call it circumference envy...

A fellow adoptive mom got me this one to commemorate Sydney's adoption.

Grandchild's first Christmas for Bryce. 

Hannah was still living here with him on his first Christmas in '03.

He was such a bundle of giggles!

My brother sent me this one while he fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We bought this one the first Christmas we were married in 1991. 

Why Mickey Mouse? 

Because I was all of 19 years old, that's why.

My sweet baby Sarah's first Christmas ornament.

Oh what I wouldn't do to kiss those baby cheeks one more time....

Brandon's first Christmas ornament from 1985. 

It is so frayed, but I love it.

Hannah's first Christmas ornament from '84. 

She pulled all the letters off of it,

and the hook too,

so we just stab a branch through it!

We bought these in 1992 while I was pregnant with Ashlyn.

We have some for '95 too, when I was pregnant with Sarah, but I just realized they aren't

on the tree.

Hmmmmm????

This is one I had personalized for Sydney's first Christmas home. 

I didn't want to get her a baby's first Christmas one because she had spent one

Christmas in China.  So I had this one personalized for her.

Ashlyn's first Christmas ornament from '93. 

It has a cute Preci*us M*ments figure on the back.

We spent Christmas 2003 in Germany visiting my brother who was stationed there.

We bought this one over there and somehow managed to get home

with it in one piece.

We spent some time at Big Cedar L*dge in Brans*n in '05. 

We rented a log cabin and ate until we almost popped!

What I always remember when I see this ornament is that Bryce set our living room carpet

on fire while we were gone.  Seriously.

A Cracker Barrell ornament.

I have absolutely no idea why.....

This one is from Summer '05.  Wayne had a job to do in VB so we tagged along with him.

We pulled our camper out there instead of renting a room and stayed nearly a month.

It was just Wayne, Ashlyn, Sarah, and I and it was the best summer of our lives.

The girls and I laid at the beach all day and basically did nothing.  It was the summer before Sydney came home so I was pretty wrapped up in all the adoption emotions.  It was such

an unplanned trip that was totally planned by God. Several times since then when we get crazy busy, one of

us will say, "Don't you have a job at a beach you need to do?"

I love our tree.  It is new but it feels familiar too.  And the girls are coming around to it.

Now if only Abbey could see it.....