We've got that holiday feeling . . .

Friday evening we put up the Christmas tree. James was so excited all day long that he could hardly contain himself. I don't think he remembers actually putting up a large tree. You see, a couple of years ago, I rebelled against all tradition, and refused to put up our large Christmas tree. We bought it when Christine was a baby, but I've never like it. I mean . . . it's beautiful . . . in its own right, but the ornaments never looked right on it, it was huge (even after we removed the lower level of branches) which caused us to have to re-arrange the furniture every year to accomodate it, and then stringing the lights (because of it's size) was a major fiasco. Erik and I don't fight often, but the day after Thanksgiving, stringing the lights on the tree, like clock work, we would end up in a bit of a scuffle. So, a couple of years ago, I bought three little Christmas trees, pre-lit, and used that for our tannenbaum. The kids thought I had flipped my lid, but I LOVED it! It really made me feel Christmas so much better, though by the time Christmas day actually rolled around, the trees had been long dwarfed by the presents stacked around them. I bought a new tree this year. Didn't even ask anyone else's opinion (okay, Jalen Andrew gave his approval since he was shopping with me), and I LOVE it. It's a 7' Douglas Pine, and is pre-lit. It's skinny! It fits perfectly in the family room, with not major furniture jostling. Somehow the ornaments look right on it, and there was no fighting involved at all! I still have the little trees up too, over by my nativity that my mom and dad bought for me when I graduated from ASU West 14 years ago this month. Every time I bring that nativity set out, it reminds me of my love for the Savior, who, in my early young adult life, had healed the wounds that I caused myself as a teenager. It was in my early 20s where I really began to feel and understand the atonement. My focus being on the Savior, I wanted that nativity set, and was saving what little I had, for it, and then my parents bought it for me - the whole set. I didn't even live at home anymore. It was quite a surprise, and I have cherished it ever since. We've moved some furniture around since last Christmas. We added a t.v. cabinet to the family room, that we got free from someone Erik works with (I mention that only for my own record. I love a good deal and my kids laugh at me because sometimes I'll leave the tags on things for years, so that I can remember what a great deal I got). Anyhow, and we moved the living room furniture around when we got a new computer a few months ago (our old one had gotten sick, and had the screen of death). And to top it all off, we have a baby here this holiday season, who likes to touch things and pull down whatever he can reach, so . . . the point of this rambling, is that although I was very organized, and had everything in the Christmas boxes labeled and grouped together for each room, I had to do a fair bit of shuffling this year to make everything look right in its new atmosphere. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Here are the results: Oops, that reminds me, I still need to make Jalen Andrew's stocking, or he'll get stuck using Erik's or mine on Christmas Eve. Where is mine? I think it's up in my sewing closet, having been set aside from the Christmas decorations back in July, with the hopes that I would make Jalen Andrew's stocking before December hit. Hmmmm.