Decorating the Christmas tree is one of my favorite parts of the Holiday Season.
It's usually a Mom + Brother + Me affair.
But we were missing a very important little brother this year, so Daddio filled in and cheered us on from the couch.
My parents' tree is always my favorite {and I mean favorite out of every gorgeous tree I see each year}. It's not perfectly put together with lights meticulously spaced and ornaments beautifully coordinated.
Instead, we have popsicle stick ornaments my brother and I made in elementary school. There are family pictures posted on the back of a coffee can lid that we crafted in preschool. Ornaments my grandmother made when my mother was a child. Others that we thoughtfully picked out on our family vacations. Gifts from loved ones to mark special occasions in each of our lives.
It's really a memory tree.
Every ornament on our family tree has a meaning and sentimental value behind it. And I think that's what makes our Christmas tree perfect each and every year.
I always get a little teary eyed as we decorate the tree. It reminds me how blessed I am as I take a trip down memory lane as each ornament is unwrapped from it's box or tissue paper. The ornaments are like pages of our family's life-long story book.
As we put more ornaments up and the tree becomes so full that we don't think we can fit any more on it, I began to think about how this little fir tree tells a story about each of us. Each year, there is usually a new ornament to put up, which means a new memory has been made - one of many that we each have from the past year.
I hope I have a tree like this for my children someday. So they too can tell stories about ornaments from my childhood and remember exciting and fun things from their own lives.
Christmas is about celebrating so much more than our world today realizes. It's a time to be thankful for all the blessings we have been given in life. And I'm a firm believer that family is the best and most important blessing of all.
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