I loved Lynn’s post yesterday and decided I’d share a few ornaments from our tree as well, along with a thought or two behind each one…
Ornament #1
This little bride and groom has graced our family’s Christmas tree for 33 years now, just as Joe and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary earlier this month on December 15th. My sweet Mom gave us this ornament on Joe’s and my first “married” Christmas together. And even though I loved it when she gave it to us in 1984, I cherish the ornament far more now after having a few years of marriage beneath my belt, and with Mom having passed on in 2009 and now waiting for us at Home.
Ornament #2
This ornament and the next were handmade by our children, Kurt and Kelsey (who are now 28 and 30 respectively), and though the ornaments are getting pretty fragile, I still love hanging them on the tree every year.
Also, a special THANK YOU to all the teachers who facilitate the making of these ornaments! Quite a lasting undertaking!
Ornament #3
And yes, this is Kelsey (not Kurt). Contrary to the volume of Kelsey’s gorgeous head of hair now (see my book From a Distance, where we photoshopped her hair onto the model! <g>), she had very little when she was first born. When I wanted her to wear a bow in her hair then, I had to “glue” it on (with Karo syrup) for the first couple of years. Bless her!
Ornament #4
Mom gave us this to commemorate Kelsey’s first Christmas in 1987. Love it still. And this little horsey still looks good, too!
Ornament #5
This is an ornament from my childhood. A plastic gingerbread girl. Cute, isn’t it? LOL. Not so much. But she’s still special.
Ornament #6
This one is from Mom and also commemorated Kelsey’s first Christmas. Can you tell that Kels was the first grandchild? : }
Ornament #7
And this one is from when I was first pregnant (with Kels) in 1986 (not 1987 like I originally wrote in this post—thanks Mocha Linda!). Mom bought a lot of commemorative ornaments in her lifetime. She always loved Christmas!
What ornaments make you pause each year as you hang them on the tree? And what’s the story behind them? And by chance, do any of you have these specific ornaments, too?
Much love and blessings on your Christmas.
Tammy
P.S. Now, in the interest of full disclosure…
This year’s Christmas tree isn’t even up yet. I’ve got a first draft due Friday, and I’m madly working to get it done. So I haven’t taken the time to get the tree up yet. But I will. Sometime before Christmas!
Tamera blogs every first and third Tuesday at Inspired by Life . . . and Fiction, a group blog she shares with a wonderful community of authors. If you'd like to join the conversation on this post, Tamera would love to see you there!