Finally Full

Ten years ago I had a new, naked Christmas tree. I went to Big Lots and the Dollar Tree to find the cheapest (and cutest) ornaments I could find to fill the bare spots. Spending $10 on a box of glass balls was a huge stretch on my wallet so we also had a lot of donations. For years I struggled to fill it with anything that would fit on a hook.

This week we struggled so much to get all of our Christmas stuff together. I almost always spend Black Friday decorating the house with my gigantic snowman collection. To stretch it into Wednesday is unheard of for us... but yet, we did. A variety of issues kept us from getting it done Friday (sleeping late, lights on the tree not working, broken decorations, you name it!) but God must have had a plan for that.
Last night we got home and began our usual ritual: baths, dinner, homework, etc. Once we had finished eating & cleaning the kitchen we flipped on AMC to find my favorite movie: Christmas Vacation. I sat down on the floor of the living room with my back to the couch and slowly peeled away the newspaper from the boxes of ornaments I have collected. Because I am blessed with family and friends that find joy in watching my eyes light up at the sight of it - I have more snowmen than I can count. I realized last night that instead of wondering how I was going to fit the bare spots I was picking and choosing what ornaments I would put on the tree and what would go back in the box. When the 6 of us had finished picking and choosing the delicate placement of our favorite ornaments I realized that what decorated our tree was nothing more than a collection of memories. Ornaments from when the kids were in Kindergarten, pre-school candy/cookie ornaments with tiny faces in the center, "Baby's 1st Christmas" stars, images of our babies with gappy smiles from losing front teeth, gifts from grandparents and aunts, and a large snowman family ornament with all 6 of our names stitched on their hats.
I realized I had leftover "filler" that I couldn't fit on the tree this year. Plain glass bulbs, snow flakes, ribbon, other random things... all to give the appearance of fullness. I sat and stared at my tree with an overwhelming sense of love. Our memories are hanging on the family tree for all to see. We didn't have to fake it anymore...it was full of our love and memories. I found myself misty eyed as I realized the outpouring from our kids and the past we've had with them. I tried so hard to drink it all in and not let the moment slip away.
Once we had taken one too many pictures and irritation sat in... I had the kids sit at the table so we could open their Advent calendars. We have always done a Christmas countdown but what could be better than popping open a little door to find a small square of German chocolate? Twenty-four pieces of chocolate in the month of December sounds like Christmas to me!

And how to solve the dilemma of too many ornaments? Another tree, of course... So this weekend we will take a trip to the store to get another cheap, skinny tree to fit neatly in our dining room. I may even agree to colored lights this time! I never thought we'd be a "two" tree family. Our cup runs over.

Tonight is basketball practice for Michiah and her first game is Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing just how keen her Air Jordan skills are! With her long lanky legs and long arms the other team won't have a chance...


Until Then...