Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

So last week I was responding to a post over at 'A Home Grown Journal' where Mama Pea was asking where everyone sets up their Christmas tree, and what kind of rearranging is required to do so.  I did give her the 'short answer' (something like 5 paragraphs) with the added comment that I could feel a Christmas Tree post of my own coming on.  Here is the promised tour of the Hoosier Country Home Christmas tree collection.

We'll start with what we consider to be the 'main' family tree.  It sits up in the master bedroom.  We  have a family Christmas tradition of having everyone pick out an ornament each year to go on the tree.  When the kids leave the house, they get to take those ornaments with them.  All three kids are essential out of the house, but for two of the three our place is still 'base camp' so their ornaments are still here.

I took one pic with the lights off and one with the lights on.  I'm not so much the accomplished photographer as some of my other blog friends, so the lights 'wash out' some of the details.

There are a lot of 'Babies First', 'New Home' and those sorts of ornaments on this tree.  There is Barney the Purple Dinosaur, Crayola crayons, Disney characters, Angels, and Loonie Toons characters.  There are ornaments for people and pets that were a part of our lives over the years.  All the ornaments have a story and a memory.  This part of 'family' is important for us, and every time we hang ornaments we get a chance to remember all those special times.

Other the years my son and I have accumulated a number of sci fi themed ornaments, so now we have a separate sci-fi tree!























This year the tree is black and all the ornaments show up real well against the dark background.  It has, for the most part, a Star Wars and Star Trek theme.

Its a nice 'Father-Son' thing we get to do together each year.






Then there is De's tree.  It changes as the years go by, but the last couple of years she has focused on antique and 'old fashioned' glass ornaments.  That tree sits in the living room, and is the third in the 'series'.  This year it has blue lights.  Again, please pardon my poor photography.

 

Around New Years, these trees will come down and a 'Winter tree' decorated with snowmen, snowflakes and the like will go up.  It stays up until early spring.

Now it gets a little complicated.  If I'm counting Christmas trees in the house, I suppose I need to count them all.  Here goes a photo collage of most of the rest of them.  De does doll house miniatures and, with well over 50 houses and room boxes in the house, I can't be sure I got them all.  You can see her blog at De-Lightful Minis if you would like details on any of these.

This tree is in the boarding house

This one is in a house modeled after our house.

This one sits with the Santa collection.

This one is with the Noah's Ark collection

This one is modeled after the house I grew up in.  The dolls are my parents.

This is Santa's house!

Just in case you missed the tree on Santa's second floor.

This one sets next to the Nativity in the upstairs family room.

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But let's keep the season in perspective

For all the fun we have with trees, decorations, miniatures, and all the other trappings.  We do make sure we take time to focus on the REAL reason for the season.

Luke 2:10-11 NIV  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord."

He came to us as a baby but grew to be a perfect man, paid the price for my sin and yours with His life, and was raised again to reign forever.  He is my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ , and is THE reason for the season.   May God bless you all!

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark

Things that make me smile!

Today I was reminded several times of how much the little things in life make me smile.  Here's a list from today's activity:

• The day's first cup of coffee.  More of a ritual than anything, but a good cup of coffee first thing in the morning just sets the tone for a good day.
• A quiet morning spent getting a bunch of little chores done.  It's encouraging to see the fruits of your labors, even if it's nothing more than organizing and picking up around the place.
• Letting Zyla the dog come along on a drive in the truck.  If there is any creature in God's creation that can teach us how to find happiness in simple things it's a dog.  Head out the window, wind in her face, a hairy, black, bundle of joy!
• Hearing Fred the Golden Polish cockerel crow for the first time.  De has heard him before, but today was my first hearing.  He's not got his full voice yet, but he spent 5 minutes working on it.
• A late breakfast with my wife.  Just the two of us (Daughter #2 sleeping in) with a simple breakfast. (And the day's second cup of coffee!)
• Watching the barn swallows zip around catching bugs in the yard.  With the barn door out of order they got in and built a nest in our little barn this year.  Dad would always get rid of other bird's nests in his barn if they built where they would make a mess on the machinery, but barn swallows always got a pass.  It's working out the same way for me.  Another in a long list of ways in which I'm my father's son, I suppose.
• A mowed lawn.  Daughter #2 did almost all of it, which was also nice.  Just seeing another job done brings a sense of satisfaction even if I didn't do it.
• A short visit from my Mom.  I won't get those much longer.  I've learned to appreciate them even more in the years since my Dad's been gone.
• Hearing that wife and daughter had a nice time with friends for a couple hours in the afternoon.  It's good for everyone to be happy.
• Along the same lines, seeing De happily working on another dollhouse project, this one is being done in French Country (whatever that is).  I'm always happy to find a place for another one of her creations. (We have 50+ so far!)  Check out http://delightfulminis.blogspot.com/ to see what she's up too.  There's also a link on my side bar.
• Spending time in my Bible.  Studying for a class I'm teaching isn't quite the same as just settling into a comfortable chair and reading, but it's still pretty good.
• A quiet evening spent at home settled in my recliner, checking everyone's blogs, and chatting with De.
• Finally, as I was taking a bundle of shop trash out the cans, I came across this in our yard:

A small patch of little wild strawberries!  I'm not sure why I found that so cool, but it was a high point in an already good day.

I'm guessing it's not just me that finds the little things so satisfying.  What little things make you smile?

I'll say it yet again; I am blessed!

Col. 1:9-12,

Mark