I Just LOVE Christmas!!

This is a post from someone who drives her kids absolutely nuts...because I just love Christmas! I remember the decorations my mom put up every year...they were few and simple...but they were such treasures. And, even way back when I was a kid, we had two...yes two...Christmas Trees: one that we kids could decorate, and one that the kids could help on, and then Mom and Dad would "repair" after we went to bed. When I married Dee and first entered my mother in law's house, I had never before seen so many wonderful, beautiful decorations! Thus began my love for decorating our home. We never had a tree that had flimsy and few ornaments...I painted and made things every year, so our tree would look wonderful. We used to chop down our own tree every year, and I never could find one big enough for all my ornaments. (Alas, the bark beetle took care of the tree chopping tradition...too many "golden" trees, as Mike-my son in law called them.) I now select special ones for our living room tree, I have a red, white and blue tree in the family room (born in the 4th of July, you know!), a hunting tree for all of Dee's hunting and fishing ornaments....and I have boxes left over in the attic just in case a need arises! I am presently working on my latest addition to our collection...I have 125 ornaments under construction...Mom and my theme this year is nutcracker/tin soldier/drummer boy (mine are drummer boys). I have almost 75 done...lots to do, but I usually have them all done by Halloween. Yes, I love my trees, my ornaments, my department 56 North Pole Holiday Village (I call it a holiday village or Kate won't let me put it on the piano till Winter begins...and that is much too late!!), but one of my favorite things is my collection of Nativity Scenes. It began a few years ago when there was a display going on at church and I didn't even have one to display. I bought one the day after Christmas at Target...a pure white one. That began a fun quest. I painted one with childlike characters, one that has children dressing up for their performance - some in wheel chairs...I like that one a lot. I have been given quite a few, as well. One, my sister in law cut from plain pine and just varnished the figures...just wonderful. My mother in law is a champ and finding things. The most special ones, though, are the ones Dee has purchased for me on trips. He is the best shopper. He takes such care when he looks for a gift for me... I know he has brought the kids with him at one time or another as he looked for jewelry for me, and they come home complaining to high heaven about how long he takes...but it is so very special to me because he shows just how much he cares when he takes these painstaking efforts to find the perfect gift. He bought me a wonderful "nacimiento" in Mexico when he was travelling to Queretero there a few years ago. I figured that India would be the last place he would find something like that, so I dared not hope...but that wonderful guy...he sure did find one... and it is a treasure!

Now, the picture just doesn't capture the true beauty...there is one king that is grey...literally all over his face...(looks like he had some of that Indian water that they don't bottle!) There is an older couple. And the sheep are this lovely shade of lavender! It is so precious. I just love it. Can you believe that sweet husband of mine searching Bangalore, India to find this for me!! And then his driver, Raj, taking measurements of his computer bag, getting a box, taking the pieces, and individually wrapping them in newspaper and string so that they would survive the long trip home!!Now, being the Christmas freak that I am, as you can see, I had to display it already...and I welcomed it to our home by playing...mind you, as loud as those 6 foot tall speakers would play... Mannheim Steamroller "Hallelujah!", the first song I put on for my months of Christmas music. Now, Saturday, at a fantastic yard sale, I got another one...

and welcomed it in the same way, though some of my sons, who had enjoyed the fajitas I had made for them to eat earlier, were filled with complaints about Christmas music and commercialism...bah humbug! This aint no commercialism...I just love Christmas!!!