Filled to the Brim

It was time. Time to decorate our pre-lit store bought Christmas tree. I stacked the boxes neatly near the tree and began to unwrap each individual ornament. Each one with it's own significance and filled with special memories. Handmade ornaments that I made when I was in kindergarten and elementary school - a hand painted Santa Claus, a snowflake with remnants of silvery glitter and a small stocking with my name written in red pen on the border.

Ornaments that Mom would give me every holiday season, with my name and year written on the back and a few that she had engraved - a shiny gold ornament in the shape of a little girl holding a Christmas bell and a little girl in pajamas holding a cat from the year when I adopted my very first cat who I named Gonzo.

And ornaments that Leo has given me over the years - I especially love the one that has a little boy and girl sitting on a moon - it was a gift from him when we first started dating and a shell ornament from our honeymoon in Maui that plays the song, "Mele Kalikimaka" that we picked it up in a small boutique in Lahaina. 

A button that says "Eat at Ed Debevick's" from my first trip with friends to L.A. my sophomore year in High School. A beautiful ceramic angel ornament holding a key that my Grandma Farmer gave to me when we bought our house. She came to stay with me for a week and we did so much laughing and talking while we worked on putting a puzzle together. (which I later framed and hung in our hallway)

A wooden stocking with Leo's name written across the top, a black and white and a orange ceramic cat that I bought the year we adopted Quincy and Sunny. And a beautiful trio of angels that have real silk wings - a gift from my Mom and a very special gold ornament that serves as a reminder of my little brother in heaven. It has a beautiful poem on the front and his name engraved on the back.

I recently bought an adorable snowman to commemorate our trip as a family to Utah last year for Christmas. Mom had us make our very first snowman - it wasn't much to look at but we had a lot of fun making it. Of course, I have a red Starbucks coffee cup ornament from my love of coffee and lots of Winnie the Pooh ornaments - my favorite childhood Disney character. A mini Christmas poem book - a gift from my friend Sue Newhouse and a set of ceramic teddy bears.

To add some subtle bling, I added shiny gold ball ornaments and then I filled in the holes with red velvet bows. After trimming the tree, I stepped back and took it all in - my eyes scanning the many reminders of wonderful memories and I immediately felt grateful to have such an amazing Mom - the creator of this tradition started so many years ago.

It's a tradition of making your tree so much more than just a tree. In many ways, our Christmas tree reflects who we are individually and also who we are as a couple - where we have been and also where we are headed. It is a very special tree - it is our very own tree that is filled to the brim with memories.

 Our Beautiful Tree