More Trees!

There are many things I could post about today, but they all stress me out. So I'm just going to post photos of our additional Christmas trees for your "viewing pleasure."

This is the main tree, in the living room. This is where all of our special family ornaments go. We put Logan's gifts under this tree. As you can see, the cat was already eyeing the tree for future damage...

This is the tree in our master bedroom. It is everyone's favorite so far. I love the color of the tree itself. Can you believe Artie found this tree at Hammer's? All of the sand dollars were found at Clearwater Beach. We found them, dug for them, bleached them and brought them home. Now it's like a reminder of the beach when we look at the tree.

Of course, this is Logan's tree. He loves red and he loves guitars and cartoons, so there you go.

This is the tree in the guest bedroom. If you saw my tree photos on FB, you may notice this is a different tree AND different decorations. Artie didn't like the original "bird tree," so he took it down, returned the decorations, and we bought these peacocks. I think it's beautiful, but I still don't think he's satisfied with it.

This is our upstairs hallway tree. It was previously in the guest bedroom, but it is so tiny, we moved it into the hallway. I have made all of the ornaments with my scrapbooking supplies. It needs a few more things to fill it up, but it's a decent start. I love the country angels under the tree!

We have two more trees, a PALM tree in our master bathroom and a tree on the screened porch. I'll try to get those photos on here later this week along with our outdoor decorations.

It definitely feels like Christmas at our house!

Christmas Trees Update

Well, we had a great weekend of decorating, a tiny bit of Christmas shopping, and church activities.
Here is a peek into our decorating so far ...

This is our dining room tree. It has a brown & gold theme and has probably the most fragile ornaments. And of course, it's the cats' favorite tree so far. They have knocked off several ornaments and undone the fabric at the base of the tree numerous times in the 2 days it's been up.

This one is our little kitchen topiary tree. We used to have fruit decor in our kitchen (now roosters), but we still love these sugared fruits with the topiary. It looks cute sitting on our bistro table.

And this is MY tree! It used to be in my scrap room, but since there is no room in there... so we are putting it up in the 4th bedroom where there is plenty of room. I LOVE THIS TREE!

I love this shoe ornament from Hallmark. As you can see, my tree is all about shoes, purses, and cute girly things.

Check out the UGG boots ornament! How cute is that!?!?

This Victorian "shadow box" ornament is new this year. I found it at Hobby Lobby over the weekend. (By the way, Hobby Lobby has their Christmas items on sale for 50% off for another week - and they have a HUGE, GINORMOUS selection of ornaments!!)

Only 5 more trees to go ...

Christmas Preparation Fantasy

So I have all these Christmas ideas spinning around in my head - not gift or shopping ideas, but baking, decorating, card-making ideas. Things that put you in the Christmas spirit. Artie & I used to make bunches of Christmas candy and cookies and put them in tins for gifts. We haven't done that in years, probably since Logan was born! I've already blogged about my card-making dilemma and how I can't decide whether to buy my cards or make them this year. I have earmarked at least 100 pages in my scrapbooking magazines for Christmas card ideas.
We are also planning to put up ALL of our Christmas trees this year for the first time in five years. We have six trees and may actually add another one this year. So I'm thinking of where to place them (it's our first time putting up more than one tree in our new house).

The problem with all of these nifty ideas is WHEN to make TIME to actually accomplish all of these things. It takes the fun out of it if you have to do it after work when you're exhausted. I know I would enjoy doing all of these things. I just need to slow down and take time to enjoy the season.
Sending out Christmas cards is very important to me. It's time to take a moment to remind your friends and family that you are thinking of them, and although you might not talk daily or even for months, that they are still on your mind. I also LOVE to receive cards ... HINT HINT. I always try (not always succeed) to have my cards ready to mail on December 1st. Maybe I can enlist Artie & Logan to help me make the cards. If I precut everything, we can have a gluing and stamping assembly line, right? I don't think they would go for that.
The baking is always fun, but since mine & Artie's surgeries, we can't eat a lot of sugar. It's kind of sad to bake Christmas goodies and not be able to eat them. Plus we don't need to have all that candy & sugar around with Logan on his weight loss program.

So I'll keep you posted on my progress. Hopefully it will be a season of Christmas cheer and fun, not stress!

Making Christmas Cards

Last year I hand-made all of the Christmas cards that I sent out. I started in July and worked on them periodically. I still had to do a few at the last minute. It was a whole lot of work, time, and expense, plus it took extra postage to mail them because they were hand-stamp only.
I wonder if anyone even noticed the handiwork that went into them? Did they throw them away as soon as they opened them? Did they notice the "handmade for you by Kim" stamp on the back?
I enjoyed making them, for the most part, and I had a little bit of help from Logan (only when he was really REALLY bored) and I played Christmas music while working on them - even in July. I just don't know if it's worth all the time and effort. Maybe I should just buy cards this year and stick a stamp on them like everyone else. Artie thinks sending Christmas cards is a waste of time and money. We sure don't receive as many as we used to, or as many as we send out. But I enjoy the process. I like hearing from people, and I like receiving actual mail for a change.
What do you think? Are Christmas cards a dying trend? Do you enjoy sending or receiving them?

The Sears Christmas Catalog

Does anyone else remember receiving the thick Sears Christmas catalog ("Wish Book") in the mail every year? This was a highlight of my adolescent & teen years. Kristi and I would pore over the catalog and circle the many MANY items we wanted for Christmas - knowing full well that our parents could not afford even a fourth of what we circled. There were Barbie cars and houses, Breyer horses, Brownie cameras, so many things to choose from. We would pass the catalog back and forth and make notes until the edges were turned and the pages worn.

I wonder what made us so materialistic so young? We grew up fairly poor, and I remember the struggles my parents had just getting by. Kristi & I set up a lemonade stand once because we overheard them talking about the power bill and how they didn't have enough to pay it. We wanted to help by selling lemonade.
Now that I'm a mom, I think of how I would feel if my kid(s) were circling hundreds of items in a catalog and I could not provide any of those things for them. I don't remember ever being upset with Mom & Dad on Christmas morning when the packages were small and very few. Looking back, I wonder how they felt about it.
Artie & I definitely spoil Logan when it comes to material things. I remember so clearly being made fun of for three things when I was in school: 1) having red hair; 2) singing in a gospel group; and 3) being poor. I want to protect Logan from being made fun of for any reason, so I do what I can to make sure he has the best of everything. My therapist says I'm not doing him any good by being this way.
I have learned so many things over the years since those Sears catalog days. Material possessions are really the least important thing in life. God, family, health, friends ... so many other things are much more important. But I still remember fondly that big heavy catalog coming in the mail and the excitement it brought with it, even if for just a few dreamy moments.