Christmas Decorations

 I've been very excited about decorating for Christmas this year. Greg and I have been married for 7 1/2 years, and this is the first home that we've lived in where I can actually start collecting Christmas decor....or any decor for that matter. Whether it was South Carolina or Missouri, we knew that these places weren't going to be our permanent home, so we hesitated to really "nest." Last Christmas we were here in Utah, but we were living in a condo while we waited to find the right home. It was very frustrating for me to be patient because I had hoped to be in our home by then. It wasn't the Lord's will however, and it makes this Christmas that much more special since God has given us this wonderful house.

All of the garland is courtesy of my parents. The Christmas stockings are the .87 cheapies from WalMart. Greg likes their homey feel. And I finally have a fireplace and mantle to decorate!

 Greg surprised me with a real tree yesterday. It's a Douglas Fir and probably was the cheapest tree of our marriage...South Carolina trees aren't too bad, but Missouri's trees are outrageous! This tree smells great and looks great!

 I put the ornaments on the tree that mean a lot to us--they were either given to us by family members or former 6th grade students of mine. I do have many glass bulbs, but after considering that Paton was absolutely fascinated by them, I decided to keep them on the garland out of his reach.

 The top of my piano was a great place to decorate...as was the kitchen window looking into the sun room.

 This was our 3 foot fake tree from last Christmas. We were living in a condo then and didn't have any room for a full sized tree. I put it up in the sun room this year.

 Below are the pics of the living room and sun room lit up! I feel truly blessed by all the Lord has given us!