O Christmas Tree!

Ready for picture overload?

Brandon and I FINALLY got into the Christmas spirit (sort of) and got a tree. He and Chandler went to Lowe's last night and picked it out... perk of waiting so late? Our tree only cost $17 with tax! :)
We are still not doing our full blown decorating... no lights on the house... no Christmas dishes on the table... I just don't want to watch Riley like a hawk for the next few days while hoping and praying that she doesn't grab the table cloth and pull all of my Christmas China onto the tile floor! **I'm sure you moms can understand that!

So, we decorated the tree and SOME of the house tonight...

Yes. I am one of "those moms" that fixes the ornaments that her children put on the tree. I really didn't move too many of them... we have LOTS of heavy ornaments and they must be hung "just right" to keep them from crashing to the floor!

Chandler HAD to put the star on this year... it's the 1st year she hasn't complained that we have a star and NOT an angel.
I have no idea what kind of face she is making!

The finished product!!
I told you my presents are all wrapped and ready to go!

All lit up... anyone know how to get a picture like this that ISN'T fuzzy?

So, I've read TONS of blogs lately that have had pictures of trees and homes all decked out for the holidays...
Since I don't have much to show as far as home decor is concerned, I've decided to show you some of my favorite ornaments. :)

These first 2 are gifts from my mom and dad.
They are from Hungary and they bought them on one of their trips through Hungary headed to (or back from) Romania.

Brandon tells me every year to remind my mom to look for more while she is there... he wants an entire tree FULL of these bells!

I'm pretty sure they are one of a kind since they are hand made out of porcelain. :)

Ok, every year we try to buy an ornament that reminds us of something we did that year.
If we go on vacation, we buy an ornament while we are there... it's my favorite vacation tradition!

This one isn't from a vacation, but we bought it to remind us of our very first UGA game!
Gooooo Dawgs!

This one is from a trip I made to Kennebunkport, Maine.
I made the trip with the choir at church a few years ago... back before Riley, but I'm not exactly sure what year it was...
Kennebunkport is BEAUTIFUL! If you live in the U.S., you NEED to go... I recommend going in the summer... the weather was PERFECT!

This ornament was the very first one that Brandon and I bought after we were married... it's from our honeymoon to Aruba.

This little lighthouse is from our first vacation to Jekyll Island with Brandon's parents after we were married.
I had been with them to Jekyll before we were married, but we didn't start the ornament tradition until after our wedding.

This cute little Santa is from a trip we took to Myrtle Beach in 2002. It's the only vacation the two of us have ever been on alone.

The candy cane is from 2004. We vacationed on St. Simon's Island that summer with my parents and my sister.

Bet you can guess where this one came from!
We took a vacation to Disney World with my parents and my sister back in 2006.

This one is from another vacation with my parents. We spent 2007 up in Gatlinburg.
Fortunately, we did NOT see any bears!

**I do not have an ornament from my trip to Australia. I looked for one while I was there, but didn't find anything that I really loved. I've sent Evan on a "Australian Christmas Ornament Mission". We'll see if he succeeds.
I'll keep you posted!


These next 2 ornaments are special because they have pictures of my babies in them!
Brandon's mom got each of the girls a photo ornament to celebrate their 1st Christmases.

Chandler in 2003

Riley in 2007


I mentioned last year how much I love my nativity.

It's the one my sister and I grew up with and it's VERY old.
The bottom of each piece is stamped, "Made in West Germany".

It is chipped. It is scratched. Some of the people have had heads glued back on, but I wouldn't want a new one... even if it was a duplicate set.

A few years ago, my sister in law Lainey, bought me this Flurryville set.
It's Santa's Workshop, but all of the pieces are snowmen... I LOVE IT!
Thanks Lainey!!! It's one of my FAVORITE Christmas decorations!

So, that's all in my livingroom.

Next we have our kitchen...

My Gingerbread Welcome sign... a gift from my sister. :)

A cute little gingerbread man hanging on our French doors.
My mom found him at a yard sale... thanks mom!

Another gift from my sister... a little gingerbread family pillow hanging out in an extra kitchen chair.

Chandler and Riley's tree got moved to the kitchen so we could keep an eye on it.
I mentioned last week that Riley is just a tad rough on it!
Now it is wedged between my china cabinet and the fridge.

Riley went to bed before the decorating got under way tonight so here are a few pictures from the night we decorated the little tree... it was still in their room at the time.

"Puppy Mom!"

"ohhhh... I can take the ornaments off all by myself!"