November 25, 2011 by Sarah
Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with new friends; eating together, talking, getting to know each other better, playing wii and silly card and board games together.
Last night we stayed up late to get all the dishes done and the house in order so that…..
Today we could put up the Christmas tree and nativity and decorations.
And we were greeted by a blanket of white when we opened the curtains and the sun came up.
For the first time in our Little Green House, we have had a White Friday.
Now I know some of you will be busy running around having a black Friday.
I tried that a few years ago; turned out the stores didn’t have nearly the kind of “good deals” they advertised and the people were all pretty grumpy.
I prefer staying home, eating leftover turkey and singing Christmas music and recalling the memories brought to mind as we hang each ornament from the tree.
The kids get to pick out one ornament each year that is their “special” ornament. We have a wooden german tooth fairy for the year Thomas lost his first tooth, a ceramic ballet slipper Sadie painted at a dear friend’s birthday party to remember the year she started ballet. We have a sand dollar from Destin, Florida and many other unique ornaments, special for what they represent, rather than who gave them or what they are made from.
In addition to the kids’ ornaments, Travis and I buy a bell each year to remember some aspect of that year in our marriage. The bells are not all traditional; in fact, some of them are more like art than a Christmas bell, but as we hang them up, one by one, we read the note written inside the box; we remember that this bell was for the year we had 3 babies in heaven and one here in our arms, or this one is for the year we bought our first house, and this one is to remember that Travis is out of the Navy and we won’t ever have to be apart again.
What traditions do you have for preparing for Christmas?
