More decorations

The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas explodes all over my house, inside and out. Every year I say that I am not getting everything out, then we start sorting through the boxes and everytime I say "not this year" the kids say, "but mawum" and so the boxes go back in the attic empty and the house is full.

This year I was in St. George the day after Thanksgiving, so I didn't get any decorating done. The boys did put up lights while I was gone.
We have one of those light boxes that sychronizes your lights to music. It looks really cool. For a while. Then it starts to get on your nerves. Luckily there is a switch on the box that allows you to turn the lights to steady with no music because sometimes it feels like a strobe light out there. I didn't take pictures this year, but the boys did use the box with the lights.

Then I had homework and the next weekend I had surgery. The boys helped me put the trees up the night before surgery and the day after surgery I drug myself to the front room and propped my foot up. The boys brought me in boxes and I looke in them then sent them back out to the attic. I had no energy. I did get out a few things. Brandi took the box of front entry snowmen and put them on all the shelves where they go, but the porch tree didn't get put up, the kitchen sugar plum lane- nixed. The village- construction halted till next year. Trains-stuck in the depot. Angels, not singing in any choirs this year Nativities- only 5 or 6 and definately not the life sized on that goes on the lawn.

But I did get a few things out.

We all had a Santa to hang on the tree growing up
This one was mine. I didn't hang him on the tree because Mom brought him to me in March and he has been sitting on my shelf since then. I am not sure if I am going to leave him there or put him away this year.

Brandi and I made these gingerbread men.

I took mine to work to sit on the desk and hold pens.

I put this on the table behind the couch

My wreath above the fireplace.

I only put two nativities up there this year.

Usually the wreath goes somewhere else because there are 12-13 more nativities that go here and a star that hangs above them.

This nativity was a surprise to me. I forgot I bought it on clearance in January.

I love how Mary nestles under Joseph's arm as he protects them from the bad things in the world.

I made this one my first married Christmas.

I think it is my most beloved nativity-but not for that reason.

I had painted all the figures and glazed all but one of them in preparation to be fired.

I had forgotten to paint one of the shepherd boy's feet.

So I picked up the paint and took care of that. Then I glazed him and took them in to be fired.

When I go them home and inspected them, I realized that I had used the wrong paint on the shepherd boy's feet.

I named him Matthew and he is my favorite. Every year I look for him.

And he became more special to me 6 years later when I named my 4th child Matthew.

Some day this set will go to him.

This is another of my favorites.

An adobe inn, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

I always stick some of the lights in the windows to light the inn.

There are a couple more nativities. One is set on a table with a wreath and a big gold bow. The cats keep bumping the table and knocking the peices off and breaking them. I have banished the cats, but they keep sneaking back in.

I also have a small hard rubber set I bought for Donovan when he was a baby. I made sure to get it out for Hunter and Jordan to have something to play with so I don't have to say "don't touch" for all of my ornaments.

I did get out 5 of the angels and set them around. But then I was tired and went back to bed. And you know what? While I have missed having some of the decorations to see and remember, I have also enjoyed this scaled down version. And I won't have so much to clean up and put away when we get home.

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Indeed.

Pictures

I made it to work today. I really wanted to stay home, but gotta pay those bills.
So here are some pictures of my decorations this year. I painted and got rid of and added furniture this year and so things are in different places than they usually are. I am not sure whether I like it or not. We'll see.

These three little guys sit in my front entry, next to the coat closet and "build" a snowman each year..
I try to do each room in a theme and the front entry is my snowman room, since that is where it all gets tracked anyway!

Shelf by my front door that usually holds all my kitty knick-knacks but holds more snowmen during Christmas.

My tree in the living room. I just have white lights, burgandy bows and white beads on it with the angel on top. There are a white and a black peacock about half way down. I am thinking that I am going to change the decorations on this one next year. I am ready for something new.

Kids' tree downstairs. Originally I was going to get 8 of these little guys and put them with a sleigh that I have, but that was not really practical. So I have two of them that sit by the tree. One seems to have wandered off today......

I wonder if he is maybe Santa's spy.

I saw this arrangement at Ikea and loved it. I got the feather trees at Target last year in Jan for $2 each- normally $30 gotta love deal like that!

Kids' plastic play with nativity Brought to me as a gift from Isreal

nativities and angels one of my favorite

Donovan gave me this one when he was in elementary

Some one gave us this nativity one year. One piece each night starting Dec. 13 until we got the baby on the 24th. That has now become one of my kids' favorite things to do, give a nativity for the 12 days of Christmas.

Another kid's nativity

This one usually sits on a small table with a burgandy table cloth, a grapevine wreath and a big gold bow. This is one of the one's that I am not sure I want to leave this way. I'll probably put it back next year.

I madethis nativity the first year I was married. I was limitied on the colors I had. My sisters in law each made one that year as well, and they were disgusted that I used color at all. They felt that it had to be all white to be reverent at all. But I love it just the way it is. I have to tell you about the kneeling shepherds. Just before I went to have them fired, I noticed that I had forgotten to paint the feet on one of them. So I pulled out the paints and fixed that problem. I named that little shepherd Matthew. Of course it was six years before I got

my real life Matthew, and he has claimed this nativity as his when possesions are divided up!

And then I have angles of every shape and size and color all over the front room as well.

And those are some of my favorite Christmas decorations inside my house. Of course, I only got part of them out this year. So if I were to do this same post next year, you would see different along with these.