Decorated for Christmas

I'm sure I'll keep tweaking it right through December, but I think we managed to get the house looking just like we wanted to again this year. Brad out did himself on the outside lights - this year's addition was lights around the garage doors. After last year's 'last possible second decorating' issues all I asked of Brad was that he not be hanging lights on the day of the party. So he got all the lights up with a week to spare and they looked great... until half the side window went out.... and a little space on the icicle lights on the garage went out... oops. Well my darling husband was up on the ladder replacing those lights the night before the party.... muttering something about... as long as it's up by midnight.... I don't think that was his favorite part.


Inside we added little fiber optic trees in the boys' rooms which they absolutely love. This brings the ridiculous tree total up to 6 - well 7 if you count the tree we put lights on outside... hmmm. Maybe it's time to admit I've gone a wee bit overboard. I'll have to think about it. Each year, my goal is to be able to use no actual lamps - rely only on Christmas lights, the fireplace, and candles and I think we're almost there. I added these cool really big stars that I hung in the dining room over what was to become the bar for the party and they are designed to have a hanging light bulb in each of them. I think maybe next year I'll try to make that happen, we'll see.

We got our tree this year and we went for one a bit larger than usual. It's not quite double my height, but I swear it didn't seem that big when we bought it.

This is what the tree Brad was putting together in an earlier post finally looked like. The presents reflect the light from the tree and can be seen very nicely from outside.

The front door, right below the high tree. I love how this looks.

This is a needle point my grandmother did after my sister was born and we were the only 2 grandkids. More than 15 years later my cousin Keith was born, so she squeezed his name in there too. Then 3 years after that my cousins Matthew and Michelle were born and she was so mad at herself that she hadn't been able to foresee the future and know just how many grandkids there would be. By the time Kevin and Sarah showed up 10 years later she was past the anger - mostly.

I have never gotten this to where I want it to be. I love the manger and the big angel that watches over it and I even love the people and animals, but I've never finished them. I bought them to paint and glaze a million years ago and for several years I did a bit each year, but I haven't touched them in years other than to bring them down and put them out. They need to be glazed so they will look better in the setting. It's on the list.... I'll get to it one of these days.

One of the many trees. This one sits at the end of the hall in a window that is one of the things seen first when you round the corner to get to our house.

This is one of the little fiber optic trees in the boys' rooms. They totally love them. Please disregard the little road and field painting on the walls of my 10 year old's room.... Okay so I painted that when we moved in and he was 4. The little trucks and tractors were perfect for a preschooler - maybe not so much for an almost middle schooler. I promise, here and now, that I will redo his room in the spring.

These are the cool stars that I mentioned before. Aren't they just the coolest!!!

This is another of the trees. This one is in the front of the house sitting in front of the bay window where it can be seen from the side of the house seen first when rounding the corner, just like the little tree at the end of the hall earlier. I probably should have included a picture of the decorated real tree (the big one) but, well, it's not really decorated yet. There are lights and a few ornaments, but, well, it's on the list.

Merry Christmas,
Camela