It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

We woke up this morning to the first snow of the season.  Granted, it was just a dusting, with the usual layer of ice underneath, and all but that which was in the deepest shadows was melted by mid-day......but it was snow, none-the-less, and we were excited.

Myself, my husband, and Jane are all getting over a nasty case of bronchitis...so playing in the snow wasn't an option for us.  But we did manage to scrounge up enough energy to bundle up, and head out to find our Christmas tree...we prefer fresh cut trees over fake ones...there's nothing like the fresh smell of a spruce tree.

We braved the cold weather, and found our tree pretty quickly.  Strapping the tree to the top of our car, we headed home for the fun part....decorating the tree.

Here's the beauty still wearing a bit of snow and ice on its branches.

Growing up, my parents had a Christmas tradition of buying (or making) a new ornament for each family member every year.  You can imagine how crowded our family Christmas tree was by the time my brother and I were seniors in high school.  The neat thing is, when we graduated from high school, we got to take all of our ornaments with us, so we would have something to put on our own trees.

Over the years, I've collected a few more ornaments from friends or from my students at school.  I love how each ornament represents a different chapter in my life story.  My tree is quite full.

We aren't necessarily carrying on the same customs that my parents did, but it's fun making new ones, and to see Jane find joy in these holiday traditions.  While we celebrate Christ every day of the year, Christmas is a special time of year in which we can celebrate his birth with festivities and pomp. Enjoy the season in all of its splendor.