As I mentioned before, we went out and got a Christmas tree on Saturday afternoon. We picked out a beauty, and for some reason Mark had a really difficult time cutting it down. That reason became clear once we got it home. It was huge! It didn’t seem quite so big in the field, but it barely fit in our house! The top was almost touching the ceiling! Mark needed a ladder to put the angel and the lights on it.
We finally got around to decorating it late Sunday evening, even though Isaac and Jonny were begging to get started before Daddy put the lights on the tree.
As usual, we let Isaac and Jonny put on the unbreakable ornaments on the bottom, while Mark and I put the glass ornaments on the top. Every year we buy a new ornament for the tree – something symbolic of the year that is ending. This year we got little soccer ball ornaments and put the boys’ photos in their soccer uniforms in the middle. We always have such a good time reminiscing about past years’ ornaments, especially those from each boy’s first Christmas. We also have an amusing assortment of ornaments the boys have made over the years in preschool and daycare.
Here’s our Christmas tree with its eclectic collection of ornaments. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
December 5, 2007 at 8:08 am
you gave me a good idea for my little tree. i remember the white christmas tree your family had . yesterday i made 45 pastelles. yum yum.
December 5, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Gorgeous tree! Wow! I’ll bet it smells awesome!
December 5, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Yeah, the smell of a real tree is really nice. The needles on the floor when the tree goes though, can be an issue! LOL
December 5, 2007 at 9:07 pm
And here’s the other thing they don’t tell you. When you bring the tree home it’s bundled up all nice, but when you have to take it out it’s not. This tree barely fit through the door when it was bundled. I’ll have to knock down a wall to get it out of the house!
December 5, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Noelia, that Christmas tree was from your father, Carlos……….and it was the best tree we ever had. All we were missing was Frosty the snowman in Trinidad.
December 6, 2007 at 7:35 pm
That was the closest thing to snow we’ll ever see here
December 6, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Mark: I know just what you are talking about, since I grew up in a home where a REAL american pine tree was not only most desirable, but absolutely IMPERATIVE.
AND it had to be literally scraping the ceiling before we would be satisfied. No 6 or 7 footer – I’m talking all of 8 feet!
So naturally come January (6th Jan was the “official” tree removal day) after 4 to 5 weeks of tropical weather, we had a very dry and brittle pine to deal with: just to look at it was sufficient to launch a shower of pine needles, so imagine the “fun” we had removing that baby from the living room through to the back door and then downstairs into the backyard. But a dried pinetree makes a lovely bonfire, I kid you not.
Ahhhhh….. memories….
Sadly, real pine trees have become a thing of the past in Trinidad: good that you & Karen and the boys live where you can still get real ones. I really prefer the natural ones, even with all their challenges, don’t you?
December 7, 2007 at 3:00 am
That is awesome, that is the best tree I have seen since I was about 9 years old, I am very jealous.
Lovely idea about the yearly new ornaments and reflecting on the year ending too.
I can’t see the very top too clearly, is that the Arc Angel Gabriel?