Howdy from Texas at Christmas

Hats off to BooMama for doing a little Christmas Tour of Homes, or else I'm not sure we'd even have our trees up. I'm sure it is a sin, but decorating for Christmas is not one of my favorite things to do. During the first 5 years of our marriage...before kids...I think we only decorated twice. And we must have hosted parties those years or something, or else I wouldn't have gone to all the trouble.

It is so much work to put up and take down, but since we have little ones I would never think of skipping it...party or no party. I usually like to get it up early so we really have time to enjoy our labor, but this year a little excursion to Disney World has really thrown me off. I am blaming our tardiness on that and the fact that this year we put up 3 trees.

3 trees for someone who doesn't like decorating. Thank God my husband does. The number of trees is partly my in-laws' fault too. They are the kind that always like to change things up...constantly rearranging furniture and the like...I love that about them. They'll get a skinny tall tree one year and a short chubby tree the next...decide they don't like it...and voila...we inherit a new tree. That is how we got two of ours.

The third one we got on a whim this year...we decorated so late that when we got back from Disney, Calloways had any type-any size tree on sale for $50. We ended up with an 8 foot Noble Fir with its tips flocked for $50. Full price was $180. Yee haw!

Here is the fat chubby inherited one that we put in the girls' playroom. It has multicolored lights and random ornaments from our childhood and ones they've received too.

Each year I buy them a special ornament specific to something they've done that year and also a photo ornament. I love to see how much they've changed from year to year. Jade was just 6 months old last year. Lily loves her ballerina ornament she got right after her first dance recital last December. Jade hasn't done much yet...she basically claims a few "I was born" ornaments.



In our formal living room we have the hand-me-down tall skinny tree. We've done this one in all silver and glass with white lights for years.


I love how the frosted glass balls glow.


After one little incident, this little stinker will probably remember it as the "NO!" tree.



We decided to do a Texas theme on the live tree. We later realized that the flocked tips didn't really fit into our theme...I was wearing flip flops and short sleeves when I photographed it today...but nonetheless we love it. We did red, white and blue lights and topped it with a red cowboy hat and lasso rope.

The garland is also rope and there are plenty of little bandannas, stars, and pine cones...straight from the Piney Woods of E. Texas.



Here are pics of two of my favorite nativities. One of Jerry's uncles adds to them for us annually. Lily loves to play with them and act out the story of our Lord's birth. Did we do an okay job with the super glue? Hint. Hint. Uncle Howard, Lily needs a Fisher Price Nativity Set.


Hope y'all have a wonderful Christmas!