Mustard Seed Faith: Decorating Night

Last Friday night, my sister Tara came over to help put the ornaments on the tree. We had such a good time together. My Mom was feeling really good and was so anxious for us to start the treee. We were all hungry so we wanted to eat first. :)

It was neat to go through all of our ornaments and remember back to when they were made or how we had gotten them. Even though the tree has nothing to do with the birth of Christ and it really is just vain, I think it's important because it is a time when the family all comes together, (or at least in our family) and puts aside anything that has happened before to just go back over the happy times. When looking at the ornaments, we don't think of all those bad Christmas's we had, but we remember all the good ones. Even though my Mom's memory is sometimes not the best, she could remember every ornament. It amazed us! She knew how old we were when we made it or where the ornament was bought, or who gave it to us. We found out though that ornament cookies don't last 5 years in a box...Mandy's cookie ornament had turned to a powdery substance over the last few years. Also, note to self...If a candy cane gets unwrapped and there is moisture in the box, it WILL stick to other ornaments! :)

Consequently, lots of our ornaments got thrown out this year. We will just have to make new ones! I have lots of pictures for this post. The ballerina ornament was given to me last Christmas from my aunt. We went to the Nutcracker and she bought it for me. Isn't it pretty??

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree, with the house lights off. I tried to get a good one, but it just wouldn't work! :)

After we were done decorating the tree, I got some pictures of our family and of my Mom. She might seem like she looks sick in these pictures, but she really does look much better in these. I just didn't take any when she was so sick.

My Dad came to get Mandy and me on Saturday. When he saw my Mom he thought she looked very bad, but he hadn't seen her since September, that was before she got Radiation. We assured him though, that she was doing much better. We had a great time with my Dad. It has been over a month since we have seen my Dad and 3 months for my brother and step-mom, Angie. It was nice to spend time with them and play with Lane. I can't believe how big he has gotten. We tease, that he is a little man. He acts so much older and looks older, he will be 5 in January though. The pictures of him, aren't so good. He had been sleeping, so he didn't want me to take his picture. He is pretending to be sleeping in these. :)