Memories of Christmas' Past

Yikes, it's been a while since I did this! I tell you, Thanksgiving just really got me out of my routine and upset the the balance between work and home that I had. I can't seem to get caught up on my work, which means I have to bring it home, and then I get behind on housework (not to mention my favorite TV shows!) Ok, well that's a little bit of an exaggeration...I would never miss my fav shows! But I really feel as if these past few weeks have been a struggle. Only a few more days until Christmas break though! Then it will be 17 wonderful days of freedom!!!

Despite my busyness, I did manage to decorate for Christmas. The tree is up, the presents are wrapped (well mine are; I believe Jason still has several under his side of the bed that I can't wrap for him!) and the stockings would be hung from the fireplace with care, if only I could find a stocking holder that wasn't hideous. Imagine that...I finally get a fireplace again, and I can't decide on stocking holders! And some of my Christmas decor is still lost in the black hole that is my garage... Still, I'm pleased with my artificial tree.

Jason and I have an ongoing debate about how to decorate the tree. I like a fairly uniform tree....my ornaments and beads are gold, and the lights are white. Jason, however, likes more of a hodge-podge tree with all different ornaments and colored lights. Here's what we ended up with:

Though our tree has a gold theme, the ornaments are different, and every year we add new ones. Jason's mother gives us each a new ornament each year. Mine are usually a dragonfly or an angel, while Jason's are Army ornaments telling his rank and duty station. There are also special ornaments because of big events in our lives. Here are some from last year:

My ornament

Jason's ornament

Our El Paso ornament from the Youngs

Together at Christmas (After Iraq)

I'm sure this year we'll have new ornaments to add to our tree, and with them, the memories of another year gone by.