Our Christmas Tree

I have a confession. Decorating the Christmas tree has never been one of my favorite tasks. In fact, I always kind of hated it. I don't know why, exactly. I just never liked it.

Well after I married, we would always buy a real tree. We'd do the whole go to the tree farm...hunt for the perfect tree...chop it down ourselves...haul it home...then watch dad (Paul) put the tree up ranting and cussing the whole time because it wouldn't stand straight! Then I would put the lights on and decorate it.

If you've ever had a real tree, the scent is wonderful! The whole house smells like evergreens. But with a real tree, you also need to make sure to keep it watered. And the first few days in the house, that tree will go through a LOT of water! Anyways, if you've had a real tree, you would also know how much fun it is to reach inside all those branches to string the lights and place the ornaments. Maybe I just have sensitive skin ;-), but my arms would come up scratched up and itchy from the needles and the tree sap. Just another reason to add to my dislike of trimming the tree.

But this year was different. Because of a Pay-it-Forward deed, an anonymous friend gave my family and I a generous gift card to Sears. This was a turning point for me this Christmas. See, I wasn't looking forward to this season. Funds are extremely limited this year and I truly didn't know how I was going to afford *any* presents at all for the kids. The generosity of my Christmas Elf completely changed my mood. I shared the card, and the story behind it, with my kids. They were in tears just as I was that someone we had never met would do this for us. We talked about how we would use it; would we buy a family gift? A gift for each person? What should we do with it? It was Hope who suggested we buy a Christmas tree!

The kids have given up a lot this past year. The have lost their family (as they knew it), they gave up their big home, they gave up their big rooms with their own closets, they have given up a lot of *things* due to limited finances. They have given up time with me since I went back to work full-time and now spend a lot of my time at home finishing up charting. And they have given up certain traditions, including the annual Christmas tree search. And they haven't complained about any of it. They are good kids. And they are old enough to understand. But as a mother, it doesn't make it any easier to watch them give up the comfortable life they had.

So this year, the 4 of us went together to pick out our new, artificial, Christmas tree. We found a beautiful 7 1/2 foot, pre-lit tree, purchased it with our gift card, and took it home. It is beautiful! And I must say, decorating this tree was SO much easier! No needle-pricked arms, and my ornaments hang perfectly from each branch! Seeing my Christmas tree decorated and lit up every day just brought a smile to my face every time. My mood was changed. I could feel the love and joy of the season again...because someone I didn't know cared enough about us to want to want to make things better for us this year.

Every time I look at the tree I am reminded of that gift of love and generosity. It is my hope that I myself, will be able to Pay-it-Forward one day soon as well.

And because pictures are so much fun....here is a pic of my decorated tree at night with the lights off...and a few of my favorite ornaments:

This is an ornament that Sam (with the help of his grandma) made me last year.

One of my favorite Christmas icons is a realtively new one, The Weeping Santa. This ornament was given to me by mom because she new much I liked the merging of the more commercialized Santa Claus with the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ.

And this one was also given to me by mom. It is an angel holding a baby. She gave it to me the Christmas that I had miscarried, just before we conceived Sam.