precious

I am looking at our beautiful Christmas tree right now…at least, I think it is beautiful. It is both beautiful and precious to me.

When Loyd and I got ready to decorate our first tree, years ago, we had nothing to decorate with. We bought lights and glass ornaments from Wal-Mart (there were no Hobby Lobby’s, way back when), and we started making ornaments. I think we actually got better and better with every year. I was determined that our children would have a collection of ornaments when they got ready to decorate their trees.

After a while, we had so many ornaments, that we decided to just get something when we went on a trip. At times, there are no ornaments to be bought, so we improvise…we have name tags, key chains, a water park bracelet, and even fishing lures we found on beach walks…all of which have been fashioned into something to hang on our tree. The result has been a sort of family scrapbook, which we put up every Christmas season. Every piece tells part of our story.

After the people and cat, I would try to get the box of ornaments out if we had a fire in our house. But even if they all went up in smoke, the real beauty and worth that they hold are the memories they evoke and the relationships they represent, which have been knit together during the times of our lives.

And that’s why I think our tree is beautiful…it is full of reminders of how full and wonderful our life, as a family, has been. These reminders are precious to me.

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