~Christmas Present and Christmas Past~

Hi, everyone.

I hope you're all enjoying

the beautiful Christmas season.

Everything here is finished for Christmas,

so I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Katie always has to make sure

these two are on the tree together.

I think they're so cute. :)

This ornament belonged to my Grandma.

Mom gave it to me after my Grandma passed away.

It's just plastic, but it's very special to me.

I was one of the youngest of many grandchildren,

so I only have a few things that were hers.

I do have wonderful memories of her, though. :)

This snowman is almost as old as me.

Mom made some of these in 1975.

They've yellowed a little through the years,

but I still like to use them.

I found a similar pattern online,

so I'd like to make some more

one of these days.

This is our Christmas tree.

My husband and I bought the tree

and the angel topper for Christmas in 1992.

We've been using them ever since.

They've held up well for us

through all the years and many moves.

Can you see the snowflakes

Katie made and strung

along the wall behind the tree?

Lee and I made a few,

but Katie did most of them.

I think she did a great job. :)

A cardinal came flying around the other day

while it was snowing.

After several tries,

I was finally able to snap his picture. :)

Of course, we've been doing some baking too! :)

These are some of the Christmas cards

we've received so far this year.

We always look forward to hearing from our friends.

We haven't seen some of them in years,

but they're still very dear to us,

and we have fond memories.

~♥~

When I was growing up,

one of my Christmas memories

was of my dad looking through the

Christmas cards to find a picture

to paint on the picture window

in our living room.

Some of the pictures I remember

are of a little drummer boy,

a manger scene,

a snowman,

and deer in the snow-covered woods.

He did that for many years

until they added on to the house.

The new room doesn't have a picture window.

When the new room was being built,

I remember thinking how sad

it would be to not see Dad painting

any more pictures on that big window.

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

I hope you're having a great weekend

and staying warm!

Melanie