Then the Fun Can Begin!

I think my favorite part of this time of year, besides how excited my kids are about it, are the lights. Because I really am not down with day light savings time and how light is completely extracted from the latter part of the day, the only thing that really makes this time of year and the darkness surrounding it acceptable is the light from Christmas decorations. Twinkling lights, colorful lights, white lights, simple, gaudy, glaring, whatever, I love 'em. Christmas decorations usher in color where Fall has taken it away from summer, and the lights are the icing on the cake for me. We even decided to put up the outside lights a week before Thanksgiving this year so we could enjoy them a little longer. I might leave them up for the month of January, too, just for kicks.

Every year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas tree. We like the real kind. The frasier firs that leave your fingers covered in sticky sap and fill the house with that refreshing mountain-air aroma that tells you that Christmas is just around the corner. Every year we go as a family to a local place to pick out the perfect tree together. Horton's Produce was our dealer of choice this year, and I think that may be our guy from here on out. He does have the best boiled peanuts around, so it's no surprise that his Christmas trees rank right on up there, too. Like me, Ella loves the big, over-the-top trees, the ones that really don't fit in the house, but fit in our minds. Luckily, Matt's there to pull us somewhat out of the clouds, and we compromised on a nice, full, big tree that fits perfectly pretty good by the fire place.

The decorating of the tree is my job. I've never been one to deny the fact that I am a control freak. Most every one of my friends is pretty much appalled that I won't let anyone else put the ornaments and lights on. Sorry, but there are some really special ones that I just can't risk losing to little clumsy hands. And, I don't have time to be moving ornaments around and explaining why they're in different spots. I just cut to the chase and let everyone know that the main tree decorating is my business. The kids have another one that they can doll up if they so choose to. This year, they chose not to decorate it in favor of playing. Go figure.

So, I decorate my tree. I mean our tree. I love it. There's something so peaceful about doing this. Since Matt and I were first married, I've put a red stripe of lights around the tree. The rest of the lights are white, but around the center are red strands. It's been so long that I can't remember why I started doing it, but it's become a tradition...a signature design, if you will. Every year, I love seeing our ornaments and remembering where they came from, who gave them to us, who made them, when we got them. In some ways, they tell a small story about our lives as a family, and for that reason, they are precious to me. Almost as much as pictures. And, because my kids are also precious to me, it's just better that they not touch the ornaments, if you catch my drift.

After the tree is up and the mantle is dressed, the fun really begins. No it doesn't. That's a lie. After the pictures for the Christmas card are taken, then the fun can begin. Ohhh, Christmas card pictures. Is anything more painfully obnoxious and obliteratingly annoying than trying to get a good Christmas card picture? Some part of me feels really bad for my Ella and my Summit. I know it has got to suck big time for them to have to sit down and pose for some 200 pictures. But, dang it, it sucks for me, too. Knowing that out of those 200 pictures, only half of one will look alright. I mean, why, dear Jesus, can't they just smile together, keep their eyes open together, and sit still together? Why? After an hour of bribes, fake smiles, tears, blatant disobedience, snarls, threats, yelling, sweating, cussing(yes, it's true, I cuss), it's over. Thank goodness for digital photography.

Then the fun begins. Merry Christmas!