O Christmas Tree

Only two more days 'til Christmas--are you ready? I'm feeling quite relaxed--finally. All the presents are wrapped, the baking done, and the cards sent. The tree is up and decorated and by tomorrow evening I'll have all three of my sons home and asleep in their childhood beds. As silly as that may sound, nothing gives me greater pleasure than having my family of five here under one roof for the holidays. Our Christmases are very relaxing--we just stay put and "nest." We light a cozy fire in the fireplace, play board games, watch favorite movies, eat way too many sugary sweets, and simply enjoy each other's company. This year, the guys are competing in a $10.00 challenge; they're each limited to buying a present for each other that costs $10 or less. I can't wait to see what they've come up with! I suggested that one year we should all do a "handmade gift" challenge. Do you think I might win that one? 

My tree of stitched ornaments is the largest of three in my home and, if Pinterest is any indication, it seems to be quite well-known around the world. I'll have to admit, the first time I saw photos of my tree on Pinterest and other websites, I was a bit taken aback, but I've gotten used to it and I'm so glad that many of you have been inspired to stitch ornaments for your very own cross stitch filled tree. To give you further encouragement that some day, you, too, can have a tree filled with your very own stitched ornaments, 90% of these were stitched with the past six years. I think there are close to 100 ornaments that I've stitched on the tree and probably another 25 or so from my stitching friends.

2014 Christmas Tree

I've moved the dozen ornaments that I stitched this year from my stair garland to my tree and I just love seeing them all together with their "older relatives."  Here are a few close-ups for you (you should be able to click on them for a closer look):

My oldest son took this night shot for me when he was over for dinner on Sunday. I can't wait to sit by the tree on Christmas morning (or, most likely, early afternoon, as my adult sons tend to be late sleepers!), opening our presents as I gaze at the tree.  I have to admit, I feel so proud when I look at the dozens of carefully stitched and finished little beauties.

A most special ornament... My other two trees are a medium sized 5-foot tall snowman tree in the kitchen (which you can see in this post) and a small 3-foot tree in my family room that sits above our TV cabinet. Since we don't plan on purchasing another tree (my husband insists that we should be getting rid of "stuff," not adding to the things stored in our two attics and basement!) and this big tree is almost filled up, I limit the new ornaments that I put on my tree to ones that are stitched. I haven't bought a new ornament for myself in years, but this year I made an exception... One of my husband's coworkers passed along this poem that she thought might ease the pain after the loss of my father--especially at Christmas time. It was written back in 1989 by John Wm. Mooney, Jr. and, although it made me cry (a lot!), it gave me hope that my dad is carrying on and would want his family to, as well...

Merry Christmas From Heaven poem

If you've lost a loved one, I'm sure you have a few tears in your eyes after reading this, too, don't you? Well, last week, I was shopping in a local Hallmark card shop and, lo and behold, I came upon the exact same poem along with a special ornament that came with it in a little gift box! I stood there in the aisle of the store, just doing my best to stop the tears welling up in my eyes and immediately decided to purchase it for my tree. I put a copy of the photo of my dad holding me as a baby in it for now, but may try to find a clearer photo at some point. It is now hanging on my tree in a place of honor right up front.

Miss  you, Dad...

I've received so many lovely gifts from stitching friends all over the world, but I haven't had time to photograph them yet, so I'll share them with you in my next post. As always I want to thank you for your great comments--they really make me proud to be a part of such a supportive group of stitchers! I am behind on answering some of the comments you left and questions you asked on my "Parade of Ornaments" post, and some can't be answered because you haven't included your email address and you are a no-reply blogger. Please, if you have a question that I haven't replied to, ask it again, but make sure to include your email so I can reply... 

Enjoy the rest of this very special holiday season, my friends! Bye for now...

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From my home, to yours... 

 

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

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