“Hey Mom, when are we going to get a Christmas tree?”

If we asked her once, we asked her a million times! With 7 children in our family, the tortuous Christmas tree question began early in December and was relentless until it was up and decorated.

Up until I was about 9, we always had a live tree…so we waited until about week before Christmas. I so vividly remember this Christmas tree. I thought it was gigantic. But now, looking at in comparison to my mom’s 5’3″ frame, I guess it is all relative :)! And that is some mighty fine wrapping paper under the tree, right?

 A few nights after getting this tree up, it snowed and snowed and snowed. I sat at the window and stared as the snow floated down. For some reason, all this 9 year old wanted for Christmas that year was a watch with a leather wristband. Santa came through in a big way!

This tree always cracks me up because of the angel on top. I call it the “Phyllis Diller” Christmas angel! Look at the hair on that thing – scary! For you young’uns, google Phyllis Diller and you will see the resemblance!  That’s my little brother Doug in the photo with Mom.

My own Christmas tree never lives up to what I imagine in mind. My intentions are to wrap each limb with lights and to so carefully place the ornaments that Martha Stewart would be impressed.

But instead, I get frustrated with lights and just wind them up and down the tree. I start hanging ornaments that make me laugh out loud, like the “leg” ornament given to me by Lori. I reminisce about the great trips our family has taken as I hang up our national parks ornaments. And I get a little misty eyed when I hang up the few remaining ornaments carefully handcrafted by my kids.

But my FAVORITE ornaments are the ones made by me and my man (mostly by my man) on our first Christmas. Funds were very limited so he jig-saw cut some wooden ornaments patterned off Christmas cookie cutters and then we painted them. We have a handful of them left which still adorn our tree each Christmas.

The memories etched in my mind of Christmases past are the simple ones…watching it snow, a Phyllis Diller angel, wooden ornaments. Simplicity worked for God too when He came down to dwell with us.

A simple baby, a simple manger, a simple plan of salvation. <TWEET This