Merry Christmas!

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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ This is a very special Christmas for me and my family!  It's the first Christmas the four of us have all been together since 2006!  My daughter, Melissa, arrived yesterday and it was so wonderful to see her.  Last night, after dinner, we decorated our tree ~ and while opening the bins and getting out all of our Christmas treasures, it was kind of emotional for me.  My family's laughter and playfulness in the background was like music to my ears!  We shared memories and smiles as we placed our homemade ornaments on the tree.  George and I have so many very special Christmas decorations that the Melissa and George made for us through the years.  It is so wonderful to have all those decorations out to enjoy, especially after they'd been packed away for so long!  Some of them really made us laugh!  The adorable things that little ones create... a few of them, made out of dough... well, we are not really quite sure what they are, but they are proudly displayed on our tree!

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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ When my son placed one of his homemade ornaments on the tree, he said, "What the heck is this?"  He was four years old when he created this abstract design.  (He's now 20.)  He used all kinds of techniques to create the ornament, even a garlic press.  Once it came out of the oven and cooled, he painted it.  Every year I see something different that it might be... What do you see when you look at it?

Created by George at Age 4

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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ Melissa made a baby Jesus out of dough one year, when she was about 8 years old.  Every year she would hang it on the tree in a special spot.  One Christmas the baby Jesus got lost, we thought it fell off the tree and our dog may have eaten it... (That would have been a "yummy" treat!)  Well, Melissa made a new baby Jesus, so now we have two ~ because when we took down our tree that year, we found the little ornament!  It fell out when we were taking the tree outside!  Last night Melissa was sure to place both of them very high up on the tree, to ensure that they wouldn't fall off this year! 

          

Baby Jesus by Melissa

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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ We had a great evening decorating our tree and sharing our memories of Christmas's past.  Meanwhile our newest addition to the family was romping around, knocking into things, as she was getting to know her new home!  Melissa gave us a dog for Christmas... a beautiful and very sweet dog that was rescued.  Her dad and I have been wanting to get a dog, and when Melissa saw this dog, she knew right away that the sweet little girl would make a wonderful Christmas gift for her mom and dad!  And she was right!  Isabella is her name and we are calling her Izzie.  Yesterday she enjoyed her new surroundings, running through the snow in her new back yard... Izzie was the best gift Melissa could have ever given her daddy, the two of them playing in the snow was a special sight to see.  Our family dog, Smokey, passed away several years ago and it was time for us to have a new dog to take care of and love.  We are very thankful for Izzie!   I am very thankful to have my family all together to celebrate the holidays!

 

Izzie, after a long day of fun!

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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ♥ Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with Many Happy Moments with Family and Friends, Good Health, and Lots of Smiles and Laughter!!