Christmas Tree 2008

This is first Christmas in our new home, so figuring out where to put all the decorations was more of a chore. We finally figured out the best place to put everything without having to rearrange the entire living room, which is a plus.

It is kind of funny how a family Christmas tree changes over time. Before kids, I wanted all my ornaments arranged in a certain way so that everything was symmetrical and orderly. After kids, I have more homemade ornaments that the kids have made over the years and the tree is very bottom heavy. The only thing that I do is put the more breakable and special ornaments at the top, but the rest is their creation. It wouldn't win any kind of beauty contest, but it warms my heart and that is all that matters. Who am I trying to impress anyways?

We didn't know where to hang our stockings this year. We usually just hung them over the couch, but there is a window over the couch here, so we had to get a creative. I took my curtains down and hung them on the curtain rod. It kind of reminds me of, "you might be a redneck if...", but it works.
Jamie even ventured out and decorated the outside. We have not done that in years! We got a deal on the blow up things (thank you Black Friday), and got a few strands of lights to complete the ensemble. It didn't take him that long and the kids are thrilled.


The penguin is now named, "PeenGween". Ok, I'm not even sure how to spell that. When we asked where they were located at Walgreen's, the lady at the counter looked over at her co-worker and said, "Do we have any more of those PeenGweens?" Jamie and I just looked at each other. We had gotten up at 4am and of course, it was hilariously funny at the time. I'm sure that will always be his name thanks to the Walgreen's lady.