A Glimpse of Christmas at Our House... for my Daughters

Good morning girls, I woke up thinking about each of you today. I miss you all  like  crazy.  Since we can not be  together at Christmas this year, I decided to photograph our home for you all to see.  I wanted you to have a glimpse once more of Christmas at Mama and Daddy's.   Girls, before anyone says anything...the walls are not this color yellow. They are a soft  'sunshine yellow'.  The camera I have now is on its last shot...literally.  I hope Santa brings me a new camera for Christmas.

Once again, I decided to 'downsize' this year, just like I have tried  to 'downsize' for the past five years in every area of our lives.  Instead of one 7 ft. tree we now have a 4 foot tree in the living room and 3,  2 foot trees scattered around the house.  It was not supposed to go this way, however 'trees' kept following me home each time I made a shopping trip to town. When it comes to 'downsizing'...I am a work in progress.

I was very proud of us when we decided to donate our two large trees to a thrift shop in town. I asked the owner to make sure these trees went to a family with little children.  She assured me they would.  I came home and put up our little four foot tree. That took three minutes! I ran out of room for our lifetime of decorations, starting with our wedding, which was the day after Christmas. I could not leave out any decoration.  I felt like if I did, I was almost deleting a memory from our past. 

About that time,  I remembered the small tree I bought for Mama the first year she was in ICF. It was fiber optic and Mama enjoyed the changing colors.  It was the only year she did.  She lost Christmas over the following years.  ICF, in Clinton,  is a beautiful place any time of the year but especially at Christmas. The last few years of Mama's life she was oblivious to Christmas.  I put Mama's tree in Jacy's bedroom. Both Jacy and Mama will approve of this idea.  I probably should have cleaned this room before I made photos. As I look at the messy room I realize  Jacy has outgrown this room.  Soon' One Direction' Posters will be replaced with visions of Paris, France. Her dresser will be painted a different color.  I am pretty sure she wants lime green  or teal walls...me not so much. However it is her room and  she is a teenager now. I imagine some day in the near future we will go through her 'toys' and her movies; packing up her childhood and taking it to Goodwill.  Some things I will keep because of the memories attached.

When I look at the photo I remember all the other people who have called this room theirs before Jacy.  I think at one time or another we have all claimed this room for a period of time. The room was Tommy and my first bedroom in our home. We had the same dresser only it was painted solid white. It had belonged to Mamamae originally. This room has been many, many  different colors of paint; a time or two it was wall papered. Once when Tami was in college, I turned it into a den for video games and teenagers.  It is a room filled with memories dating back to 1978.
                                          
                                 

I still had about two dozen ornaments left. I began to put them around the house. I bought a small tree for Logan's room.  I haven't put it up yet. I am waiting to get inspired to paint his room. It will be done in a Marine Corps theme...hopefully before Christmas.

 My sunroom was the last room to be decorated. I hated to put my 'beach themes' away for winter.  When I am in this room, ideas flow easy.  I do my best writing here.  I have quiet when I want to read or need to write. I also can have it as loud as I desire when I paint or sketch. The Eagles are never far away.

                         

Red is my favorite color.  It speaks of life and emotion, love and blood. I have splashes of red everywhere.  If I were a crayon...I would be red.  Several rooms in my home are painted different shades of yellow.  It is a warm color and looks beautiful when the sun shines through our windows. There is a small glow cast around the room always making me think of sunrise and sand.
               

                           
                            My favorite corner in my home.

                                

 The rest of the house has splashes of Christmas scattered everywhere. In the kitchen is my version of "Elf on a Shelf". Melodi was telling me about their elves and wouldn't you know it... an elf followed me home yesterday:) The coffee  cup,  the elf is dabbling in, has a special meaning. I ordered Lisa and me a pair of these coffee cups when I stayed with them this past summer. Lisa had been through so much. It was one of those days when our family was not in sync with the rest of the world...and that was fine with us. We laughed as we ordered two coffee cups stating  " Don't Talk to Me Until I Have had my Coffee--a splash of Kahlua, then 2 Xanax, A Little Quiet Time, and a Good Cry." It fit us perfectly that day.
                                              
I finally decorated the den.  It has been downsized a lot too but deer season still isn't over.  I can only do so much with a corner full of camo.     

                   

Other photos of the house. Decorations are scattered here and there. You know how we are;  we surround ourselves with photos of  "people we love and places we have been." to quote Lisa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I hope these photos provide you all with a feeling of what our home is like during the holidays this year. I still have the smell of cinnamon and vanilla in the air. Pumpkin spice has found a new home here too.  Daddy and I send everyone our love and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.