It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I know I was supposed to post this 8 days ago, but, well, better late than never! Right?  You're not going to kick me out of the bloggy circle - right?

I love when the house is decorated for Christamas.  It looks so cheerful!  Andrew is really excited about the decorations this year, too.  If we get home from going on an errand, the first thing he does is run to the tree and ask us to turn on the lights!  He cannot stand to be home with the lights off!

I also love the Christmas tree because it drives the kids NUTS to see all the gifts under the tree and not be able to touch them! :)

I also have a set of three alpine trees that I really like.  These also must be lit at all times!

Another favorite place of mine is the mantle.  I finally got new stockings for me and Jerry this year.  I liked the ones we had before, but they were actually very large mittens so they didn't look right with the kid's stockings.  I really like these ones though.  I wish I could say that I knit them myself, but ...

You know, looking at that mantle, when our adoption finally goes through, we're going to have to get an exclamation point for Hannah's stocking! She really will be the exclamation point in our family after waiting so long for her, too.  On top of the mantle, there are two items that are extra special to me.  I have a wooden angel that I have had since I was a child.  It has a music box in it that plays "Angels We Have Heard On High." When I was small, my parents kept it in a box labeled, "Johanna's Angel" which made me feel very special.  The other is a wooden Christmas tree that has wooden ornaments that sit on little shelves.  I like this because it is cute, but it has no sentimental value!

Finally, I made mini wreaths to go on our doors.  I attahed one of those Command 3M Hooks upside-down on the inside of the door and attach the ribbon to the hook to hang these wreaths.

I also thought I'd show you a picture I took a while ago of our Jesse Advent Tree. It isn't fancy, but the kids have enjoyed putting the pictures on it!