O Christmas Tree

It's that time of year again...trees, lights, Christmas music in the air, hot chocolate by the fire, gift-wrapping, candy canes, and the list goes on.  We love the Christmas season at the Johnson house, and it's quickly becoming more and more treasured as Cole grows and experiences the joys of this wonderful holiday.

Last year, Cole was all about the Christmas lights.  We'd be driving down the road and he'd yell "There's some!" as Michael and I jumped sky high from his sudden outburst :)  This year, he loves the lights (we've already driven through TBN numerous times), but his new 'obsession' is the Christmas tree.  We walked into Belk the day after Thanksgiving and he started screaming "There they are!  They are sooo beautiful!".  The stares from onlookers quickly turned into laughter and 'he's so cute!' phrases once they realized the source of his excitement.  

Needless to say, decorating the tree has been a favorite this year.  We've decorated Gigi's Christmas tree, 4 trees at our home, and ventured downtown last night to watch the tree lighting at the Capitol - complete with Santa's reindeer, music, hot cider, and cookies.  You would think his favorite Christmas carol would be O Christmas Tree, but I guess Jingle Bells trumps  it all :)

Decorating Gigi's Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving

I love how he put all the ornaments on the bottom :)

Decorating the main tree in the living room at our home...pre-lit...hallelujah!  Our tradition is to buy an ornament for the tree on all of our vacations and travels to various places.  They include...

* St. John/St. Thomas - honeymoon

* Atlanta Bed and Breakfast - 1st Anniversary

* Maui, Hawaii - 2nd Anniversary

* Las Vegas

* Savannah, GA / Tybee Island

* Gulf Shores / Beach Club

* Biltmore Mansion

* Gatlinburg

* Grand Canyon

* Key West

* San Antonio

* New York / Philadelphia

* Historic homes in our area - Cragfont, Rock Castle

We can't wait to add many more!

This tree also boasts all of our 'firsts'...first Christmas as a married couple, first year Michael coached and won the National Championship, first year I taught, Cole's first Christmas, etc.

A new tradition we began with Cole is to buy him a new ornament every year that depicts a name of Christ.  His first name, Nathanael, means 'Gift of God', and since Jesus was the greatest gift ever given, we thought it would be fitting to go with this theme.  I'm making a book that lists the year, the ornament given, the name of Christ it represents, and a correlating Scripture verse.  This will be wrapped and given to Cole (along with all of the ornaments) when he gets married.  

Last year, we began the theme with a Nativity.  Etched on the ornament is the name King of Kings.  This year, the ornament is a beautiful cluster of glass grapes.  It will represent "I am the vine, ye are the branches".

The gingerbread man tree for the kitchen.  My mom and I made all the little gingerbread ornaments one year in Gatlinburg.  We baked the dough and then painted them once they hardened :)

Cole's tree for his room...complete with 'sporty' Santas and fun kid ornaments.  I'm going to look for a bigger tree during the after-Christmas sales...one that will hold our Thankful chain (see previous post) and many ornaments that he will be making over the coming years.

The bonus room tree - a favorite of mine.  My grandmother (Mom G) made all the ornaments on this tree.  They are cross-stitched symbols that represent names and origins centered around Jesus Christ.  The symbol is on the front with the meaning handwritten on the back.  She also made a set for my mom and for Laura.  They are beautiful and will be a treasure to pass down through the generations.

Have fun trimming the tree and making memories with your family!