Sunday, November 26, 2006

Ready to Decorate

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am right now. Standing in our office is a real Christmas Tree. The year after Phillip and I got married (1995), we had a good friend that was extremely allergic to pine. So, we got an artificial tree which was a huge adjustment for me. I grew up in the country and was used to my Dad taking my siblings and I out into the back field and cutting one down.

So what led to this wonderful occasion? Something "killed" our fake tree last year. That little something was our cat, Fern. She was 12 weeks old at the time and practicially lived in our tree. She also chewed up every strand of lights by the time December was over!

It's hard to be too mad...look how cute she was!

Fern
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



I was quite happy to take advantage of the situation and told Phillip we would try a real one for just one year. ;0)

Here we are with our tree safely tied to our van roof. We have always had our tree in the livingroom, but this year we have it in the office-which has closing doors. No chewed wires this time.

Tree
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



Grace
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



To help us get into the Christmas sprit we have plenty of Christmas music to listen to. We have been adding a few CD's to our collection every year. My favorites are Steven Curtis Chapman, Bryan Duncan, Evie, Michael Bolton (don't disown me, Tina Leigh!) and my very favorite, Mariah Carey. The Christmas season doesn't start until I hear her sing "O Holy Night!"

Music
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



I'm waiting for my favorite bloggers to share their decorating ideas so I can steal borrow them, but in the meantime I am looking for inspiration in old issues of Martha Stewart and Victoria Magazines.

Magazines
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



Phillip has the next 3 days off so we will be busy decorating the tree, drinking lots of hot chocolate and hopefully sneaking in a trip to Michaels. :0)

Until then, here is a peek at what my livingroom looks right now....

Unpacking
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



Boxes
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



Thankfully, we have a few elves to help us out. ;0)

Emily
Originally uploaded by pwinn.



Have a great Monday!

21 comments:

Carole Burant said...

I really miss having a real tree and one day will get myself one:-) Looks like you will be busy decorating if all these boxes are anything to go by...but oh what fun!! I finished decorating my tree today so now everything is done...now it's shoppingggggggg time! lol

Susan P. said...

Oh Kelli, the picture of Fern in the tree was just adorable. I am going through the same thing now that you did last year. We got the tree all decorated Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday morning I came down to find the tree skirt halfway across the room, ornaments all over the floor, my plush white Christmas bears that use to sleep peacefully under the tree looked like they had been on the losing end of a cat fight, and the last thing I saw before I started crying was Bailey sound asleep in the middle of the tree!

dot said...

Emily looks so cute in the little elf hat! Hope ya'll have fun decorating!

Amy said...

You're lucky you live so far away or some of those Victoria magazines might go missing :) I was an avid Victoria reader even through my teen years. In a fit of organising I gave away all my old copies on year. What was I thinking??

Do you have Evie on CD? My mother made a tape of an old Evie Christmas record we always listened to at Christmas. I would love to have that music on CD!

homespun living said...

There's nothing like a real tree ~ we are having one this year after many years of an artificial. Have fun decorating!

Anonymous said...

Amy, it's really hard to make out from the small photo, but the far left CD on the bottom row is Evie's Christmas Memories.

Lena said...

I always have a real tree and it's one of my favorite things at Christmas. We have very tall ceilings and usually take advantage of that and get a tall tree. I can't wait to see yours decorated!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Christmas! :)

BTW...my blog is now hosted at blogger...please stop by and say hello!

Heather Anne said...

Hi Kelli! You are hard at work preparing for the season! I have packed up fall but don't have any energy to get up in the attic to put it away and get down the Christmas bins! Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll be rested and able to get at it! In the meantime I am getting an Advent activity on the Names of God ready for the children to help get our hearts focused on the heart of Christmas.

Anonymous said...

I see our old Christmas Velveteen Rabbits in that pile, Hurray! Mom and I were just wondering about those when we saw one in the Salvation Store window. I'm glad they still have a home :)

Sharon said...

It is so much fun to decorate for the holidays, I put my tree up today. I also had christmas carols playing while I did the decorating. This evening I will have my cup of hot choclate and look at the tree that looks so lovely. Sharon Kay

smilnsigh said...

Oh Kelli, now I _must_ take a picture of my collection of old 'Victoria's.' :-)

Susie said...

Can't wait to see all your decorations!
I could really use a few elf helpers right about now. I have boxes everywhere! Can't wait till it's done!
:)

Shelby said...

the pictures are fantastic .. looks like you are all set to go and in the Christmas mood.. you've inspired me!

Kelli said...

Hi Pea, we have been having fun decorating all day! I still have shopping to do too. Want to do mine for me? ;0)

Susan, I gasped when I read what happened to your tree. How awful! I had to re-decorate my tree so many times last year. There's a spray you can get at the pet store that some cats hate the smell of. We sprayed it all around the tree and it seemed to help for awhile. I hope Bailey gets bored of playing with your things soon.

Aren't the Christmas Victoria's wonderful, Clarice?!

Thanks, Dot! We hare having lots of fun!

Amy, Ack! I have done similiar things while organizing. I'm glad to hear there is another Evie fan out there. :0)

Enjoy your real tree, Deb!

Mrs. Staggs, we did the same thing! Our office has very tall ceilings so we found an 8 foot tree!

Hi Jessica, I will be sure to stop by for a visit soon. :)

Heather, we also celebrate Advent and would love to hear more about your activity!

Hi Melissa! The rabbits are sitting on the bottom of my entryway table. :0)

Sharon Kay, it sounds like you have a lovely evening planned.

Smilnsigh, I would love to see them!

Sue, I hope you have made some progress on all your boxes!

East of Oregon, we are definitely in the Christmas spirit now! :0)

Janice said...

Oh Fern!! She is way too cute and has to be in the middle of everything going on (including the tree). Thanks for the wonderful smile this morning. Cats are awesome pets!!
Flora

Amanda said...

Real trees are so much better anyway. :-p

I wish we could have a tree. Maybe next year!

theups said...

Fern looks TOOOOO cute!!! Our cat, Sam, just sits and stairs for hours at our tree OR we'll find him curled up underneath it like he's hiding from us or something. HAHA!! Aren't animals the cutest?

His,
Mrs. U

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the picture with all the boxes out!! That's a picture I missed taking here, I wish I would have. It's always such a HUGE mess. Things are looking quite lovely at your home, though!

Anonymous said...

I really like the Christmasy new look on your blog! And the Victoria magazines...I really miss those. You were so clever to keep them. I hope you and your family enjoy your REAL tree this year!

Kelli said...

Hi Flora! I agree, cats make the perfect pets. :0)

Amanda, they sure do smell better!

Awww, Sam sounds like a cutie, Mrs. U!

Coppers wife, it does take awhile to make sense of all the decorations but that is the fun part right?!

Thank you, Heather! I found the Victorias at a Used Book Store. I think someone had the same idea though because the last few times we've been there I haven't seen any.