Christmas Magic

 I know this cannot be surprising news, but with the puppies, the not-even-close to being finished house project, the winter storm, exam week and all the other THINGS to do .....our house is not even close to being "Christmased".  We don't have our lights up. We don't have our wreath up.  Mr. and Mrs. Claus are not outside smiling at the passing cars.  We are utterly and completely behind. Given our full schedule, our only chance at redemption was going to take a full Christmas Miracle. Well Santa must be watching over our house because this morning our Christmas wish came true and SCHOOL WAS CANCELLED! YEA!  No school! Which meant the kids were home.  Which meant we were given one extra day that we never counted on to devote to Christmas Cheer!  First thing this morning the tree was carried down from the attic. It is definitely a 2-3 person job so we were so happy that we could get that done right away.  We also managed to bring down several boxes of decorations AND Mr. and Mrs. Claus.  Once the boxes were down, Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son headed outside to shovel, move hay bales, get firewood, take care of the animals and other essential winter work.  My daughter and I started assembling the tree. Yes that is right - assembling.  I know it is SO nice to get a real tree. It smells good. It looks good. It feels like Christmas. But with a house full of puppies - an artificial tree works really well.  It lasts for years, no needles drop and puppies don't have an urge to "water" it.  It is the best solution for our house. My favorite part about our tree is that the branches are sturdy enough to hang all our ornaments.  We have lots of homemade ornaments and some are quite heavy.  There are a few ornaments from when the kids were in kindergarten and I think some of them have about 1/2 pound of dough each.  Of course those are my favorite ones so it is nice to have a tree with "branches" that will hold all that love.  My daughter and I got the entire tree and lights put together so tonight we can decorate our lovely tree. Each year when we open our boxes of ornaments it is like opening the door to happy memories.  Every ornament has a special remembrance attached to it and we treasure each and every one.  We have Ariel ornaments because our younger daughter is a mermaid along with whale and dolphin ornaments.  We have tool ornaments and old-fashioned Santa ornaments for my husband. We have doggie and outdoor type ornaments for my son and we have surfing and Navy ornaments for my older daughter. We have ornaments that are filled with love from the simple cut out construction paper tracing of our daughter's hand that has "I LOVE YOU" written on it, to poems that were thoughtfully composed with the true meaning of Christmas.  Our tree holds every Christmas dream, wish and memory all within its branches.  Every time I walk by my tree, I catch a glimpse of an ornament my children made for me, or the heart my husband drew for me or a little ornament of something my children loved when they were little.  It is more than just a Christmas Tree - it is a symbol of love and family. Tonight when we unpack our treasured ornaments, I am sure my eyes will glisten with every decoration. I can't wait until we open our box of Christmas memories.....ready to be thankful for all that we have shared and all that we will share again.