Back to my blog! Really this time!

This sad little snowman was the remant of our wonderful snow day in Las Vegas. The kids made him in the backyard and he was just so sweet and sad I had to remember him. :) The night it had snowed, all of us had gone to the park in our neighborhood and had made a HUGE snowman... I think he was probably 8 or 9 feet tall... but, alas he did not make it through the night. Some hoodlum kids in the neighborhood had knocked him down. LAME! You'd think that, since we only get snow like once in FOREVER, maybe the snowman could stay a night.

Okay. Anyway. Back to my update and my blog and my resolve to keep my blog updated as much as possible. I have had a tendency to get distracted lately by Facebook and next thing I know I have wasted my Internet time and the blog is once again neglected. SO. This is the first of what will be No Less than 100 Posts This Year! WoOooOoOo!

Since we spent the majority of last weekend taking down Christmas stuff, I decided I wanted to post some of my favorite Christmas decorations I have in my home and why I love them.

I had already shared my village, but I didn't get to share what I had hung above the village - this wreath is a very special one. On the wreath hangs my Silver Ornament Collection. Every year since Rick and I got married, my parents have given us a single silver ornament to add to our wreath. They are all unique and beautiful and special, and all of them are engraved with the year on them. I love this wreath, and I love every year taking it out and hanging the ornaments.

As you had noticed from my previous blog posts about our Christmas tree, we do not have a real tree. This is mostly because we live in Las Vegas and real trees just don't fare well in our climate. Also because I love to have the tree up for as long as possible... and also because I want a HUGE tree, and those are ridiculously expensive. The downside, of course, is that beautiful pine smell that envelops the house. There is no "pine scent" candle that can suplicate the freshness of a real evergreen, but for the last few years I have received this on my doorstep - a real pine Christmas wreath! This does not get hung on the front door, though. I put it on the pantry door so I can smell it every time I walk through the house. Sometimes as I go by, I squish the needles in my hand to release more of that gorgeous scent. And my house smells wonderfully like Christmas. :)

My other most favorite Christmas decoration is this advent calendar from Restoration Hardware. I had Liane get it for me a few years ago when she was living in Virginia (since there was no Restoration Hardware over here) and it is absolutely perfect. We fill each ofthe doors with a couple candies for the kids, and they love counting down to The Big Day. This year the treat of choice was Reese's mini Peanut Butter cups. :)

And, finally, the decoration that makes our Christmas the most special and most unique - our stockings. Knitted by Grandma Jane, these stockings hold all sorts of memories. Whenever we go on a special trip or experience a significant event in our lives, we pick up a pin to add to our Christmas stockings. It's a great way to keep all those pins somewhere meaningful, and pulling these out each year always sparks conversation, memories of the fun we have had, and ideas for future experiences. I love our stockings so much. Even Rick has one, thanks to the amazingly talented Tisra who knitted one for him, too.

The decorations are all put away for another year, and the house is back to normal once again. It's nice to be back in the routine - with the kids in school and sports and work and everything. I still need to post about Christmas, though. Maybe that will be next! Coming soon... :)