In a BARE tree...

Bare, empty, bleak, stark are all perfect words for describing what our tree looks like today but in time that will change. As a child, each and every year, our mom would take us to a number of stores on the hunt for that one perfect ornament to place in that perfect spot on the tree. The first year, it was my Baby's First Christmas. Another year it was a Snoopy Snow Globe. Sometimes it was an ornament from a family trip in which we took, Disney World, skiing or even the beach. And my favorite, the little basketball mouse on a clip board. Having a special ornament each and every year made decorating the tree over Thanksgiving weekend that much more special. We got to hang each and everyone of them, leaving the perfect spot for the newest addition.

Then it happened. Mom handed me my box of ornaments. Ornaments that I was to put on "our" tree but I just can't seem to find it within me to hang them up. They belong on my childhood tree, at the home I grew up in, next to all the family yearly ornaments and my brother and sister's ornaments.

Since I have loved this tradition for so many years, I decided it would be one in which we started with Kaden. Last year, it was the very popular, Baby's First Christmas and this year, a duck. Not only did we pick out a duck for Kaden, we got our family ornament too. So two new ornaments will be added this year making the grand total of 9 ornaments on our tree. The tree might be bare right now but in no time at all, it will be full of ornaments, full of family memories. I wonder what ornaments Monkey will pick out over the years and the stories that will come from them.

This year, our ornaments came from Pier One and I just love Kaden's!