Christmas Time Is Here

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Christmas time is here at our apartment. This Christmas it's complete with a real tree (that smells good!), stockings, and lights on our balcony. There's only so much you can do in a one bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building, but we have made the best of it. Our tree is nice and full (thanks to Target) and our hearts are warm and happy (thanks to Jesus). Bethany is especially excited about decorating as we start the collection of Christmas decorations for our lives. It's always great to see how different everyone's decorations are. They are simply a collection of things that makes families who they are. My family had strings of little candy looking objects and wooden ornaments that made up gingerbread houses and the north pole. As a true southern Californian, we had a fake tree. Bethany grew up with a REAL tree (as a real Washingtonian), bubble lights, and ornaments from many people in her family. Now we get to start our tree. We get to start our own collection of family decorations. I even found myself saying, "well, this tree skirt has to last at least 20 years." That's fun. It's fun to begin this life of ours as a couple and to enjoy the holidays together.

On another note, apparently the super mom's are already hitting the stores though. Last night we spent some time at a craft store and it was intense to say the least. I (Shay) was 1 of 3 men in the store and the other 50 were women. And for some dumb reason they didn't carry the little hooks that hold the ornaments up. How are you supposed to hang the things if you don't have hooks?!! At any rate, we had to go to another store to find the 89 cent package of 150 hooks. yikes! Nevermind my frustration with stores, we really had a good time getting our decorations.

Here's some pics for your enjoyment.
Call it a Tree "How To"

Select a tree

Load a tree

Open a tree
(we had it netted for transportation)


Light a tree

Help a tree


Light a tree (part 2)

Decorate a tree

Top a tree
(and you're done!)