Christmas Decorations!

I am so excited that we actually decorated for Christmas this year!! We didn't go all out (gotta build up to that, haha), but its definitely Christmas in my house!

I think the last time I decorated for Christmas was probably 2006, maybe 2007. I had an artificial tree for a few years, but Gizmo kinda broke it. (Its actually hilarious. He climbed into it and his weight caused the branches to bend, permanently! HA!). I was living alone at the time, so buying a new tree and all that just didn't make it to the top of my priority list.

This time last year was the beginning of all the craziness with the girls moving out. We were still living at the Potter St. house and it was for sale, so we were constantly cleaning and having people walk through it pretty much every day. So, once again we decided not to decorate.

Now, I have an awesome roommate and an incredible new house, so we decided to decorate!!

I got a new artificial tree (thanks Craigslist!), and had a blast decorating it yesterday! Gizmo wasn't exactly helpful...

Somehow I lost all my old Christmas decorations (I tend to throw away/give away things pretty often if I don't use them), so we started from scratch. Thankfully, there are some great deals out there right now! We went with just some generic ornaments for the most part, but we did get a few "sentimental" ones (hopefully I will add to those over the years... assuming I don't give these away, haha).

An "A" (Ashley), "T" (Trish), "L" (Lindsay), and "G" (Gizmo). We are a family, haha!

Gotta represent the Eagles!!!

And the Phillies!

We really love to eat cupcakes (seriously!). Plus, I called Lindsay "Cupcake" in my blog before she turned 18. :)

Cause I love America, haha:

And of course, an ornament for Giz:

We still need a few more that represent us; namely a VT ornament, a Wisconsin one (that's where Ashley went to college) and I want one with a house on it to represent moving into a new home this year. I think I have caught the Christmas bug. :) Gizmo seems pretty happy with the decorations as well. :)

(I apologize for his laser eyes, haha. The flash doesn't mix well with his eyes)

We didn't do a whole lot other than the tree. We did get a wreath, but didn't want to risk putting it on the front door (until we can get a screen door at least), so we put it on a door in the house. :)

And we put up some stockings (One for me, Ashley and Lindsay. Lindsay doesn't live with us full time, but we still consider her a member of our house!) I am still looking for one with a cat on it for Gizmo!).

The final touches were a few things for the "outside".



We drank apple cider and watched the movie "The Holiday" (my favorite Christmas chick flick!) while we decorated. I finally feel like I am in the holiday spirit!!

Decorating the tree definitely had me thinking back through this past year. It has been a roller coaster to say the least, and I can't say that its all been great. Still, the blessings I have been given; especially the incredible blessing of being able to live in Philly and serve the Lord here, make me SO thankful. Merry Christmas!