Oh, Christmas Tree (2025)

*The majority of this blog was written in 2019 and has been updated with additional photos and stories.

(2025) The kids were watching some Mickey Mouse holiday special on Disney+ recently. I cannot recall the name of the song, but some of the lyrics are a perfect lead in to this blog:

“Every time I see a Christmas tree
Something lights up inside of me
My heart is filled with electricity
There’s reason to cheer
Christmas is nearly herе“

Radio stations across the country will often begin playing all Christmas music after Thanksgiving. The adult contemporary station I worked at always did. Of course, Sirius XM’s Christmas music channels also start popping up around the same time or earlier.

(2019) One song always really sticks out to me each Christmas, mainly because it really isn’t a Christmas song – Linus & Lucy (AKA the Charlie Brown theme) from the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun song that immediately makes be think of Charlie Brown and the gang, but it is a song that is used in basically every Charlie Brown special. Personally, the soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special is one of my favorites.

O Tannenbaum is the instrumental that kicks off the album. Many know the song as simply “Oh Christmas Tree”. (In case you were wondering, a tannenbaum is a fir tree). It’s one of my favorite versions of the song. I had the chance to hear it over the weekend and it got me to thinking about the Christmas Tree. I recently had the chance to go through a bunch of family pictures and I was surprised at how many of them included the Christmas tree. This blog is sort of a “pictorial” blog featuring some of those pictures.

As I looked through the pictures, it was fun to see the various decorations and the toys under the tree. Bear with me, as some of the years I am guessing on …

The above picture is of my dad in 1951. He would be 5 here. As I look at this picture, I see a little of me, my brother, and my oldest son in my dad.

The above picture is my mom. Just a guess, but this is probably from 1953 or 1954, as she looks 5-6 years old here. I think it is cute that she seems to be in pajamas and wearing dress shoes. Tinsel seemed to be really big in the 50’s! There’s quite a bit on this tree. I wonder what that “Little Painter” set is worth today….

The above picture is my dad, home on leave from Vietnam. The date is 1967. I really have no idea what that tree is made of. Eventually, my grandma had a ceramic tree that my mom made that stood about as high as the one in the photo. That would sit proudly in the same spot in the front window. This one looks … fluffy, and seems to have a strand of lights on it. Anyway, there are other pictures of my dad with both his mom and his dad next to this tree, too.

My folks told me that the local paper used to put names and addresses of servicemen who were overseas in the paper for people to send letters. Both of my parents were from the same city and my mom sent my dad letters. That is basically how they met and eventually marry. With those letters, occasional pictures were sent back and forth.

I think the above picture is one my mom sent to my dad. I am not 100% sure. I am not sure because I don’t know where this was taken. It would seem to me that this would be a picture that she would send to my dad overseas. There are some things that really jump out at me in the picture. Note the “sunbust” clock on the wall – I know my grandma had one of those. Also, note the cool Hi-Fi with the ceramic cat on it. This was a record player and radio. It probably also played 8 track tapes and stored records. I know my dad, and my grandpa each had one of them.

I know for a fact that this was taken at my grandma’s house. I know this because of the fireplace and the huge wooden fork and spoon on the wall behind the TV. In my lifetime, I don’t recall my grandparents ever putting a tree on the TV, so I am guessing this is before I came around.

One thing that really caught my eye is the “paper rack” between the fireplace and the TV. It seems like everyone in my family had one. After you finished reading the newspaper, you’d put it in the rack. Magazines would sometimes go there, too. When it got too full, they’d pull out a paper grocery bag and put everything in it to go out to the garbage.

I was born in May of 1970. I was 7 months old for my first Christmas. I am thankful that my folks took lots of pictures. A few of my favorites all come from 1970, all for different reasons.

The above picture is my and my great-grandpa. He passed away shortly after this. It is the only picture I have of him and I.

I am not 100%, but I believe this picture was taken in my mom and dad’s apartment. My dad can correct me if I am wrong. I remember that stuffed Bugs Bunny to my right very well.

I am pretty sure that this is at my grandma and grandpa’s house. What I love about this picture is a little foreshadowing. One of my favorite sports to participate in is bowling. I love that I am propped up next to a balling ball bag in this picture.

This is absolutely one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me. It was taken at my grandparents house, probably Christmas Eve. I love this picture so much, because it reminds me of another … which I will share in a few pictures.

The above is obviously from the same year. This time, I am with mom and dad. My grandma always kept her house hot, so mom took off her vest. Dad, who is ALWAYS hot, must not have felt it was too warm, because his is still on here.

One more from the same year (and you won’t have to look at that brown bowling ball bag anymore!), here is my and my grandpa. I always loved this picture of us. I was his first grandchild, and you can see just how happy he is here.

Grandpa and Grandma Davidson Christmas 1970 (2)

These are my mom’s parents – Grandma and Grandpa D. The date on the picture says 1970, but another scan from my brother says 1967. Not really sure. It could easily be 1970, though. It is one of my favorites of them. The tree is in the corner where my grandpa’s recliner used to always be.

The date on the above picture is October of 72, which means I am 1 here. This is at Grandma D’s house. That is my Aunt Jodi holding the bear. She is 5 years older than me. Note in the background, another Hi-Fi. My grandpa used to have big band records that I used to listen to with headphones.

The above picture was taken at our old house on Brandywine. I am about 4 here and my brother is probably just 2. The thing that stands out in this picture is the ornaments on the tree. See those diamond crocheted things? Yeah, my mom made them. She had many hobbies and this particular year, she was crocheting everything! I remember a maroon vest that she made for me. At any rate, those ornaments were two squares, with a piece of an egg carton in the middle, and a tail hanging down. I am sure she made these for many people. I remember seeing them on other family members Christmas trees.

A year later, same house, and same ornaments! You can see them a little better in this picture. I am probably 5 here, while my brother is 3. This would be the last Christmas at this house, as we moved the following year. A couple things (besides the ornaments) stand out in the picture. First, there is the organ I used to play, and mentioned in a past blog about my music lessons. Next, I remember those Ernie and Big Bird stuffed animals! Then there is that picture above the organ – it’s two horses. I think everyone in my family had that picture. Maybe a family member painted it? Finally, and this should get my wife’s OCD going, note that I am wearing the pants from one pair of PJs and the shirt from another in this picture! Good Lord!!!

The picture above has to be from 1977. My grandma bought us each a set of Star Wars figures that year. I think there were like 20 issued the first year. I remember my grandma having trouble finding the Jawa figures. This picture would have been Christmas morning, and we had gotten the figures the night before at grandma’s. If I remember right, we had the big Han Solo and Jawa dolls (pictured here) and Boba Fett and Princess Leia.

What I love most about this picture is that my mom is in it wearing this yellow robe. I have written about her yellow robe in previous blogs. She wore this thing SO much that it was stained and had tears and holes in it. She loved this robe. Eventually we bought her a new one for Christmas one year and she wore that. We assumed that she threw this one away, but after she passed away, we found it in the back of the closet! I have a “memory bear” made out of this robe.

The above has to be from 1978. If you can look past my brother’s golf pants and my wacky shirt, you will see a Tie Fighter and X-Wing Fighter. You can see the tree set up on the TV, but cannot really see the amazing display on my grandma’s mantel. Every year, she put up angels, Santa, reindeer, trees, snow and more. There was one piece that always stood out – a little mouse that was in a flower arrangement that I sent her when she was in the hospital. She put that up every year!

It obviously took my folks awhile to develop film! This is from Christmas of 78, and was not developed until August of 79! First, I love how skinny I am in this picture! Second, I remember having the sliding wooden doors that covered the doorwall. I have to chuckle because of the bowling trophy and chalice sitting on top of the door frame.

I also remember the bad paneling in the living room! I can see the Polaroid camera on the TV, the candy jar, and the glass candle sticks that my mom had. I wish I could make out more of the presents under the tree, but I remember really wanting this game. I also remember that star on the tree. It was made of hard plastic and the ends were very sharp! So sharp in fact, that it could probably be used as a weapon.

The above picture is of my dad’s folks, my Grandma and Grandpa P. This was in 1979 – I remember that was the year that everyone was taking Polaroids! At family gatherings, everyone took pictures and wrote their last name on the bottom, so they knew what pictures belonged to what family! A couple things I notice right away: The tree topper, I never understood just what the hell it was! It wasn’t a star, it was just this spaceship shaped thing that lit up! I remember the musical angels on the wall. They moved from room to room as I recall.

Then there is my Grandma’s beehive hair. She wore it this way for SO long! I also notice the pack of cigarettes in my grandpa’s pocket – you could bet they were either Lucky Strikes or Pall Malls. It looks like he is wearing a bracelet in this picture. I don’t remember him wearing one, but he did here. Just love this picture!!

The above is from 1980. This is my brother and me, with my cousins Arin and Melissa. This is at my Grandma and Grandpa D’s. A couple thoughts on this one – I am holding the very cool Coleco Head to Head Baseball game which I loved. I do not remember that bear I am holding! This is probably the year that my grandpa bought me my cribbage board, too! What is sad about this picture, is knowing that my grandpa would pass away in less than a year after this picture was taken.

Jumping many years ahead now for the above picture. Remember the picture of my mom and me by the tree from earlier? It reminds me of this picture. This is my mom and my oldest son, Dante’. This may not have been her last Christmas, I think Dante is 2 here. She loved him so much and I see the same joy in her smile here as I do in the picture of her holding me.

The above picture is about a year or so before my divorce. It’s my sons, Dante’ and Dimitri. I just love this picture because these two guys (no matter how much they may fight) really love each other. This was such a spontaneous picture and it remains one of my favorites of the boys!

The above picture is from Christmas Eve (2018) morning. Christmas Eve was always bigger than Christmas on my dad’s side of the family. The fact that I get the boys every Christmas Eve Morning to open up gifts is so special to me. I cannot wait until they can celebrate it with their sister (which would happen in February of 2020). They are going to be such great brothers to her.

The above picture is from 2018 (on the right) and 2017 (on the left). When we first got Moe (left) he got up in the tree! When Maizey came along in 2018, the fact that she was almost in the same exact spot as Moe the year before made me laugh. So I put together this comparison picture. It still makes me laugh!!

This picture (along with the song I mentioned earlier) was the reason for this blog. As I mentioned, so many favorite pictures involve the Christmas tree. I took this picture of Sam just the other night. It was her idea. The silhouette of her baby bump against the lights of the Christmas tree is just beautiful!! I posted it on Facebook (she did, too) and I mention how I cannot stop looking at it!

The reason is that it brings about so many feelings: Feelings of love for my beautiful wife. Feelings of joy and nostalgia – because it is Christmastime and the Christmas Tree. Feelings of excitement and anticipation – because the baby will be here soon. Feelings of happiness – because the picture brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

In the years ahead, I hope that more and more wonderful pictures will be captured near the Christmas tree … so I can reflect on them, too!

(2025)

Above are the boys in 2019. Dante’ would be graduating in June. Ella would be making her debut in about 2 months. I can see the ornament we got that year from Bronners. It is the cup of Hot chocolate with 5 marshmallows. Each marshmallow has our names on it – for the 5th one, it says “Baby P.”

Christmas in 2020 was strange because we were still technically in the middle of the pandemic. I was glad that everyone was well enough to be together on Christmas Eve. Ella’s first Christmas was extra special to me because with her being so young, it brought back a renewed love and excitement for the Christmas magic experienced by her.

Christmas of 2021 was fun because Ella was finally at a point where she was aware or presents and wanted to open them. It was Andrew’s first Christmas, and he was just a little over 2 months old. What I love about the above photo is her reaction to the presents under the tree. It has that “How did all these presents get here?” feel to it.

My wife almost always has the tree up Thanksgiving weekend. In 2022, Andrew was a little over a year old and he was curious about everything. Both kids were helping me that year. I was sure to give Andrew the honor of placing the tree topper that year.

I’m pretty sure that the kids had us up super early on Christmas morning of 2023. They both were excited that morning. The Barbie Castle and train table were huge hits. This photo reminds me of having to put them together into the wee hours of the morning. I just love their matching pajamas. I have to chuckle about the “cage” around the bottom of the tree to keep them and the cat away from the tree.

Last year, Christmas Eve. I love that Andrew and Ella are wearing Bluey pajamas. Bluey was a big show for them. Andrew was happy that they finally got to hold Twinkles, their elf, before he went back to the North Pole.

The boys were over earlier in the day. We always tried to get a picture in front of the tree every year. By last year, they’d grown so much that you can barely see the tree in the back. You can, however, see the snowman’s hat from the top of the tree – it makes Dante’ look like he is wearing it.

Surprisingly, I haven’t taken any picture of the kids by the tree this year. I’ll have to be sure to make that happen. I know we are trying to figure out when the boys will be able to get us all together.

The Christmas tree. It will forever be connected to warm feelings and memories for me. So that lyric I quoted earlier … it really expresses the truth:

“Every time I see a Christmas tree
Something lights up inside of me
My heart is filled with electricity
There’s reason to cheer
Christmas is nearly herе“

Cue The Music …

It does not take long for my wife to get into the Christmas Spirit. Longtime readers of this blog know that she listens to Christmas music all year round. Once November is here, the season is “officially” underway according to her.

I took advantage of a semi-warm day over the weekend and took down all of the Halloween decorations. I hadn’t planned on putting up Christmas stuff, but there is this big archway we have and I figured I would get that out of the way. Once it was up, that was the last I really thought of doing anything more.

Then, we woke up to the first snow of the season.

When the kids saw snow on the ground they went crazy! They HAD to go out and play in it!

They played outside for a little while in the morning and came back in for breakfast. As the morning changed to afternoon, the sun took care of what snow was left on the ground. It actually wound up being a bit mild the rest of the day, so I decided to put the rest of the outdoor lights and decorations up.

Our Christmas tree was given to my wife when she moved into the house a few years before we got together. It was old and on its last legs last year. We had talked about getting a new tree last year after the holiday and just never got around to it. We really didn’t want to spend more than about $100 on a new tree and most are a lot more than that.

My wife heard that Home Depot was having their Black Friday sales until the 26th of this month. One of the deals was a 7.5 foot tree that was pre-lit with LED lights. It was on sale for $99. I went and checked it out and decided to bring it home. What is really nice about it is that because of the LED lights, you can make it all solid white or multi-colored if you wish. It’s actually very nice.

It was a pretty good deal and I’m glad that we won’t have to look for a new tree for some time.

Perhaps this year we can put the ornaments on the tree. So far, the cats have stayed out of the middle of it. I may wait a week or so before deciding for sure ….

Friday Photo Flashback

With Christmas less than a week away, I found myself looking back at old Christmas photos. In many cases, there are photos of people that are no longer with us. For the ones I remember, I can look back on the photos and smile. For the ones that I don’t remember, I stare at the photos and wonder.

Case in point – the above photo was taken on Christmas 1970. In the photo I am just 7 months old. The man holding me is my Great Grandpa Becker. I only know him from photos. He would pass away just two months after these pictures were taken.

There may be other photos of him and I together, but these two are the only ones I remember. The lady standing next to us is my grandma, my great grandpa’s daughter. Despite not ever knowing him, I love the fact that he seems to be quite happy holding his great grandson. I wish I knew more about him.

Outside of the people in the photo, I do like looking at the background stuff. The first thing that screams out at me is the paneling. This may be in my grandparent’s basement, but I don’t know for sure. The Christmas tree is probably a real tree. It certainly looks that way. I seem to remember everyone having that type of tree topper as a kid.

In the picture with my grandma, those ducks on the wall I remember well. I may be mistaken, but they may have been hung on the wall of the trailer they had in Caseville long after this picture was taken. I also love that folks still dressed up for holidays. My great grandpa looks pretty spiffy in a suit. I know that there are other photos over the years where men wore suits and ties to Christmas dinner.

On that end table (which was common in SO many homes at that time) is an ashtray. An ashtray was a staple in homes when I was growing up. They pop up in SO many photos. I am going to guess that is an old beer bottle there, too. The thing that is funny about that photo is that I believe that may be an old phone book that the bottle is sitting on.

It is hard to tell, but it looks like a map of Michigan counties on the front. It also looks like the top pages are white (they would be residential numbers) and the bottom pages are yellow (the businesses). These were in every home. There was no Google back then. If you needed a number, you grabbed the yellow pages!

There are times that I wish that I could go back and look at past Christmases. You know, like Scrooge did in A Christmas Carol. I wouldn’t need to be seen or heard, I would just like to watch and observe those loved ones from the past. I would love to smell the dinner grandma was preparing. I would love to once again hear the voices of folks who I have forgotten what they sounded like. I’d love to hear my mother laughing again. I would love to relive the excitement that all of us kids felt when opening presents.

I wouldn’t go back to learn a lesson as Scrooge did. I would just like to experience it all – one more time.

Life’s Little Moments

I channeled my inner “Clark Griswold” this week.

I spent the weekend putting up the outdoor decorations. Believe it or not, no one was hurt in the process!

With the weather as nice as it was, I decided to get the lights up before it got too cold. I worked on the front yard first. We added two blow up penguins this year. I’m normally not one for these inflatables, but they were only $10 each! Sam loves penguins, so I couldn’t pass up the deal.

It looked cute with one on each side of the arch we got last year. You never really know what it is going to look like until it get’s dark, though. Somewhere between this picture and the next, I decided to put the extra tree on the front porch. Sam says it is too much. I’m not sure….

Sunday I decked out the side porch. Sam bought LED lights this year and they look extra bright. This is the easiest part of the house to decorate. I was going to change it up a bit, but decided to stay with what I’ve done in the past.

I guess I should have known that by doing the outdoor lights now (which is not odd), that Sam would start thinking about the inside. Monday I was home with the kids and they were kind of going crazy. Sam decided we needed a project to do, so I went downstairs and brought up the tree.

Bitsy, our kitten, isn’t even a year old yet. So we knew that the tree would be somewhere she’d want to explore. We decided that when we put the tree up, we’d leave the ornaments off of it. There are some fragile ones that we don’t want broken. Sam said we needed to compensate a bit for having no ornaments. So she bought a boat load of LED lights for the tree. Even after placing 900 lights on it, she still thinks there could be more!

We have a few other decorations in the basement, but I think we’re just gonna roll with what we have for now. I am not going to lie, sitting in the front room with all the lights off but the tree is one of those amazing moments I look forward to each year.

Christmastime is a happy time for me. I know it is early, but after all the stuff that has gone down over the last couple weeks – I like to be in a “happy place.”

Friday Photo Flashback

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. My Facebook feed is full of friends posting their 30 Days of Thanks. Everyday they post something they are thankful for. Personally, I believe we can find something to be thankful for every day of the year.

I was transferring pictures from one hard drive to another this week and found a picture of Ella. She’s probably nine months old here.

That turkey hat was something I bought to wear when we hosted Thanksgiving. I remember putting it on her and snapping this picture. She has always been the perfect photo subject. She always seemed to know how to pose.

It is so hard to believe that she was ever this small. I love the rolled pants! That Gobble shirt/onesie was one of 3 or 4 that all had some sort of Thanksgiving phrase on it. Sam was always good about getting “holiday themed” outfits.

When I looked at this picture, I laughed because of the baby gate surrounding the Christmas tree. With the new kitty, we’ll need something like that to keep her away from the tree … And out of it!

Sam has already said that there will be no ornaments on the tree this year. There are too many important ornaments that might break. Instead, I have been instructed to go out and buy “a crap ton” (her words) of LED lights for it.

I’m sure my weekend will be filled with holiday decorating. Especially since she usually is in full blown Christmas mode on November 1st!

Weekend Business

My last blog was a “throwaway.” I’ve had a lot going on, yet I was struggling to find something to write about. I stepped away for a couple days and now I have a few things worth sharing.

We Have a Street!

They finally blacktopped the street this weekend! They finished the driveways and sidewalks a couple weeks ago. They were out yesterday laying the final coat.

Of course, every one of us now has that “hay” on our lawns in hopes that it will grow into grass by next spring. They better be back to lay our walkway bricks back down. They took them out to dig up our yard and they are still stacked next to our porch.

Puppy VS Table

Those who have been following this blog know that before Ella was born, we turned our dining room into her room. The huge dining room table was moved to the basement for a bit. We brought it up for a short time, but with all of the toys and such in the living room, we took it back downstairs.

The kids have a little picnic table they eat at. Well, the puppy can jump up and grab all their food, so I mentioned that the old table should come back upstairs so the pup couldn’t jump up there. Sam reminded me of how big that table was and how we hardly have room, so we went out and bought a smaller table, which works fine and doesn’t take as much room.

Putting that table together was project #1 this weekend. Naturally, it is all put together with those Allen wrenches. The instructions said not to use power tools to put the table and chairs together, but I did anyway! I cannot stand what those wrenches do to my hand!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like ….

My wife decided that since Halloween was over, it was time to put up the Christmas tree. So I dug through the boxes and such in the basement and found the tree. I drug it upstairs and put it together. No ornaments yet, but I did string the lights.

With the puppy, the cats, and the kids, I had to find a way to keep them away from and out of the tree. Sam reminded me that her dad bought us this play pen type thing that is meant to keep babies in when you’re outside. The tree fits perfectly!

Book Ordered

Finally, Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges gets a book! My pal, Geoff Dale has completed it and it is now available. Larry, Moe, and Curly all have books, and I cannot wait to read this one. He was, as the title proclaims, much more than a stooge! He starred in many solo shorts and appeared in many Abbott and Costello movies. This should be a very interesting read!

Testing, Testing

I haven’t talked much about it because I’d been so busy with other things (a poor excuse), but I have been back in my Bible classes. Over the past week and a half, I worked on tests for two classes. I was so glad to see that I passed both of them. Just started a third test today, and will chip away at it over the next day or two. Praying for similar results. I won’t be but a couple more weeks and I move on to the next semester.

Upcoming

The next Turntable Talk topic has been selected and I will be participating in it again. I’m not quite sure what angle I am going to take, but hope to know soon.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for reading

Friday Photo Flashback

It’s time for another Friday Photo Flashback. As we get closer to the Christmas holiday, I picked another Christmas photo to look at. It is from 1974.

I found this on a hard drive. I am guessing that it is a scan that my brother did of some of the photos from my aunt. My Aunt Jodi and I are 4 years apart. This photo was taken on Christmas Day in 1974. My aunt and I are featured in the picture.

There are a few reasons I chose to feature this particular picture. First of all, I do not remember it. As I said, it had to be one my grandmother took. I don’t recall seeing it in an albums at my house, or in any batch of digital scans from my dad.

Next, it takes me right back to my grandma’s living room. Where the Christmas tree is, my grandpa’s rocking chair was usually there. Next to it, or on the wall next to it (which was a half wall as I recall) was where my grandpa kept his cabinet phonograph.

Those things were awesome! He had many big band albums, and one with Harry Belafonte singing in concert. He always played the song about a hole in the bucket or something.

The fireplace was a real fireplace as I remember. I may have only witnessed one real fire in it growing up. I recognize the red candle that is behind me and to my right in the picture. Grandma had that for at least a few years. I am four in this picture, but it is in the same spot in another Christmas picture from their house when I was 2.

I love the mess of open boxes and wrapping paper all over the place in the picture. It is a bit too blurry to tell what some of the toys in boxes are, but that army jeep was probably my gift. This may have been the year I got a GI Joe Doll. The GI Joe came with a small hand grenade. This must have been years before anyone worried about kids choking on things, because it was quite small. It was so small that my brother stuck it in his nose and it got stuck! I know that required a trip to the ER to have it removed! The more I think about it, he may have stuck it in his ear, I don’t know.

UPDATE: My brother was able to zoom in a bit on the picture and told me that the box behind me is actually a Weebles set! Sure enough, here is the box!

I’m not a fan of the buzz cut that I am sporting, but it was a favorite haircut of my folks. I had them often. I also don’t know what to make of the outfit I am wearing. Wow! The 70’s sure had some crazy patterns on pants! Even my aunt’s pants look like something you’d see on an old golfer.

I really have no idea what my aunt is handing me. Of course, the way we fought as kids, she might be taking whatever that thing is away from me. Is it a snake? Is it a dinosaur? Is it a fish? I really cannot say. I don’t remember that thing at all! I’m smiling, so I must have thought it was cool.

The crocheted shawl my aunt is wearing has GOT to be something my mom made. If I were to make a wager, it very well may have been her Christmas gift from my mom. Mom loved to crochet and made a lot of things for family. She made me some sort of sweater vest one year. When she was into ceramics, she made something for every one. When she was making fabric painted sweatshirts, everyone got one. Because the pattern, I would certainly think that the shawl is my mom’s handiwork.

You will also notice that on the tree, right behind my aunt is a crocheted diamond ornament. My mom made hundreds of those ornaments. One year our tree was full of them! Want proof?

The other thing I notice in the picture with my aunt and me is the garland. It seems like garland was a necessity for Christmas for my mom and grandma. It is wrapped around the tree, which is where you’d expect it, I suppose. But you see the lone strand hanging down along the wall by the fire place? Right there between the tree and the melted plastic Santa? I can almost bet that it is strung along the top of the fire place.

I stopped writing and went to my hard drive to see if I could find a picture of the garland. Sure enough, a couple years earlier, here is my aunt and I in front of the same fireplace. There along the wall – is the garland!

…and that same red candle!

At least I don’t have a buzz cut in that picture!

Oh to go back and watch those moments …

Making Spirits Bright

I saw a thing on Facebook that made me laugh. It said, “It only snows in November because people decorate early for Christmas.” Blame me if you wish, but we needed to brighten things up over this way!

There has been a lot going on in my life, some of which I have shared and some I have kept to myself. We’re all processing a variety of emotions. With the passing of my sister-in-law, there is an extra bit of sadness. Like the song says, “We need a little Christmas!” So we decided to put up the Christmas tree this weekend.

The older the kids get, the more fun this becomes. Andrew was just a couple months old last year, so he was especially excited to see the tree and the lights. He and Ella both “helped” handing me lights. They were both extra giddy.

I had the lights plugged in as I walked around the tree with them. That way I could make sure they were placed evenly and all areas has the proper amount of lights.

Andrew, as you know, is everywhere. He gets into everything! So we debated waiting until closer to Christmas to put ornaments on the tree. We also debated not putting any on at all. We did decide to put the tree topper on, and Andrew was the perfect helper!

My dad commented on a picture of the tree on Facebook. He said he was taking bets on who was going to know the tree down – Ella, Andrew, or the cat! For the record, the cat has yet to get near the tree, which is really odd.

We brought up the baby gate and set it around the tree. It’s the “look, but don’t touch” gate. The kids can still touch it, but the probability of the tree coming down is a lot less.

I decided that certain ornaments had to go up on the tree. As ridiculous as it looks, all the ornaments are on the tree from about a foot higher than the top of the baby gate and up to the top. In total, there are maybe 12-20 ornaments on there.

Every year, we got to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth to get an ornament that represents a big even from the year. We got one for our engagement, or marriage, the birth of both kids, etc. We went early this year and at the time, didn’t really have an “event” to get an ornament for. We opted instead for a plaque for the door with a snowman family on it.

When my sister-in-law, Grace, passed away I decided I was going to get Sam and her folks a memorial ornament for the tree. I had seen a few designs in the Bronner’s catalog, and chose this one.

I had hoped to save it until closer to Christmas to give it to Sam, but I can’t control my face. Let me explain.

I took the kids with me to Bronner’s on a day Sam was home sleeping. I kept the ornaments in my car so she wouldn’t see them. Then a day or two later, she was getting ready for work and said, “I was thinking about getting a Christmas ornament with Grace’s name on it for my mom.”

I must have stood there dumbfounded. My face obviously giving away that I had already done it. Instead of just saying, “That’s a great idea. We should do that.” I knew that she would just go and do it. So I walked out to the car and brought inside.

I’m glad it’s inside and I’m glad it is on the tree. Grace already has a special place in our hearts, and now she will have a special place on our tree every year.

If my tree being up brings snow your way, I’m sorry. We needed something help brighten the season, even if it is early.

Another thing I saw on Facebook this week said, “Don’t you just love it when the Christmas tree is the only light in the room?”

Yes. Yes, I do!

Christmas 2021 Recap

Another Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you had a Christmas full of wonderful memories! This Christmas was full of a lot of joy for us, but there were some things that left me sad. I will attempt to recap and keep it as happy as possible. Many of my Facebook friends have already seen these pictures, but that’s ok.

Thursday, December 23

After working the night before, I slept for a couple hours and went and picked up my son. His brother was working that night and was coming up after work so we could celebrate Christmas Eve Morning together.

My dad and Rose came over that afternoon. Neither had met AJ yet, so it was extra special to have them here. When then walked in, Ella ran to them SO excited. She was so happy to see them. She loves them both so much!!

There is something that is so amazing to me to see my dad hold his grandchildren. There is a special light in his eyes. There are almost tears. It is so special. He always kisses them gently on the head and talks to them.

Ella was all about Grandma Rose that night! Grandma made her a Mickey and Minnie blanket, which she just loves. One of my favorite pictures from that day is the two of them snuggled up on the chair with her blanket.

My Dad, being the silly guy that he is, heard Ella saying some of the alphabet. He immediately thought of “Violent is the Word for Curly,” the Three Stooges short which features the “Swingin’ the Alphabet” song.

So Dad had to sing it to her …

I was glad to get the chance to visit with them, and I am glad that three of his four grandchildren were there for him to see. Papa and Rose were very good to all my kids!

Dad and me – wish the lighting had been a bit better

Dad and Rose left around 7, and Dante’ called about 8 to say he’d gotten off work and was on his way. I was exhausted and was actually on my way to bed when he called. He asked me to stay awake, so I did. He came in and gave he the biggest hug. We had some leftover pizza, so I told him to dig in and not stay up too late!

As I crawled in bed, my heart was full.

Christmas Eve

I’m sure the day is coming when the kids will be up at like 4am to open presents! We were blessed that they didn’t wake up until after 8am! I had to laugh, though, because ever since we put the tree up, there has been a gate around it. It served two purposes. First, it kept that cat out of the tree and second, it kept Ella from pulling on the ornaments and the lights.

When she woke up and came out the the living room, she walked over the the tree and saw all the presents under the tree – and no gate. She literally just stood there – not really sure what to make of things.

After a few minutes, Sam said it was time to go in and wake up the boys. They were already going to be leaving earlier than I thought (so Dante’ didn’t have to drive in the dark), so we wanted to get things going. We told Ella to go in and wake them up.

She ran into their room yelling, “Wake up, Bruh! Wake up, Bruh!” It was quite funny to watch my older boys stir in bed … all they wanted to do was stay asleep. Dante’ asked to sleep for another 30 minutes. I told him, “You’re sister isn’t going to wait 30 minutes and wants to open presents!” Against their wishes, they crawled out of bed and joined us in the living room.

Last year, we had to help Ella open her gifts. She wasn’t quite where she understood how to do it yet. This year, however, she was able to jump right in and rip open her gifts!

Ella – wearing the very cute PJ’s that Sam’s dad got for her

It’s neat to see how the various kids react to Christmas now. Dante is 19, so he’s very laid back. Dimitri is 14 and it depends on what he’s opening as to how excited or how much emotion he shows. Ella, she’s excited for everything. Andrew has no clue as to what is happening.

The boys are SO hard to buy for. They never seem to have any real ideas for me. Dante’ is kind of at the “gift card/money” stage. He’s happy with those. Dimitri really liked this golf game I had for the Xbox, so I made sure to get it for him to play at home.

Ella, being the helpful big sister, helped open up AJ’s presents.

Of course, I had to put together Ella’s basketball hoop, so she could slam dunk a few before dinner.

After a hearty breakfast, the boys went into their room and played games for a while. Knowing that they were going to be leaving early, I made sure that dinner was done early. Keeping with my family tradition, I made ravioli with my homemade sauce. I made sure to send a jar home with the boys, as Dante’ loves it.

Personal note: I used a bit too much wine this time. I felt that it was sweeter than normal.

About 3, the boys had to leave to go home to their mom. Ella was napping when they left. When she woke up, I picked her up out of her crib and as we passed the boy’s room, she said “Bruh”? “Bruh”? It ripped my heart out. All she wanted to do was see her brothers! Sadly, I don’t think they really know how much she loves them and how important they are to her. This was the saddest moment of the entire weekend for me.

A Christmas Eve tradition for Sam and I has always been to do the Drive Through Holiday Lights display at Crossroads Village. For $10 a car, you get to drive through and see the many Christmas lights that they have on display. When the kids are older, we plan on going and doing the Christmas train ride, which is truly amazing, but for now, we just drove through.

When we arrived, we got Ella out of her car seat and let her sit on Sam’s lap as we drove through. She was so excited. As we got close to the lights, she’s yell, “Here we go, Mommy! Here we go, Daddy!” It was so cute. Sam made the comment that she loves seeing things through Ella’s eyes. This is so true! We’ve been through there every year, but this year was so much more exciting because of Ella!

We thought about driving downtown Flint, which has some great lights, too. We decided against it, as it was getting late and the kids were tired. We went through out bedtime routine and got the kids to bed just in time for me to play Santa. I had a few things to put together so that they were ready for they kids when they woke up Christmas morning.

Christmas Day 2021

Sam wanted to be in the living room so she could record Ella seeing her presents, so I got her out of bed and asked Sam if she was ready. She said she was, so I sent Ella running into the living room. The video is priceless. The smile on her face is something I will never forget. We got her one of those Little People Jungle Rainforest things. It came with animals and makes noises and everything. It is HUGE and takes up a good part of the living room.

AJ’s Santa gift was a very cool floor chair. It allows him to sit up while on the floor and it’s a lot better than those Bumpo seats.

I love that both kids had “Santa” jammies for Christmas morning. Sam and I actually got matching PJ bottoms to wear that morning, too. AJ was wide awake and just taking in all the sights. I love this picture of him and Sam. What I love about it is that just above Sam’s right shoulder is a picture of Ella on her lap and in this picture AJ is on her lap.

One of Ella’s favorite gifts was a Leap Frog Tea Party set. The pot talks and it came with cups and cake.

I joked many times about having tea parties with my daughter. I am excited to say that we’ve had our first already and I am looking forward to the next one!

It was daddy’s turn to help AJ open gifts. So I grabbed his stuff and we opened them up. I was as surprised as he was! LOL. Sam got him a very cool “Floor time” pillow with lights, sounds, and more.

It made him like floor time a lot more….

Before we all showered and got dressed to visit Sam’s folks, we attempted to take a family selfie. We have a camera that I could have set up with a timer and all, but with my cell phone, I could snap 5-6 pictures in the time it would take to get one on the camera. Good thing we went with the cell phone – because it only took us about 57 tries before we finally got this one.

Since it was AJ’s first Christmas, we had to be sure to get a picture with him in his “First Christmas” outfit. Sam came up with the silly saying on the board and it made me chuckle!

After the kids napped, we went to Sam’s folks for Christmas dinner. Sam’s mom put out an amazing spread with turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and so much more. I’m not sure why we didn’t get any pictures while we were there, and I am sad that we didn’t. We are so grateful for them and enjoyed family time together.

After we got home and got the kids in bed, Sam and I crawled into bed. Before I drifted off to sleep, I thought back over the many memories that were made and thanked God for the many blessings that He has given me. I am truly a lucky man.

December 26

Having the Christmas tree up was driving Sam crazy. Not because it was up, but because we literally had to move Ella’s toys out of that corner of the room. All of her toys were moved in front of the fireplace and it just seemed like we were always tripping over them. Long before Christmas, it was clear that on the 26th, the tree was coming down!

I spent the morning taking down ornaments, unstringing Christmas lights, folding up stockings, and putting them all downstairs until next year. Before I finished, there was one picture we had meant to get of Ella that we hadn’t gotten. So I hurried out to the garage and got the props ready before Ella and I walked the neighborhood. Here is the picture we had hoped to get earlier in the season ….

It’s back to work tonight for me, at least for a couple days. Looking back over this holiday weekend makes me smile. There are so many wonderful memories forever saved in snapshots that I will look back on often. Life is good. I am blessed.

A Special Addition to the Tree

This is one of those blogs that is overdue. It’s a “Thank You.”

One of the things that I love about Christmas is decorating the tree. Most of the ornaments each have a special memory. As I have blogged about in the past, we try to get one new ornament every year that signifies a big event from the year (our engagement, our wedding, the births of our children, etc…). As more of the memory/event ornaments go up, we remove the generic bulbs.

Along with the ornament for AJ’s First Christmas, there is another special ornament on the tree this year. I thank my brother, Christopher, for that.

He has a friend who took this picture of my mom and my son and made this ornament for me. The photo was taken in 2002 when my son was just 2 days old. Dante’ was her first grandchild and she was thrilled to be a grandma. I remember she slept in the waiting room the entire night as we awaited his birth. I had seen my mother smile before, but the smile on her face was like no other when she saw him and held him for the first time!

This picture was taken right around within minutes of one of my favorite pictures of my mom and Dante’:

The ornament is a wonderful addition to the tree this year. It makes me so sad that mom never had the chance to meet her three other grandchildren. I hope with each passing year, as my kids see this ornament on the tree, they will ask questions and want to know more about her. I will love sharing stories about her with them.