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| That's a little clip-on bird ornament, in case you're scratching your head. |
But we're staying in Raleigh this Christmas, and I decided I was ready to make our own family traditions. When we returned to NC after Thanksgiving, we packed up the car with the ornaments and stockings and lights and tree stand that we had packed away at Les's parents' house. So I had the loot. There was just one problem: No space for a tree.
Ok, actually, there were 2 problems. No space for a tree, AND I felt conflicted about the eternal "Real vs. Fake" Christmas Tree Debate. A live tree may be greener overall, but I still cringed a bit at the thought (and expense, and mess, and the hassle of having to bolt our loveseat to the ceiling to make room) of squeezing a tree into our little apartment.
So I'm finally ready to be festive, but couldn't quite go so far as to buy a tree.
What's a girl to do?
Well, a crafty girl marches out into the back yard (We live in NC! We have a yard!) and drags a fallen branch over to her deck, slaps down some scrap cardboard, and spray paints that sucker white. So now I have a Big White Stick! Perfect. The Christmas Stick gets plunked into a tall white ceramic vase with some white tissue paper crammed in to keep it upright and Auggie-proof. Then it gets wrapped with white lights and adorned with all the bird ornaments I had stashed away.
You see, 5 years ago, Mom and I decided to pillage Target on the Day After Christmas. I pushed her around in her wheelchair as she clutched a basket in her lap. I had decided I needed some of my own ornaments, and I had a vision. A theme, if you will. "Let Heaven and Nature Sing!". Only animal and bird ornaments, with red and gold do-dads mixed in. Some order to my Christmas Chaos. So, I loaded her up with a couple dozen clip-on birds, red and gold glass spheres, and faux-berry garlands. And that Christmas, I convinced my then-roommate to get a ridiculously big tree and I festooned it with birds, berries, and balls. It was glorious.
And so this year, Les and I have The Christmas Stick. I love it. And it inspired me to just rock on with the bird theme. Birds and Words:
Our mantel birds (who perch there all year) were joined by a tiny poinsettia and a canvas wrapped with burlap and some stick-on letters.
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| Our Christmas mantel. A little crowded, but totally awesome. |
There's even a funny little bird in our Nativity: check out the silly chicken on Joseph's back! I can't imagine a creche without some animals. Les and I bought this one in Portugal right after we got engaged. I love it. It is made out of this sandy clay stuff. And the calf and the donkey look like they are singing.
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her king
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and Nature Sing
Let my mom, in heaven, sing
Let all the animals and birds, and trees and stars, all of God's creation, sing His praise
They do a better job of it than we do sometimes, don't they?
Jill, they are beautiful. So glad that you & Les are here in NC, otherwise I don't know how we would have met. Hope this year is a very merry celebration of all the beautiful things that Christmas brings. See you in 2013!
ReplyDeleteOh you make me cry. I love the 'Let Heaven and Nature sing' theme. I like bird decorations too and have them sprinkled through my house all year too. Now I will know that it is a sustaining piece of common ground between two adult little girls. I am so happy for you that you have a white stick. :-) !!! That is a big step.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at myself last week when I prayed a prayer of thanks to God for a little bird that was singing its heart out one morning....and then realized it was the nature sounds alarm clock Chris has for Parker in the basement. Oh well! It was probably a recording of a real bird(s) now in heaven. Just like I can still hear your mom's rich voice singing as she alone stands from amongst the choir or hums inside the wooded walls of her home.
I am in my second year with a real tree and couldn't be happier. I love taking care of it (watering) and it really isn't messy except for when you are taking it in and out of the house. And for some reason I love the sound of vacuuming up pine needles. Its very satisfying. I also love the adventure of picking out a tree. Last year, we played soccer as we wandered about until Kira found the one $10 tree, beautiful too, in a field of $65+ ones. This year we went to a different place and she announced to the burly Carhart covered man that "LAST YEAR, we got a tree for $10!" To which he replied, he wouldn't sell her one for 10, but the top of an overgrown one for 20. I'm still laughing. Then we were driving away and stopped on the side of the road to deal with a tantruming child when I noticed a complete raccoon hanging by its tail, dead, from a scraggly bush dangling over a stream. A curiosity who ended a tantrum but refused to leave its resting place. (Yes, we threw sticks and nuts.) These are so much more memorable than a tree in a box.
I will pray for the birth of new traditions in your home. I love you for always!
Janelle