Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My Heirloom Tree

     Hi everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I took the last week off from work, blogging and the internet to spend time with my girls. Today is their last day home and I can already feel the sadness creeping in on me. I LOVE having my girls home and spending time with them. I probably won't see them again till May, so my heart is heavy. 
     I hope you don't mind, since I took this time off, I have a few more pictures of Christmas to show you. This is my heirloom Christmas Tree. She has the place of honor in the Living Room and stands nine foot tall. Every year I try to re-create the Christmas tree of my childhood, that means colored lights, lots of ornaments and lots of tinsel. 

     Can you believe I forgot to take picture Christmas morning with all the presents underneath?! The train is usually not under this tree. It is usually under my white tree in the sunroom but I moved it here for my little Nephew  Monday night.
     My parents gave each of us an ornament for Christmas long before it was popular and so I have been collecting ornaments for over 45 years. They also gave each of my girls an ornament from the time they were born. A few years before they passed away, my parents blessed me with a number of the vintage ornaments that were on their first trees, some of them are over 60 years old. Here are a few of my favorite vintage ornaments from my parents. 




I've also given each of my girls an ornament every year, usually representing a special event in their life that has happened over the past year. 
To commemorate Rachel's first year at college,
A new ornament this year to commemorate Emily's trip to china,


Tiny Wooden shoes to commemorate our trip to Holland in 2001,

I have three large plastic storage boxes filled with nothing but ornaments and every nook and cranny of this tree has an ornament. I have a few Christopher Radkos which are very special to me, here are two. I had to get this Border Collie because it reminded me so much of my sweet Chipper when he was a puppy. He always had one ear up, one ear down,

And this elf was a gift from my sister,


Every year the last ornament to be placed on the tree is this small framed picture of my Mom and Dad.


The first Christmas after they passed away, we put the tree up and everyone went to bed except me. I turned off all the lights and turned on the tree, held a picture of my mom and dad and sat there in the dark and cried my eyes out remembering how they made every Christmas so, so special and I wished they could be there to see this tree, decorated with all of the ornaments they gave us. Something came over me and I walked over to the tree and nestled the frame among the branches, to me, it was as if they were a part of our Christmas. A few years later I decided to make a real ornament to replace the framed picture and this is what I came up with.Thanks for reading about my special tree today. I'll be linking this post to
REDnesday at It's a Very Cherry World
and 
Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady

13 comments:

  1. Just love your tree and the memories associated with your ornaments. My mom and brother John passed away in 2006 and maybe this year I'll make a special ornament for them and Don's dad to put on the tree next year. Thanks for the idea and have a wonderful day.

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  2. What a beautiful Christmas tree, full of so many memories! That's such a great idea to have the heirloom/memory tree + your other one. I love the photo ornament too. I think I'll work on that idea.
    Thanks for sharing, and Happy New Year!
    Jane-Jacksonville

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  3. Oh.. what a beautiful tree! Full of precious memories of Christmas past. I have framed ornaments of loved ones on our tree that have gone before us. My father and my husbands father are both on it. I can relate to the sadness you felt... but remember your parents now celebrate Christmas with Jesus.
    Blessings~
    Gwenny

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  4. love it!! it is so magical. is it not funny when we forget to take those crucial moment shots.

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  5. Your tree is so beautiful, but the best part is the ornament frame of your parents. It's beautiful and so full of love. My Baby Bee always says the best things are made with love.

    Happy New Year!

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  6. Love your tree and you sweet memories of your parents.

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  7. your tree is beautiful!! i love that all the ornaments are so meaningful to you and your family, it makes it even prettier :)

    Carrie
    http://inthehammockvintage.blogspot.com

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  8. Thanks for taking the time to share your pretty tree and decorations. You certainly did the right thing. Nothing is more important than time with your family.

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  9. This post really touched me! I love how you're remembering you parents, through their ornaments and the one that you made from their picture. My Mom went into the hospital the beginning of December, and is now rehabbing at a nursing home, and I just feel so blessed to still have her. And I know how you feel about your daughters going back to school. Our daughter doesn't go back until Jan. 10th, and I try to spend every single minute I can with her!
    Happy REDnesday and Happy New Year!
    Carol

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  10. Thanks for the story of your Christmas tree. Such wonderful memories each ornament represents. Enjoy your last day with daughters.

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  11. You really need a big tree for all those ornaments.

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  12. I love your tree! Mine is also filled with ornaments that contain memories! I have to put tinsel on my tree every year. The tree doesn't seem finished unless it has tinsel! My grown kids think I'm crazy and a neighbor calls my tree a "retro" tree!

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  13. You have a very lovely tree ... I think it's a wonderful thing you did making an ornament with your mom and dad's picture on it, I understand how that would make you feel they are still part of your Christmas! Have a Happy New Year!

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I appreciate each and every one of your comments! Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice words!