Sixty.Three/Three.Six.Five

I'm pretty sure this angel is the oldest ornament on our tree.  My first 'special ornament' from childhood, she gets placed in the same spot every year, at the very top of the tree, only under the tree topper.  Even as a little girl this was where she went with good reason and purpose....

You see, my dad had to lift me up in order for me to reach.

So there she will remain - as a reminder of my dad - and my childhood Christmas days.

Sixty.Two/Three.Six.Five

One of my collections growing up was my Swarovski snowflake ornaments.  My first was given to me in 1993 as a special ornament, however, after that I asked for one each year for Christmas, and as I got older began to buy them for myself.  It lasted for close to 10 years.  I love them all because of the way they crazy catch the lights.  If I could have a tree of only them - I would be happy.

Sixty.One/Three.Six.Five

We don't actually collect ornaments from our travels, but books instead.  However, when I saw this ornament while living in Jakarta, I knew it needed to be on our tree.  Our time overseas was a HUGE part of our life even if was only for a couple years, and it will forever hold a special place in our hearts, along with this little guy.

Sixty/Three.Six.Five

I'm not a HUGE fan of decorating a tree.  I'm a little too anal when it comes to precision, but yet, don't really care enough to worry TOO MUCH about it.  On top of the fact, that the tree "fashion" these days includes ribbon, bows, and all sorts of jazz that I'm just not very good at and again another thing I don't really care enough to worry about.  Don't get me wrong, I love a Christmas tree, just don't love the process leading up to it!

BUT...

What I do love is the ornaments.  If it's not a normal round bulb, then it has special meaning.

Growing up, each Christmas one kid in my family had one 'extra' gift under the tree.  It was tagged as the "special ornament" of the year.  When we each got old enough to have our own tree, those special ornaments were passed down to us to start off our own tree decoration.  I have continued this tradition with my own kids.

So this week, I decided to highlight a few of my very favorite decorations.  Not all are from my childhood, and not all are mine, but each has a story and a reason why it means something to me.

Today's IS from my childhood and probably my very favorite on my tree.  It was made from the ashes of Mt. Saint Helens.  It's heavy, tons of awesome colors, unique and NO ONE is allowed to touch it except me.  :-)

Fifty.Nine/Three.Six.Five

Today's post is actually our 2016 Franks Family Christmas Card.

We finally got the pictures taken and I got the design completed and cards ordered.

It's always a big sigh-of-relief-moment for me.

However, since it hasn't been sent out yet, it is still a surprise.  

So, once they have been mailed - I will return here to upload the finished product.

:-)

Fifty.Eight/Three.Six.Five

This girl definitely walks to the beat of her own drum.  Always has.

Her newest hobby is Aerial Silks.  I signed her up in a new gym right by our house for Yoga Silks, thinking she could would enjoy the meditation and holistic aspect to yoga.  After a couple classes, she decided she really wanted to try out the Aerial Silks class.  She advanced to Level 2 after 2 classes and what started as once a week, grew to a couple times a week.

She is still timid when it comes to heights, but I was so impressed by her dedication and willingness to give it her all.  She had her first performance this past weekend and I couldn't be more proud!  It was so much fun to watch.

Fifty.Seven/Three.Six.Five

Inside of the house.

Outside of the house.

"Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, the AC was running, because we live in the South."