This was our very first Christmas ornament. We received it from a very dear friend even before we were married. She made it out of a cookie cutter and it is very precious to us.
In a prior artsy phase, I was a china painter. I could do a really good forget-me-knot and some pretty passable pansies. But faces? Forget it. We had an absolute china painting genius in our church. I had purchased this really beautiful nativity set with the idea that I would make an heirloom set to be passed on. I started on the camel robes and then looked at all the faces and knew I was in way over my head. Bettie Wilmoth graciously agreed to paint the whole set for me. And it definitely IS an heirloom.
This cute little nativity set was handmade by a local artist and I collected a couple of pieces each year. When I started collecting, we had very little money to spend on decorations. I started with Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus and added to it little by little.
Okay, the lavendar-hued lightbulbs on this chandelier in our dining room are a little disconcerting. Fortunately the lavendar hue goes away from we turn them on. But anyway, each year I hang these really beautiful ornaments from it and it is always the last thing I take down after the holidays.
When I was a little girl and we lived in Oklahoma, where my father was a pastor, a lady in our church made a red felt Christmas stocking for me and my brother. I have always loved it. So when Mark and I got married, I made a similar one for him. And then Aaron, and then Christa, and now each of the grandchildren.
This was a Christmas card we received years ago from our good friend, Dotty, a fold-out card that I just love to put out every year.
