Dennis was so interested in decorating the tree this year. He must have put on at least twenty ornaments. If I tried to help him, he would get upset.
While we decorated the tree, Julia and John filled the house with Christmas music!
Caleb was very helpful and made sure that Alex had plenty of ornaments to put up.
Alex did a mighty fine job of hanging ornaments on the lower branches. This is his first Christmas and his excitement of experiencing all of this fun filled my heart with joy as I watched him do something as simple as hanging up an ornament. To him, it was not simple--- it was amazing!
Our beautiful tree with clusters of ornaments here and there is a constant reminder that we are blessed with a houseful of children. I love it!
Julia and Sveta baked Tollhouse cookies-- lots of them!
As a surprise for Daddy, they made him a giant cookie right at the end!
As a surprise for Daddy, they made him a giant cookie right at the end!
19 inspiring thoughts:
What GREAT photos! the one of Alex hanging the ornament by himself is awesome; it really seems to capture the moment. Nice shot! :)
And I had to laugh at the photo of you taking a photo; :)
I love the expression on Alex's face in the photo. He looks so wide eyed and full of wonder!
The big cookie for dad cracks me up. What sweet girls!
Love the fun at your home :)
What a beautiful tree! And what a beautiful first Christmas for Alex.
What fun and wonderful Christmas memories you are making. For Alex that is so exciting he is just blossoming! Blessings to you this Christmas Season!
It looks like fun...Merry Christmas!
A nice day to get into the Christmas spirt with decorating the tree and freshly baked cookies. I ran last minute errands for my daughter as tomorrow I pack 3 large suitcases which will be an all day ordeal. It's cold here in CT and we have the snow from Thursday covering the ground. Less than a week until I fly off to Moscow.
So much fun!!! I love it. :)
SUGGESTION:
i don't know what your personal family traditions are, but in my family, growing up we always had the ornaments that marked special life milestones. to this day, every year at Christmastime, when i open our box of ornaments i see my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament.
now, we don't always put EVERY ornament up EVERY year. we'd literally need 5 trees to do that, so we alternate. but the point is that it's THERE. i have it.
Alex doesn't have much from his early childhood. most adopted kids who come from orphanages don't. i know he's not a baby, and technically this is not his first Christmas... but perhaps he'd later in life treasure such an ornament, something to mark his first Christmas with his forever family.
if you don't have the time, money, or desire to do this, would it be okay with you if i got him an ornament? you don't have to use it on your tree, you don't even have to let him have it right now... but i'd be honored if you would consider letting me send him one to have later in life. i'd like to do something for ALL of you this Christmas, and was going to email you about it anyway, but this is something specific that kind of stands out in my mind.
i'm going to be hospitalized again on Monday for tests (starting at 8am) to see if my next brain surgery can wait, or if i need a shunt revision immediately. if this is the case, i will need brain & abdominal surgery within the next week or so. any prayers you could spare would be appreciated. :-)
- michelle
A tree decorated by children is always a lot more heartwarming than the very perfect ones out of magazines.
What a fun time. Caleb looks so tall now!
What lovely photos!
Cxx
Very nice photos.
That huge cookie looks good.
YOur tree looks a lot like ours! :) Happy momories!
Isn't it amazing how special the holidays are with children?!
Christine, we are going to be going to Sevastopol to adopt Ruslana. It's "kind of" close to Simferopol. Did you guys ever fly to Simferopol. Maybe you could contact me at malonenine@gmail.com
Thanks!!
Looks like tons of fun preparing for Christmas going on at your house! :)
Hope that all is going well for all of you!
Peace.
What a beautiful night filled with everlasting memories. I love the one where Calab is helping Alex with the ornaments. How cute is that!
Carson is still getting the hang of the ornaments and still wants to take the glass bulbs and use them as balls. Grrr
I have to laugh when you say cold and rainy. We had freezing rain and the low was -2. Now that was a stay at home with blankets and if your lucky, a big bowl of chili.
Take care and Merry Christmas.
What a lovely tree! I am sure you all had a lovely time putting it up :)
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