Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Andy and I have been married for 10 years, and over the years our Christmas trees have changed quite a bit! Here's a bit of Andy and Sherrie Thuernagle Christmas Tree History...

Our first Christmas, we went and found the cutest little tree up above Kelly's Canyon. We hiked through deep snow and powder for forever, passing up tree after tree until we found one that we both liked and that would fit into our tiny one bedroom apartment. That year, we decorated our tree with strings of popcorn, and two handmade ornaments.

The next Christmas, I was pregnant with Taylor, and was so sick that I was pretty much bed-ridden, so Andy just brought home a tree from the tree lot that he was working at for some extra holiday cash. I had gone out to the after Christmas sales the year before, and so this year our tree was all coordinated with maroon and gold ornaments, lights, and tinsel. Funny...I remember our first tree so much better.

Over the years, we've always had a real tree from the mountains. The year that Rachel was born (on December 15th) my older brother and his little family got our tree for us...and the year that Brooklynn was born and Andy had his ankle surgery, we went up with my older brother and his family yet again and went tree hunting together. Trever and Emily and I trudged through snow forever, and I finally had to carry little 2 year old Rachel on my back. Why is it that the perfect trees are always so near the summit? I remember thinking with each step that going to Home Depot and buying a silly tree would be so much easier. But I wouldn't have seen the beautiful sparkling mountain snow at Home Depot, nor would I have had the pleasure of seeing my nephew Samuel, and my little boy Taylor have a blast sledding back down the mountain to the truck. Andy with his ankle in a full cast, and baby Brooklynn stayed back at the trucks and fixed hot cocoa for us over a camp stove. What a fun memory!

When we moved to Cleveland, we finally broke down and bought a fake tree. It took me forever to choose it! You'd think I was hiking through snow drifts all over again! But now I love it, and if I burn a pine-scented candle it's almost as good as the real deal. (laughing).

My favorite part about the tree is how our ornaments each tell a story. Over the years, the pretty glass baubles get broken and the tinsel gets ragged...but the special ornaments, the ones that were given as gifts or that were carefully painted by chubby little fingers are the ones that I cherish. Here are a few of my favorites...

This is the first ornament I made for our first Christmas together. I made two that year...they matched the new stockings that I made for us.

Here is one of my after-Christmas treasures that I found at the ZCMI that was going out of business. It was our first store-bought ornament.

This ornament was a gift from my piano teacher, Vonnie Lue Broulim. She gave it to me my Sophomore year of high school, after I had learned and performed the Kabalevsky Concerto at Ricks College.

Here is Rachel's "Self-Portrait" sculpture ornament she made last year in Kindergarten.

Taylor's Santa ornament from last year (2nd grade).

Brooklynn's beautiful color collage from last year (3 years old).

Rachel's "Rainbow Snowman" from last year (Kindergarten).

Sweet little baby Matthew's reindeer ornament from last year.My Rudolf ornament that I painted this year.

Matthew's cute smiling face from this year. See the dark green smudge on the picture frame? That is authentic Matthew artistry. I just kind of went along with his theme.

Brooklynn's color collage from this year (preschool).

Rachel's Christmas tree from this year (1st grade).

Taylor's Christmas tree from this year (3rd grade). I love that he's missing his two front teeth in this picture. It's just perfect. He told me that he smiled big just for me on picture day. He usually does his smiles without showing teeth. What a little ham.

And last, but not least is Andy's '08 ornament. I love how he'll just sit right down and join in...his ornaments are always awesome.

Here is our Christmas tree in the day...

And here it is in the magic of the night...

I woke up last night at around 3:00 am, and couldn't go back to sleep (I blame it on pregnancy induced insomnia) so I decided I would take my pillows and blanket and snuggle up on the couch with the Christmas tree lights on. Well, I wasn't the only one with that idea. When I came sneaking down the stairs,the sofa was already occupied...Rachel had beat me to it. So, I quietly moved her to the loveseat, snuggled her up, and we both fell back asleep under those soft shimmery lights. At around 6:00 am, little Matthew woke up and found me on the sofa. I gathered him up with me and snuggled him under the blanket and we got in another hour of sleep.

What a funny night...yet another memory that our Christmas tree will hold for me throughout the years.