Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.
I enjoy decorating our home and setting up the Christmas trees. I love unboxing our ornaments and placing them on the tree.
Each ornament displays different aspects of our life as a family over the years.
There are a few ornaments from my husband and I’s childhood hanging on the green limbs. The black dog wrapped in lights is a cheerful memory of my old dog, Riff. I have many wooden, handmade ornaments from a man who generously gave them out yearly at my childhood church. My husband has a variety of Hallmark ornaments purchased by his mother, who passed away in 2013. They range from the Wolverine, his favorite comic book character as a child, to tractors. These ornaments all blend together on the tree as our lives did.
Photo by Sven Brandsma on Unsplash
Our early life as a couple is symbolized on the tree as well. Our 2003 wedding is marked by several porcelain or personalized ornaments. A gingerbread house bearing the sign ‘our first home’ takes me back to our first, little home where we grew as a couple and brought our babies home from the hospital.
A pregnant momma bear with ‘baby’ on her stomach dated 2005 marks that time in my life when I was first pregnant. I vividly remember that Christmas in 2005 when I was full of excitement for the baby girl on the way. Seeing this ornament each year brings a mix of emotions. I had no idea that she would be born with Down syndrome and a heart defect requiring two surgeries. I was clueless as to all the hospital stays and medical hardships that would be in our future. The hopes and dreams I had while pregnant seem to be attached to this one particular ornament.
When our babies came along, their special ornaments joined our tree.
Baby’s first Christmas for Jaycee in 2006 is celebrated with pink hues on the tree. In contrast, Elijah’s 2009 birth is marked by the color blue. Their interests over the years are reflected on the tree. Jaycee has ornaments with swimming, deer, an iPad, Barney the dinosaur, Frozen characters, and Beauty and the Beast characters. For Elijah, he had Thomas the train, Lightening McQueen, and a host of musical-themed pieces as he learned to play the saxophone and guitar.
Between the births of the children, there was a pregnancy loss. There is only one ultrasound picture that represents this potential life. A few weeks after the miscarriage, I searched for an ornament to memorialize this baby. On the tree, an angel standing behind a small child is the only other object that exists to remember this painful but important part of my life. Each year, I remember this life that ended at 16 weeks when I hang this ornament on the tree.
The tree also holds trinkets from vacations that were special to us.
Each Disney trip has its own ornament; each trip was a highlight for us all. Lincoln’s home in Springfield reminds me of our trip there and my son’s interest in Abe Lincoln during childhood. The Corn Palace ornament reminds me of the unique places we have visited as a family. My husband and I’s private vacations to Key West and Colorado are on the tree as a keepsake that we experienced a few days of kid-free time. We have had many years without vacations, so the ones we did have are worth remembering each Christmas.
With white lights glistening over the multitude of figurines, balls, and uniquely shaped decorations, I appreciate everything on this Christmas tree.
It highlights the milestones of our family. The changing interests, the times of fun, and even the disappointments are what have made up our lives. Placing the ornaments together reminds me that our life is a collection of events and memories.
Our family has been through much together with God’s help. I choose to be thankful for my family and all the Lord has brought us through. Even the painful times of our life can be appreciated in retrospect–as I see God’s hand developing our family into what it is today.
Evana is a wife and mother of two children. She enjoys serving in her church’s special-needs ministry. Evana is also a pediatric speech-language pathologist and serves children with autism, feeding disorders, and other developmental delays. You can connect with Evana on Twitter, Facebook, and her blog, A Special Purposed Life. You can also read more about her family’s story in her book, Badges of Motherhood: One Mother’s Story about Family, Down syndrome, Hospitals, and Faith.
