When I was first married, my husband and I had fewer than 15 “real” ornaments for our tree, all of which were childhood ornaments that our parents handed down. Our first tree was sparse. Our first tree also felt strange to me because I didn’t recognize half of the ornaments! I wondered if perhaps my parents were missing the eight ornaments that they had carefully wrapped the Christmas before and handed over to me to hang on my own tree together with my husband’s. Our tree that year was a blank slate as a new family started.

Each year we add ornament after ornament to a freshly cut tree, but I still think about that first tree. Now, after fifteen years our tree is full of ornaments. Our tree is laden with memories. Many ornaments are also milestones: the first ‘married’ ornament, the first ‘baby’ ornament, ornaments from all the trips we’ve taken together, preschool handprints, keepsakes from aunts and uncles and grandparents. But I still put up a few bits of ribbon I had tied to that first, sparse Christmas tree, to make it look more full. It’s a reminder of those earlier years of marriage when our budget was more about paying tuition than decorating for Christmas.

Over a decade of Christmas memories, all on one tree. I am happy every year as we pull our eclectic set of ornaments out of their box, each one the overture of a story or memory or smile.

“This was from…”

“Somewhere my sisters have this same ornament on their tree!”

“Oh I remember this!”

“This one is yours from the year that you were really into that hobby.”

Each new December brings another year’s worth of change, but the story our ornaments tell remains the same every year: our family has slowly written memories into the blank pages of a book that is our life together. Each year we add another layer to the beautiful randomness that makes up our tree. There is perfection in those mismatched ornaments. There is beauty in the rainbow of colors that bleed together. It’s so different than my first tree. And it feels like home.

Oh Christmas Tree

Each Monday night I get together with a group of oil friends and we chat about success stories we’ve had with oils. We had a lot to say about Pine last week. The main thing that we chatted about was using Pine as a respiratory oil. Because it’s a heavier oil, Pine can reach deep down into the lowest part of your lungs (this is where the yucky stuff tends to hang out).

The tip that I learned was that whenever I diffuse any respiratory oil (eucalyptus, RC, Raven, etc) I should add some pine to it! The pine will help pull those other oils (which normally only hit your upper lung) deeper into your lungs so they can do their thing. Not only that, we chatted about a simple and timely DIY that uses pine: Greenery Mister to help your freshly cut tree or garlands look their best the whole month of December.

Snippets from our week

Speaking of ornaments, this is one of my favorites. We like to get ornaments from trips or vacations that we take together, and this was from a trip Caleb and I took to Strasbourg, France a few years ago.

Finishing up school the last few days before Christmas Break is easier when you can pet your puppy in between answering your questions.

Each year I make a wreath for my front door. Sometimes I do it with friends, sometimes by myself. Either way, it’s so much fun to take a stock Costco wreath and add more to it. I’m really happy with how this year’s turned out!

Thanks for reading! What is your favorite ornament on your tree? I would love to hear about it - you can even snap a picture if you’d like! Just hit reply if you’d like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.