Sometimes I think about how much fun it would be to have a tree with ornaments all of one color, or a tree with only one type of ornament.  I think about what it would be like to have a very formal tree, or maybe a woodland tree, or a tree filled with nothing but vintage ornaments.  Every year though, as I hang my ornaments, I realize that our tree is the most beautiful tree in the world!

Ours is a tree filled with ornaments collected over the years of our marriage and reflects the history of our little family.  The ornaments on my tree remind me of the various seasons of my family’s life, hard times, fun times, stressful times, crazy busy times, times when my family members made me feel so proud that I thought I would burst, and times that were filled with love . . . no matter what.

 Now that the girls are long grown, and living far, far away, decorating my tree has become even more precious to me as each ornament placed holds a special memory. Yesterday’s post shares one of those memories along with a Bird-in-a Teacup ornament tutorial.  Today I want to share with you why my tree is The Most Beautiful Tree in The World.

Not every ornament on my tree is fancy.  Many are hand made and even rather rustic.  But they are holders of our history . . . like the years that we did community theater together as a family.

Especially the Christmas musicals that made our holidays a bit more stressful but oh, so FULL.

Our tree has some special ornaments on it, like the Thomas Kincaid houses . . .

 . . . that my mom gave us as a gift.

Our tree has ornaments from places we’ve vacationed . . .

. . . and places where family members live.

It has ornaments from our former home state . . .

. . . and a favorite University (Go Huskies)!

An ornament that reminds me that we have a wee bit ‘o the Irish in our heritage.

An angel ornament from a family wedding.

This one reminds me of our time living in the Lake House and hubby’s intention to catch more fish!

These two were made to reflect a hobby we share and hope to continue in the warmer waters of the Southeast.

Here is the gift of a nest left on our front door by a very brave bird (filled with one of my velvet pumpkins because who doesn’t have velvet pumpkins hanging on their Christmas trees?).

This is one of a set of ten faux crystal ornaments that I bought when we couldn’t really afford them but they were on sale after Christmas and I wanted their sparkle on my tree . . . still do.

This is a vintage Santa whose face I adore . . .

. . . and vintage cardboard ornaments that somehow remind me of childhood.

We have a whole set of small dolls that adorn our tree because that is the kind of ornament that every little girl loves.  They are a bit shabby now from those little girl fingers.  I don’t mind.

Something new was added to the tree this year, glittered peacock feathers to match the colors in my living room.

There is more, so much more, that I haven’t shown you but I think you get the idea.  By now you know why I will never be able to have a designer Christmas tree in my living room.  How could I even think of it when I already have The Most Beautiful Tree in the World?  Or is it?  A reader recently commented to me that the most beautiful tree in the world is really the one that Jesus hung upon to save a dying world from sin.  Wow!  This profound truth is one I hope we will all consider during this season of His birth.

My hope for you is that you will find joy in what you already have.  It is SO much better than chasing after something you think you need!

Blessings dear friends,

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, NiftyThriftyThings, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, Sunday Stillness