Every year, my husband and I like to get an ornament or two that will represent something to remember that year by. I know I’m not the only one who does that. Lots of people do! I want to hear the stories.
When I post this to Facebook, I think it would be super fun if you could share a few photos of your favorite ornaments and tell me the stories behind them. Would you do that for me?

In 2016, we adopted Fiona and we’re so in love with her. It’s hard to believe she hasn’t always been here. She’s a bit of a mutt, so it was difficult to find an ornament that wasn’t a specific breed but we did our best.
And then we realized that we didn’t have an ornament to represent our cat and since I sometimes feel insecure about the amount of attention I give to her compared to the dog, we got her one, too.

Last year we took a Thanksgiving getaway to this gorgeous Airbnb in Alma, Kansas. We snuck in a trip to an antique store where we set out to grab a few ornaments to commemorate our trip. Ryan picked this adorable, flocked reindeer:

And I chose this little nativity scene because I really liked the scalloped edging that framed it.

Several years ago, when Ryan joined I Heard a Lion, I bought this lion. I think, at the time, Ryan was a little self-conscious about being commemorated on the tree but I knew that joining IHAL was important to us.  And also, a sequined lion–who could be mad at it?

My first year in McPherson, I found this ornament. It was full of Lemon Heads. I didn’t yet know that much about my downstairs neighbor, Ryan, but I knew that he loved Lemon Heads (he’d just recently purchased a case of them for himself online). And I had a crush on him. So this was my Christmas gift to him. Boy did that pay off (I got it back)!

Speaking of my first Christmas in McPherson, my sister in law took me to the thrift store where I found my very first Christmas tree for five entire dollars. It was short and it leaned to the side but it was mine! I was so proud of it. I took my niece, Genesis, (who was five years old at the time–she’s in junior high now and I’m trying to deal with it) to Walmart to help me pick out the decorations for my tree. We selected all pink and purple glass balls with lots of silver tinsel. I still have a few of those balls. We also picked out a green train because her brother, Amos, was super into trains at the time.

I love that we’re building a tree full of memories. I am excited for the day after Thanksgiving, ten years from now, when we’re unpacking the box and remembering our trips, our family additions, and the things that were important to us at the time.

So what about you? What’s on your tree?
XOXO, Lib

Bonus:
There’s no story behind this. I just really loved the donut. #carbpositivechristmas