Decorating

We put up our Chirstmas tree this afternoon.  Katherine helped Steve unpack it, "fluff" the branches, and assemble the whole thing - a big job.  Then I pulled out the ornaments and the girls decorated.

Katherine wanted to know the stories behind some of our ornaments.  It was fun to talk about them.  There are ornaments that have been hanging on my tree since since my pre-memory childhood. 

And ornaments that I have bought to commemorate special occasions.  And lots of beautiful ornaments from China.  I love the ornaments that the girls have made over the years.

Rachel didn't care about the stories.  She did like finding things she had made.  And she loved anything glittery.

She goes for the you-can-never-have-too-many-ornaments-on-one-branch style of decorating.

It's not the most artistic arrangement, but it makes me laugh so I leave them as they are.  It's proof that Rae was a part of the process.

I made the girls pose in front of the tree, of course.  And that quickly got silly.

Tonight, we carried on another Christmas tradition.  Steve grew up hearing his dad read How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year on Christmas Eve.  His dad has read the story to Katherine and Rachel at Christmas time.  But this year, Katherine wanted to read to him.  So, Steve called his parents and held up the phone and Kate read.  Grandpa chimed in on the parts he knew by heart.  It was really kind of sweet.