The Tree {Christmas Blessings}

Here are some pictures of our festive living room that I promised to share. Obviously, with our nearest tree being at least 300 miles away, we are unable to have a real evergreen tree at Christmas. We haven't had a real tree in six Christmases... but our artificial one is very nice-looking, though.

What you see through the windows is 1 PM in the Arctic. Our world brightens up to nice, cheerful navy blue around then. =D Ah, I miss the sun. It's certainly isn't the same living without it; even something as simple as mopping the floor is different without the sun shining happily into our home. (sigh) The dreary days have been passing very quickly, however, with life being so busy and fulfilling. I'm thankful! =) Still, I'm counting down the days until its glorious return (forty at the most)!

We have very few balls ornaments -- mostly figurines.

ECA stands for "Emmanuel Christian Academy," the Christian school I attended until I was seven.

We have several of these cute snowman children. They're all riding toboggans and wearing excited expressions on their chubby little faces. =D

I think I got this Precious Moments ornament when I was five. My sister Emily had one with a different scene but it broke several years ago. =( I'm surprised mine has survived so many years!

I treated myself to this pretty angel ornament last week. One of the teachers at the craft fair a few weeks ago was selling angel ornaments and pins. I fell in love with this one! I just couldn't pass it up. Plus, it cost me just three dollars. Yay. =)

My sweet little porcelain doll matches my angel well, don't you think?

Isn't it cute? For the life of me, though, I have no idea why polar bears are always portrayed as being cute. They are a very real THREAT in my village every winter! =D Anyway, the parkas they're wearing are so like the ones the people wear. As an interesting note, we recognize folks walking down the streets by their parkas. It gets confusing when parkas are recovered every few winters. =)

We don't have too many homemade ornaments on our tree but I definitely want to make some for next year  -- I have grand plans! My little sister made this pretty snowflake out of Perler beads.

"Having someplace to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having both is a blessing." Home and family are the two most precious gifts to be treasured at Christmastime... and always.

My parents started collecting train ornaments early into their marriage. We have many!

The ornament from my second Christmas, 1992. So sweet.

Up next, The Village.