Ornament #24

Since tomorrow is Christmas Day, I'm reserving that day for my family and I'm choosing to end the Christmas Ornament Story Challenge today.

And I saved the best for last.

This one, lone ornament is the reason why I wanted to start this challenge, because it has a GREAT story!

Can you see what this is?  It's a glitter painted, wooden clothespin, with curling ribbon and clipped to the bottom is money, real money, a $10 bill.

Back when Jay and I were dating and I was still working in youth ministry at Willow Creek, Jay volunteered his Saturday mornings as a coach for one of our junior high teams.  The adult leaders on the team did a gift exchange for Christmas that year.  Someone asked Jay what he wanted and he said, "Money.  I'm saving up to buy a ring.  I need money."

That year, his secret Santa gave him this $10.  We have never, ever spent it, and we never will.  It is too priceless.  My kids know the story, but I want this around for my grandkids to see it.

Of course, from my husband's financial advisor background, we've been stupid not to save it elsewhere rather than a box!  After all, invested and left invested, we could see this $10 become more over the years.  But I won't do it.  It's too cute, too funny, it's the best ornament on our tree.

It tells our story.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  Praying that all my readers know the love of Jesus this holiday season.

Ornament #23

I had hoped to post a new ornament today, but I haven't gotten it in the mail yet.  It will probably arrive tonight. 

So, which one to post today?

This one also goes back to our days on staff at Willow Creek.  This is probably the fanciest ornament we have on our tree.  It's large and very fragile and it is stored in it's original box with tons of tissue paper.   It was given to Jay or I as a thank you or serving on the Conference Operations Team when a year of church conferences was over.

Conference week was always crazy!  Thousands of pastors would flock to our campus for training.  We did this multiple times a year.  70-80 hour work weeks were the norm, even more hours for Jay.  It was insane.

I miss that insanity.

No, I don't miss working.  I definitely don't miss ministry.  My life as stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, raising a daughter from a hard place, brings enough insanity for me, thank you very much. 

But I do miss the buzz of Conference Weeks and working with such amazing team members.

I love the memories that this ornament brings to mind.

Tune in tomorrow for the very last installment of the Christmas Ornament Story Challenge!  I have certainly saved the best ornament for last and you won't want to miss it!

Ornament #22

I love that someone at Hallmark or whatever company manufactured this, realized that some families just aren't traditional!

My Secret Santa from my Facebook Adoption Group sent me this the very first year our Quiet Tiger was home for the holiday!

This year, it wasn't in the box with the other ornaments and I panicked because I had absolutely no clue where I would have put it.  For some reason, it was in the box with our formal decorations, which we have never put out in this house.  Phew!  Glad I found it!

Forever Family - Joined at the Heart - 2012

Ornament #21

Today we have a little Nebraska-football-snowman-thing.  That's what I'm calling it.  I'm nearly certain Jay's old assistant Anne gave this to us.

We spent 5 1/2  years living in Lincoln, Nebraska.  While we never became Husker fans, we certainly did leave behind some amazing friends.  We had a great small group at church that actually started as a women's ministry group.  All of us women just clicked and we were invited to a couples group.  We did everything with those friends:  camping, coffee nights, cookouts, Halloween parties, Bible studies, trips to the apple orchard every fall.  They were family to me.

We also had the best neighbors ever!  Super C had many friends on the street and we should have installed revolving doors on our homes as kids came and went.  Steve and Renee had 2 of the cutest kids you've ever met.  I miss those kids.  I miss walking to the bus stop with Renee (that 1 year the kids were bussed to school) and I miss Steve's John Goodman laugh.  He sounds just like him!  I shared many a laugh with my friend Suzette across the street as we lamented over another neighbor who loved to call the cops on us.  She gave me their old lawn mower which I still use today.  I know she shoveled my driveway when we were stuck in California for that awful year.  We sat out on the back patio with Brian and Kellie and Todd and Vanessa while the kids would run between yards.  Brian and his son B mowed our lawn for weeks on end after our friend Jake moved out of the house and away from Lincoln.  Vanessa and I garage-saled (that's a verb, right?) together and Todd made the best Chocolatinis ever and also shared our love of Nerf Gun wars with the kids.  I'll never forget running into him at Target with the biggest Nerf gun in his hands.  Todd also reviewed Quiet Tiger's medical file and came to visit me in the hospital when I was all alone and had my gall bladder removed.

Gosh, I miss those Nebraska friends.  Great, great people!

Nebraska wasn't perfect, no place is, but it really was the good life for a time.

Love you, Nebraska friends!

Ornament #20

Question:  Which bear is best?

Alright, enough of my slipping into The Office right now.  We love that show.

We also love bears.  We used see one or two when we'd go to Hayward, Wisconsin to visit Jay's mom.  We never saw one in Alaska on our honeymoon, but we know one was behind the brush and the voices of tourists kept it from showing it's face.  Jay of course loves his Chicago Bears (even when they have a painful season like this year).  And of course, for Jay's line of work, bears also hold significance.  We've had this guy on our tree for years and we all love him!

Feed the pig.
Ride the bull.
Beware of bear!

Ornament #19

Today we have wedding bells!  Jay and I have a couple of ornaments on our tree given to us by friends on our wedding day.  I wish I could remember who got them for us, but I love them just the same.  This one has our names and our wedding date engraved on it.

Ornament #18

Today we have another Baby's First Christmas.

Wait.  What?  That doesn't look like a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament.

Oh, but you're wrong.

I think you know by now that my daughter's Chinese name means Quiet Tiger.  She is a tiger, I can assure you that!!!  But quiet?  Um, no.  Not quiet.  Not at all.  Nope, nope, nope.

Anyway, my mom found this ornament in Chicago and sent it to us for our girl last year.  I think she found it at Cost Plus World Market.  I love it.  If I could find her a tiger every year, I'd be thrilled.  So, keep your eyes peeled and if you see a tiger ornament, grab it for me and I'll reimburse you and pay for shipping!

Ornament #17

Do you have any ornaments that make you sad?  We do.

I bought this ornament last year to commemorate our beloved American Eskimo dog, Kenai.  He was just 5 years old and he died in our new home here in San Antonio.  We are 99% certain he was bitten by a rattlesnake.  It's a long, traumatic story that I'd rather not share right now.

When I found this ornament and learned that proceeds went to the American Eskimo Rescue, I knew I had to order it to have a way to remember our sweet Kenai.  I added his name and the year of his death.

You were a great dog, Kenai!  We miss you!

Ornament #16

Today's ornament has a good story.  Let me take you back to the very day that Jay "officially" asked me out on a date.

We had worked together at Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago for about 5 months, and over that time span, he asked me to do things as friends, like meet for church, take me out to dinner to thank me for taking him to pick up his truck that was in the shop, et cetera.  He wanted to be friends and we were friends.  I didn't completely get that he was that interested in me.  Besides, my parents were divorcing and I was REALLY not interested in bringing home a man to meet my mom and dad who were fighting and battling and splitting up.

In early December we had our Staff Christmas Party.  My department was part of the planning crew so we were busy most of the day getting ready.  I had lunch with my fellow teammate Teresa and during lunch she had asked me if she could give my number to a friend of ours from the Singles Ministry.  I knew the guy and he had always been super nice to me, but my parents divorce was just looming over me and I really, REALLY, REALLY didn't want to bring a guy into that mess.  I told Teresa, "no" and asked her to explain to our friend why I had to say no at that time.

Later that night during the Christmas party, it was my job to take photos of the evening, so I was running around.  I sat with Jay during the sleepy Fernando Ortega concert in the auditorium and I had bumped into him a few times that night.  As the party ended a few hours later I went back to my desk to gather my things and head home.  I took a lap around the building to see where Jay was so I could say, "See you later, it was fun hanging out with you," but I couldn't find him.  I just walked out in the snow to my car.

When I got into the parking lot, I noticed someone walking back into the building.  It was freezing out and I wondered why the guy didn't have a coat on.  It was Jay.  He had been looking for me too and went out to the lot to catch me.  He walked me the rest of the way to my car and he officially, formally asked me out to dinner and Christmas shopping in downtown Chicago.

I said yes, but as soon as I did, I did a double-take.  In my head I said, "Who said that?"  I had just turned down a request from a friend that afternoon and here I was saying yes to a friend I worked with.  What the heck?  Who said yes?

Well, the rest is history.

So, why this ornament?  It was given to me the night of the party.  Honestly, I can't remember if it was a staff-wide gift or if one of my teammates gave it to me that night.  Nonetheless, this ornament reminds me of the night when Jay first asked me out.

Ornament #15

Hello, Week 3!  What ornaments will you be showing off this week?

For today's installment I am sharing with you an ornament that I know my friend Jami and her husband Jed will love.  Here we have a cowboy from Wyoming!

With Jay's new career in the world of finance, he gets the opportunity to earn Diversification Trips.  He has earned 2 trips in his 2 years with the company.  That is astounding!

This summer we took the family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming on our first div trip.  The company pays for the financial advisor and spouse, and we had to pay for the kids.  We also took my mom and stepdad along to thank them for all their help over the insane adoption years.

As we walked around the sweet small town of Jackson Hole, we knew we wanted to do something unique to commemorate these earned trips.  Jay got some artwork for his office.  I got a beaded bracelet.  My mom bought the kids shirts and baseball hats.  For the family, we decided that an ornament on our tree for each earned trip would be a fun way to remember our travels.  So, this is our first Div Trip ornament.  I still need to get a black paint pen and write the date of our trip on the back.

We are grateful that God brought us to Edward Jones and for the opportunities we have had through the company.

We absolutely loved Jackson Hole!  I highly recommend it as a vacation destination!

Ornament #14

We wrap up our second week of the Christmas Ornament Challenge with an ornament that Super C made in 2009.  He was in 2nd grade.  Seems like he had to be smaller than that, because his handprint that made the snowmen on this ornament looks so small.  But the teacher dated it '09, so that has to be right.  I love how he drew fedoras on each of the snowmen -- he was so into Perry the Platypus back then.

True confession:  I'm not a crafty mom.  I don't have many ornaments that any kids have made.  I suppose I should have Super E make one of these this year since he's in 2nd grade.  That would be cute.

Ornament #13

Tonight is Jay's big Regional Christmas Party for work.  It should be nice as always, albeit a bit awkward since I don't know these people very well.  I hope your holiday parties have been fun and enjoyable!

Today's ornament is for my old dog, Kodi (short for Kodak), the first American Eskimo dog of my very own (we had one growing up but that was a "family dog").  I got Kodi from a breeder in Blaine, Minnesota when my mom and I were up visiting my brother and other family in the Twin Cities.  I was going into my senior year of college and I knew I'd be leaving the dorms and finding my first apartment.  I had the dog before I found a pet-friendly apartment in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois where I went to school.

I found a cute place and decorated it with garage sale finds that my mom fixed up.  I know my mom felt a bit better that I had a dog if I was going to live alone.  American Eskimos are great watch dogs!  My mom had this ornament made for me and I love it.

Kodi was a great dog and he loved Jay when he met him years later.  I had Kodi for 13 years before we had to put him down for health issues in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I still have his collar and tags hanging in the laundry room.

We miss you, Kodi.

Ornament #12

Things are getting busy on our December calendar!  How about yours?  Personally, I'm wiped out.  We've already had 3 different Christmas celebrations and have one more tomorrow night.  After this week, things should calm down.  Phew!

Here is Super E's first ornament.  Again, I cannot recall who got this for us, but I love that we do have these types of ornaments.  He has another "first" ornament too that we received when he was born as well.

Super E's First Christmas -- 2007.

Ornament #11

Back to something funny.

Oh, we have fun with this little guy!  As you can see by my hand, this ornament is tiny and it's pewter and glass or crystal or something.  It's so small that it gets lost on the tree every year.  I have honestly found this ornament on the tree as the tree is brought out of the box when we decorate on Thanksgiving weekend, having clearly missed it when we took the tree down the previous year!  So, we now have this tradition of "Find the Penguin" every year.

Jay's favorite animal is the penguin, so we have quite a few penguins on the tree and he gets to place them all.  This little guy is quite sneaky.  Come to think of it, I took this photo on Thanksgiving weekend when I thought of this photo challenge and right now, I have no clue where this guy is on the tree.

Come over and see if you can find it!

Ornament #10

You thought I'd post Super E's first Christmas ornament, didn't you?  Nah, I had to switch things up a little to keep you guessing.

This is a newer ornament and I love it!  All 3 of my kids made these last year at our homeschool group's Christmas party.  I thought they were super cute and so very easy!  Just one of those funky paperclips, a ribbon and 1 bead.  That's it.  You can make a bunch of these and attach them to Christmas gifts this year.  So simple and creative.

Luke 1: 30-33

""Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God!  

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  

He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  

The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  

And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!""

Ornament #9

Everyone has to have a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament, right?  This is one of Super C's ornaments.  He has a couple of Baby's 1st Christmas ornaments that he received when he was born.

Baby's First Christmas - 2003.  Certainly a Christmas I will never forget.

Ornament #8

Here we start week 2 of our Christmas Ornament Challenge.  What do we have today?

A mirror ball!  Every tree needs a disco ball, right?

When we were first married and had our first house, we had THE COOLEST Christmas tree ever.  We got it from Tree Classics in nearby Barrington and in addition to the regular mini lights, it had (wait for it....) fiber optic lights too!  Gosh, that tree was cool!  We thought highly reflective ornaments like this mirror ball would really glitter in those tiny lights.  It did!

The tree lasted a couple of years and then the fan that ran the fiber optics burned out.  I think we replaced it and when that second motor burned out, we just replaced the tree, but I haven't found a fiber optic tree like it ever since.  It was amazing!

Disco Christmas!

Ornament #7

Today we have a martini glass.  I have a handful of different martini ornaments on my tree.  My maiden name is Martini.  No joke.  I used to hate that name, growing up.  When Jay and I were engaged, he insisted on changing his name to mine.  Jay Martini does have a nice ring to it!  But I was ready to be rid of it and I changed my name to his.

I have collected martini paraphernalia for a long time.  The funniest thing about that is working for churches because some churches have rules about their staff members drinking alcohol.  We would receive looks when church people came over to my house and they saw my martini towels, candles, signs, ornaments, et cetera.  I sometimes had to explain the reason we had so many martinis around the house.  They could ask us not to drink, but they certainly could not take my name away and I still displayed them proudly!

Sometimes now, I do wish I had kept my name and had Jay change his last name.  It's a great, unique name.  I still proudly display martinis all around my house.  If I ever publish the book I have been writing, it will definitely be under the name Brooke Martini.

Cheers to you and yours this holiday season!

Ornament #6

In Chicago, I worked for 5 years in the catering department at Willow Creek Church.  Part of that ministry included the beloved decorating team, led by my boss Lore.  She had a great team of volunteers, but sometimes tasks were too large and we had to step up to help complete projects.  This ornament was one of those projects.

I have a couple of these cute wooden gingerbread men because Jay received one too.  These were attached to the staff Christmas party invitations one year.  I wonder how many former staff still have their gingerbread men hanging on their trees today in 2014.

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Ornament #5

Today's ornament is a piggy bank.

Neither Jay nor I remember where we got this one or when, yet it is so fitting for us now that Jay works in the financial field.  He'd like to have a whole tree in his office filled with piggy bank ornaments.

So, if you see any while you're out and about shopping, let us know!

Feed the pig!
Ride the bull.
Beware of the bear!

Ornament #4

Following yesterday's wooden elf made by Jay on one of our first trips to Hayward, I'm sharing the one that I made on that same trip.

This is my wooden goose.

Canada Geese are some of my favorite animals.  As a kid, I grew up in Suburban Chicago on a beautiful lake complete with a covered bridge.  The geese that lived on the lake were awful and they chased me.  They left messes all over our yard and we trained our dog to chase them away.  But in my 20's right around the time I met Jay, this family of 4 geese adopted me.  It was the strangest thing to witness.  Two tennis ball-sized, yellow, fuzzball goslings jumped into my lap while their large adult parents just stood calmly next to me, their beaks right in line with my eyeballs.  One sudden move and I was surely going to get it from mama and papa goose!

I gave them names.  I could carry them around the yard, they would eat out of my hand, they would walk up the hill to the house, jump up on the deck and peck at the sliding glass door of the house, they would fly to me if I called them all the way from the other end of the lake.  Quite remarkable!  And you've ever seen the movie Fly Away Home, my interactions with my 4 geese were so very similar.  I just never flew with them!  I did jump in and swim with them and that kind of freaked them out.  They didn't know what to do with that and they stayed further back and watched me swim.  They stayed with us for a good couple of years, even in the winter months.

My mom always used to say that the geese on our lake should be required to wear red bows at Christmastime.

Jay got to meet my geese before my parents sold the home.  He got to pet them and hand-feed them.

So when it came down to choosing which wooden ornament to paint, I had to do this one.  This is one of my favorite ornaments ever and I get to hang it on the tree.

I miss my "goose boys" like crazy.

Ornament #3

Today's ornament is a wooden elf.

When Jay and I started dating, about 15 years ago, he took me up to his mom's in Hayward, Wisconsin after the holiday.  I think it was my first visit to meet his mom.  During our time there, we painted these wooden ornaments.  This was Jay's.  His mom laughed at it and said it looked just like his Uncle Jack.

Every year, we take this out of the box and Jay gets to hang Uncle Jack on the tree.  We laugh.

We would like more wooden ornaments but have a hard time finding some like this.  If you happen to know of any, let me know.  It would be a fun family activity.

Ornament #2

If I try to go in order from oldest to newest, I'm going to mess up.  So today's ornament is.... joy.

I have no idea when we got this or where it came from, but this year I made Jay laugh with this one.  I was taking the ornaments out of the box, carefully, one by one.  Then we'd reminisce about where it came from and hand it to one person to hang on the tree.  I gave this one to our 4-year-old daughter, with one instruction:

"Take this to daddy and ask him for help to hang it the right way.  I don't want it to say "yoj."  

Jay laughed.  

I love it when I can make him laugh!  Hopefully it made you laugh too.

Spread some joy this December (and please don't spread any yoj because nobody wants that)!

Ornament #1

Welcome to the Christmas Ornament Challenge!  Here is my first installment.

I wasn't sure where to start: with an old ornament or a new one, or somewhere in between.  Dilemma.

I chose one of the oldest ornaments we have on the tree.  This is a felt drum that my mom and her friend Sue made back in the 70's in our old neighborhood in Burnsville, Minnesota.  My mom and Sue made a ton of felt ornaments, not just drums.  But all sorts of felt ornaments hung on our Christmas tree when I was a kid.  Only when I was a teenager, did my mom upgrade to a more formal tree and the felt ornaments have been in boxes ever since.  This is the only one that I have.  My brother Darin has his favorite black and white whale.  I'm not sure if Todd has any.  Maybe he has a drum or two as well.

If my mom digs out her old felt ornaments, oh, the stories those tell!  We have Mr. & Mrs. Claus who were so tattered that we laughed until tears ran down our faces because they were such a wreck.  The couple Claus looked quite strung out or drunk off their a$$es or something!  Hysterical!  Sue's daughters Kendra and Heather speak of the Christmas Hooker ornaments.  These I don't recall quite as well.  If they make a photo appearance, I'll be sure to forward.

But this drum is probably as old as I am -- 40 years old.  It makes me think of my childhood Christmases.  Good times.