2011 Ornaments

When I left home I left with an ornament collection. Since I was born, my aunt made me (and all my other cousins, which became quite the feat each year) an ornament for the Christmas tree. My first Christmas with Andy could have left us with a bare tree, but because of my special collection of personalized ornaments, our tree held colorful decorations and memories of Christmases past.

Our collection has grown wonderfully over the last five years, but that original collection still remains close to my heart. I wanted to continue the tradition by making Sophia an ornament each year, so that when she leaves home (hypothetically speaking...that day is frightening and much too far away to think on now) she will have a personalized collection of her own.

However, last year slipped by me. I had only intentions. This year, I knew the same would happen unless I got serious about it. So, I joined Pinterest! I found several ideas for ornaments that I loved. Because the budget is super tight this year, I picked the cheapest one to make, and headed to Hobby Lobby. I was so pleased with how it turned out, I've been back to Hobby Lobby twice for more supplies so I could fashion a few more as gifts.

Here is the one I made Sophia:

Sophia's name means wisdom. I want her ornaments to be something more than pretty decorations. So I bought a simple mini photo album. Each year when I make her ornament, I'm putting a picture of it along with a note explaining its meaning or a prayer for her that year. This year, our prayer is that Sophia would be filled with the wisdom of God, through his loving Word to us.

One of my favorite things about this ornament is that you can make it so many different ways. Here are a few I made for some of Sophie's sweet friends:

Merry Christmas!