2008 Christmas Tour of Homes

My friend Shara is participating in BooMama's Online Christmas Tour of Homes. I wasn't going to participate because I'm not the best decorator and some of those people have some fierce decorations going on.

My fragile ego couldn't handle it.

But then I realized that this is the only time of year that my house is clean - and if I had the guts to post pictures of my hideously messy bedroom for the whole world to see, then why not post pictures of my house in a rare state of cleanliness.

So, look out BooMama, here comes Recovering Noah's house. I know you're jealous - not everyone can possess the style and class that we do....

First of all, our Christmas tree. Purchased a few years ago at the one store that ALL luxurious people shop at: Walmart.

And what better way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas than to deck out your tree in Mardi Gras beads. Literally. Mardi Gras beads. Delicately placed next to glow-in-the-dark planets. Yes. That's Saturn you see.

And lest you think we're setting a bad example for the chitlin's, I can assure you that these Mardi Gras beads were not... er.... earned. They were purchased a few years ago at the Dollar Tree back when Noah was in an ABA program.

Moving on, I present to you the lovely camels that we bought in India a few years back. Next to another glow-in-the-dark planet....

And what tree is complete without an Indian-Woman-Dressed-In-A-Sari Tourist Keychain?

Because nothing spells classy like decorating your Christmas tree with keychain trinkets.

And, last but not least, here is Sir Frog. One of the many garage sale stuffed animals that has found it's way on our Christmas Tree this year.


Never fear. though. Fortunately, we have sophisticated relatives and friends who feel sorry for us and give us proper ornaments each year. Such as the lovely blue T-Rex that Uncle Mark and Aunt Beth gave Eli this year.

And the Willow Tree ornament that my fabulous friend, Susie, gave us after we adopted Eli and became a family of four.

I LOVE me some Willow Tree ornaments.

Next up is the fiber optic Christmas tree that I bought at the Pinnacle Women's annual garage sale back in October. Nothing says "House Full of Preschoolers" like a fiber optic Christmas tree.

Oh, who am I kidding. I love fiber optic stuff. I'd have a house full of the things if Sim would let me.

But he won't.

Here's our music entertainment stand. We are so high-tech aren't we? The 1960's record player and tie-dyed speakers just scream "up with the times", right? But doesn't the fiber optic Christmas tree look pretty?



Then there's my favorite decoration of all. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a dead tree branch collected at my parent's land and an old rusty bucket filled with pebbles that Nandi and I collected.

Okay, we actually stole them from some road construction down the street - but that's what we pay taxes for, right?

The kids are hanging all their homemade decorations on the tree. So, we've got Reindeer Handprints, Felt Snowmen, and Fruit Loop Circles.

We had more Fruit Loop Circles, but Mama got hungry....

Yeah, that's right. I ate the Christmas ornaments. Whatcha make of that?

Speaking of homemade snowmen.... this little diddy is decorating Eli's door. Don't know about you but I think it looks like a cross between Krusty the Clown and the Joker.

It's Frosty's Scary Little Cousin. And all I can say is that I'm glad it's not hanging in my room.

This is another of my favorite Christmas decorations. It's a nativity scene from Xela, which is the part of Guatemala that we adopted Eli from. They're dressed in traditional clothing - and it's so precious to me.

Unfortunately, it's not as precious to the kids because they've been holding Joseph hostage for the last year.... and they can't remember where they put him. Currently, one of the shepherds is doing stand in.

I LOVE nativity scenes. I bought this at the Family Resource Center Thrift Store. I knew immediately that it was made in Germany. The detail is beautiful! Sadly, it's missing the windmill that goes on top and that would make it sell for lots and lots of moulah on Ebay. That's okay, though, I couldn't sell it. I love stuff like this.

This little guy is the cutest thing ever! My friend Barbara lives in N. Ireland and her neighbor knitted this for Noah's first Christmas. This probably has the most sentimental value of all our decorations.

And what Christmas is complete without Charlie Brown? Snagged these at CVS for free. Gotta love those ECB's! (And if you have no idea what I'm talking about then you need to get yourself to a CVS ASAP.)

And that's it. A personal look into our home.

So what does YOUR home look like??