Last year because we were entertaining special guests early in December, we brought the tree out very early in the season. I never gave it a thought that we might possibly have problems with the lights ... and actually for the entire first week it was perfect ... but then one strand of lights went out, and then another, and another! By the time Sabrina's family arrived for the week of Christmas, our tree looked pretty dark and I was heartsick about it. We couldn't seem to fix the problem, and the tree was already decorated. Andrew (our favorite son-in-law) picked up on my sadness and went right out and purchased a bunch of lights that we could just put on the tree where it was dark ... except they were colored lights and it really changed the look of the tree.
In October, I warned Mr. Jones that we needed to either fix our lighting problem on the tree, or replace this pre-lit tree with something else entirely! Mr. Jones decided that we needn't throw out the tree just because the lights were bad! Even the replacement lights that came with the tree were defective! So Mr. Jones took every single strand of lights off that tree and separated the good ones from the bad ones.
It was a long and arduous process because these lights were really wound tightly on this tree! We were left with seven good strands of lights and I decided to just make do with them ... spread them out a bit and hope it would be good enough. I plugged in the lights to make double sure they were all working, and then I took my usual two days to perfectly decorate our tree. I was a little disappointed in the number of lights, but I was okay with it until ... the very next day, a whole strand of lights went out! And the next day, another!
There was only one thing to do! I UNdecorated the entire tree (which took remarkably less than 20 minutes), ripped off those defective lights ... every single one of them ... and threw them in the trash! I bought 600 new lights, and under the watchful eye of Thomas K. (I don't know if you can see him, but he is on the top of the back of our couch observing my every move), I REdecorated the whole tree! I listened to beautiful Christmas Carols, drank lots of very sweet hot tea during the process, and finished in just a few hours.A few years ago, I started collecting small and inexpensive Nativity ornaments. I wanted everything on our tree to point to Jesus, whether it was an angel or a wise man or some created thing like a bird or dove ... so our whole tree would be a reflection of Him! Here are some of the ornaments.
When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things was visiting my Grandma Mary's house at Christmastime. My grandmother was such an artist ... she hand made lots of ornaments ... everything she touched turned out beautifully. Her Christmas tree was always a delight to me. I remember sitting under hers, lost in the beauty of it, remembering the precious birth of my Savior.
O Christmas Tree!O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging;
Not only green when summer's here,
but also when 'tis cold and drear.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thy leaves are so unchanging!
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Much pleasure thou can'st give me.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thou hast a wondrous message.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
Thou hast a wondrous message.
Thou dost proclaim the Savior's birth
Good will to men and peace on earth
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou hast a wondrous message.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
Thou bidst us true and faithful be,
And trust in God unchangingly.
O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!
How richly God has decked thee!
(An old German carol, origin unknown)
6 comments:
So sad about the lights going out on that tree but glad that you finally fixed it. We can add more white lights to it next year okay!
Carol, it was so sad reading this!! I felt your pain! It is so much work getting up a tree. I must confess that I don't get into it much anymore. But I am so happy for you that you were able and determined to fix it! We had the same problem with one of our pre-lit trees in the auditorium at Cornerstone this year. It was all beautifully decorated and the first Sunday the whole middle of this one tree up front was dark. You just couldn't miss it and it took away from all the other decorations. :)
Oh, by the way, your tree looks beautiful!!
Yes, Sabrina, I plan to buy some lights on sale after the holidays so that it can be extra pretty next year when you come home!
And thanks, Ruthanne, for your sympathy and kind words about our tree! I feel badly about the one at Cornerstone ... it feels like such a BLIGHT when that happens to a tree. I've sworn off pre-lit trees!
Sigh. Grandma Mary's tree. Sigh.
Yes, SIGH ... there was nothing quite like Grandma Mary's Christmas tree or her house all magically decorated like something right out of a fairy tale ...
Merry Christmas to you, dear cousin Lois!
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