Take a Deep Breath

Don't worry, we didn't leave the tree as Carly decorated it. (see previous post) We finished up the tree the other night and I thought I would put any worried hearts to rest. Ahhh, there's our tree. All twinkly and calm tonight.I also want to clear up any confusion I may have started in my last post with my question for a new blog title. What I meant by "turning my blog anoymous" is not that I'd put a password on it or try to hide it necessarily. What I meant was simply that I'd like to take out our last name from the blog title and address. So I'm going to need a new idea for those. Then I'll make the switch and get the word out via email, facebook, and Christmas cards so our usual readers can still stay connected. So any ideas?
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Back to the Christmas tree....
While I had the camera handy--and didn't have any yahoos jumping in front of the lens or tugging on my leg--I thought I'd snap a few pics of some new and "oldie but goodie" ornaments.
I don't know if this is an official tradition or not for us, but this year at least, I got a new ornament for each of the kids. Mostly because I found this sock monkey one and just knew my little guy needed to hang it on the tree this year. He has recently shown a big interest in monkeys--especially his stuffed ones.
This one just seemed right for Carly this year. The best part is that I got a slammin' good deal on it and she loves it.
This one takes me down memory lane a bit. It's not actually a Christmas tree ornament. I believe it's supposed to be a rear view mirror ornament, but oh well. Shawn and I got this in China when we spent Christmas there with our friends, Mark, Charity, Damon, and Andrea way back in the year that was 2002.
This cute and crafty ornament came from a student who was in my first class in Oklahoma. She was such a sweet girl and a good student. Every year when I pull this ornament out of the box, it gives me great memories of that year teaching in Edmond.
This was also a gift from a student Edmond from my first class, but I don't remember exactly who. Does that mean it was an ornery, snotty nosed kid? Probably, but anyhoo, I like this one just because it's so stinkin' cute. It's got a little spot in the bottom to put a light from your tree in, so it lights up too. For some reason, I just think that's very cute, so it's one of my favorites.
And this extremely plain jane star is a standard part of our tree and I wouldn't have it anyother way. We bought this star in Japan before our first Christmas together and we've had it on every tree since. Good thing my scentimental side beat out my practical side when I was packing our bags to move back to America.
This is Isaac's first Christmas ornament. Believe it or not, it was pretty tough for me to find ornaments for both of the kids that I like well enough to be "the first" ones. Fortunately I succeed and I didn't have to break the bank.
This is Carly's first Christmas ornament. Special thanks to my Dad who worked very hard with a bottle of super glue to repair this one during Carly's second Christmas after I dropped it. Yeah, not one of my favorite moments, but Dad saved the day.
This one is just a funky new one that I got before Christmas last year. It's actually a mini starfish that an artist dried and painted.
Do you have a favorite Christmas tree ornament?