Memory Ornament Tree

My friend, Tracey, posted a link to a "Memory Ornament Tree" tradition...and I thought, "That's us!" I've always admired & enjoyed looking at different themed trees, but I could never hang a single ornament on my tree that didn't have some personal meaning or somehow reflect our family. This is such a huge part of our family that it was one of the first things I ever blogged about, :-) but that was also five years ago, so I have a little more to share. ;-)

It's still mostly all blown glass ornaments...but our 7.5 foot tree is almost too full! :-D Whenever it becomes the right time to buy our next home, I'm hoping we can get a 9 footer! Our biggest change this year is lights: I've only ever had colored lights...but every light on our current pre-lit officially burned out. The tree is still gorgeous, though, so we just bought a few new strings to light it back up! ...And we went clear! It's crazy how different the tree looks!!!

Our new ornaments, so far, for this year:

Because you know how much we love Texas - and the Longhorn is even standing in bluebonnets = ♥♥♥!!! The gingerbread house is for our decorating tradition, and the hermit crab is for our amazing eco tour this summer in Charleston.

You know, photos just *never* do the real thing justice! The sparkles, the glitter, the shimmer & shine... ♥