oh christmas tree...oh christmas tree.

I laugh at myself in my head when I think about the dreams I had concerning the first Christmas I would have as a married woman.

We would live somewhere that had a fireplace and we would hang our stockings with care. The mantle would show a display that Southern Living would be calling about.

I would flawlessly decorate a tree and prove my domestic ability to my husband by making our house feel like a cozy home. Everything would be coordinated to match. Presents would be wrapped in a gorgeous fashion. So gorgeous in fact that no one would want to rip the paper.

I decorated for Christmas last night.

Here is our tree and our stockings.

• We don't live in a house with a fireplace.
• We don't have a mantle, much less a display worthy of Southern Living.
• We didn't hang our stockings on a mantle, in fact they are hanging on the door on Command Strip hooks.
• Our tree is two feet tall and is standing on a tray table covered with a tree skirt.
• It has four ornaments on it. I think Charlie Brown would love it.
• Our gifts are wrapped with wrapping paper left over from years before so we don't have to buy new and throw it away when we move.

That may be what someone else would see when they walked into our home. That may be what I would have seen had I looked a few years ago at this sad little spectacle of Christmas decorating. But what I see now is so different!! Here's what I see now...

• We don't live in a house with a fireplace, but we live in a warm home.
• We hung our stockings with just as much care, no matter where we put them.
• My mom gave me our 'Beary Merry Christmas' Decembear calendar from when we were kids which means the world to me.
• We have a tree that is the perfect size for the number of ornaments that we are taking with us.
• The four ornaments are absolutely sentimental and my favorite.
• These are the ornaments that I love the most. There is one from Gatlinburg that we got our names put on from our honeymoon, a hand painted ornament from my best friend Allison,  a knitted K initial and a pickle. (look up the legend if you don't know it)
• Our gifts are not wrapped flawlessly, but our gifts are from the heart and are for people who mean the world to us. 

I had dreams of what I thought a perfect Christmas would be...God showed me different.

This is my first Christmas as a married woman. My husband is awesome. My real life is better than my dreams. I am so happy. :)