It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

WARNING: CHRISTMAS PICTURE OVERLOAD

With things finally beginning to settle down and Christmas just a few days away, I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our holiday decorations. Although we were in our new home for Christmas last year, I was expecting and experiencing one of the many joys of pregnancy---morning sickness. A sparsely ornamented tree was the extent of my decorating. With no excuses and a new baby this year as well as a Holiday Ornament Exchange to host, I (and by I , I mean Bret) began pulling out boxes of decorations the week before Thanksgiving. Yes, that's right, I said the week before Thanksgiving. It took a little over a week, several trips to Pier 1, Target, and Hobby Lobby, a loving husband, and a patient baby girl to finally get the house completely Christmasfied.

A few of my favorite Christmas ornaments

Perfect for a family living in the Deep South!

Bret always brings back an ornament for the tree when he travels. We picked up this one together during a trip to San Francisco last December.

These Waterford ornaments are among some of my favorite. They are simply beautiful! We must have close to 100 of these ornaments on our living room tree.

Each year Mom gives us Christmas on the Coast ornaments. These ornaments depict local traditions, customs, or landmarks of Pensacola and Mobile.
Pensacola Beachball tower (above)
Mardi Gras in Mobile (below)

Gillian Grace's first Christmas ornament, a gift from Gammie.

Dining room Christmas tree decorated in green, red, and gold.

A view from the top of the stairs.

Our living room

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Having already sent most of our holiday gifts home with Gammie to make our trip to Pensacola lighter, only a few packages remain under the tree.

I still love making bows for all our gifts. This year we purchased 16 rolls of ribbon from Hobby Lobby. That's 1,600 feet of ribbon!

Our home at night.

Since moving to Mobile, I noticed that many people use wire mesh to decorate their front doors for various holidays. Always having admired this look, I decided to give decorating with mesh a try.

The backyard