Shelley Dee Photography: Merry Christmas from our family to yours! {Christmas Decorations and more}

Wow! Can you believe it's already Christmas Eve, where has the year gone?

For our family it has been quite a roller coaster of highs and lows this past year. Between my husband and I celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary (which you can see here) and our twins (son and daughter) celebrating their 13th birthday, the beginning of 2013 was filled with so much joy! Then in September less than a week before going to Disneyland with our dear friends from Oregon, my husband went into renal failure due to food poisoning. He spent 8 days in the hospital and right before being discharged he started complaining of pain in which he developed a blood clot. This meant 3 months of blood thinners for him....no fun! Then this past month I came down with a terrible infection in which I had to go in for oral surgery, which was just last week. Oh and now my daughter is sick in bed! You would think we have a right to not want to celebrate Christmas this year, but to be honest the more we go through trials, the more we cling to Jesus...the reason for this beautiful season. So yes we might postpone opening the few gifts we purchased and having a nice Christmas dinner, but we won't lose the joy and peace that God has for us. So this Christmas as I am recovering and my daughter is sick, we can sit back and enjoy our Christmas decor as we thank God for bringing us through these hard times! I am thankful that my husband is recovered, that I made it thought my oral surgery and that my daughter just has a cold. It could be so much worse! We have so much, we have God who loves us so much that He gave us Jesus our Lord and Savior!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours...may you experience the love, peace and joy that God has for each and everyone of us.

Besides my love of photography, I absolutely love to decorate and since we are not dressed up for family photos I thought I would share a look into our home....

Table Decor.... quilted place mats-Bed Bath and Beyond, candle holders-World Market and Mikasa, trees/floral/tray...Pier 1 Imports

This tree was practically given to us and every time I look at it I am reminded what a blessing it is.

To make a long story short...a few years ago the day after Thanksgiving I was in the hunt for a taller Christmas tree since we have taller ceilings in our new place. I went to Lowes because I saw an ad for a 7ft tree on sale. Upon arriving there at 6 in the morning I couldn't find the tree in the ad so I asked a salesman who just happened to be the store manager. He pointed to one that was similar but it wasn't what I expected...not as nice as what the ad showed. He could tell I was not excited about it. He then asked me what tree I wanted and I showed him this gorgeous 8ft pre lit tree that caught my attention when I first walked through the doors. He then asked me if I wanted to purchase it...yes if I wanted to spend almost $300. He said will do you want it...I said yes, he then said well then it is yours for the ad price of $49.99. He then said MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Now every year I look at this tree I am reminded of this nice manager and how blessing others brings so much joy!!!

Candle Holder and Vase-HomeGoods
Ornaments-Pottery Barn, Macy's and Michaels...after Christmas clearance

I scored on this hand painted crystal Christmas tree set from Costco...clearance for $5.95.

The Nativity candle holder has been in our family for years!

I got a little crafty here by adding some pine cones to a vase and some artificial candy canes to a mason jar. The ornament is my very first Christmas gift from my kids....13 years ago.