A stump story...and a few decorations.

Several weeks ago I saw an incredible idea on Pinterest. {shocking, I know} Someone posted the idea of keeping the cut off stump of your live Christmas tree and making it a keepsake. Being that this was to be our FIRST year of getting a REAL tree... I was hooked on doing just that very thing. We didn't travel far away, cut down our own, or really even take a ton of time to look - just grabbed up the one we liked from Menards. Griswalds would be disappointed. ;)

The lovely stump before:

And what I did with it:

Simple. Special. Done in about 5 minutes.

This year I wanted to be as "natural" and "free" as I could be with our Christmas decorations. I just love the look of raw material... and, honestly, spending a lot on decorations just can't be a priority right now. And, not even sure I ever want it to be. 3219 looks pretty good, if you ask me.

Used the copper I found over the summer from Salvation Army, two trees we already owned, threw in a pic of the hubs and I PRE-kids...and voila... one wall done.

My mom gave me a box of her old decor she didn't want - and this simple wooden sleigh was in there. Perfect! Slap some raffia on it...good to go.

My camera, bless her, is not a very good one. Every picture I've attempted of our tree and rest of the house has come up blurry or just not good. I'll keep trying. Hopefully I can share before it all gets taken down. {sigh}

Tomorrow night is our Christmas @ Elevate - our youth Christmas party. Would you take a few minutes and pray for any unsaved teens that might show up? We have a few... What an awesome time of the year to really see and SAVOR what Christ has done for us. And, if no one has said this to you yet...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!