Sunday, December 11, 2022

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. Mattie was a year and a half old and we wanted to get a photo of Mattie to feature on our holiday cards! Yet Mattie was a live wire and had no interest in posing for pictures. So I came up with the idea of dressing him up and putting him in a shopping cart. We tried Target, Home Depot, and Lowes. I can't tell you how many photos we took that day. As you can see Mattie was intrigued by all the lights and decorations. This was NOT the photo that went on the front of our card, nonetheless, it captured the beauty of Mattie's curiosity. 

Quote of the day: All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. ~ James Russell Lowell

It was another busy day on the farm. Peter and I were determined to get our Christmas tree up and decorated today. It was a feat, but we managed it. Keep in mind that Peter and I only started decorating again for Christmas (post Mattie's death) last year. For 11 years, we had been without a solitary decoration. Moving to the house in 2021 and having my parents living with us, forced us to re-engage with the holiday in some fashion. All I know is at a minimum decorating orients my parents to the season, so this compels me to activate. 

This is what our tree looks like this year. Last year we had it in front of the window and I had to re-arrange the entire dining room to accommodate the tree. This year, we have it tucked off to the side. The down side is you can't see it from the street. 

A close up!

Over the years, I saved many of the ornaments Mattie made in preschool. I happen to love this one, which is featured front and center on our tree. 

A friend of mine made Mattie Miracle ornaments for my volunteers and she saved one for me! I am so glad she did!

I bought this blue moon last year in Hallmark. It says.... Love you to the moon and back! A saying I said often to Mattie when he was alive. 

In preschool, Mattie decorated this pinecone! 

This year, I bought a gold toned moon for the tree in honor of my Mattie Moon!

During Mattie's first year in preschool, he made these cute mitts and his teacher laminated them! 

Mattie's painted star. You may notice a Christmas ornament in green that says Anthony (my paternal grandfather). I have an ornament on our tree for every grandparent who died. I started this tradition decades ago. 

Do you see the heart? It is made out of cinnamon. Mattie made it in preschool. It is the only one that survived storage.