Decor de Christmas

It's Christmas time!!! I love this time of year! I especially love to decorate for this time of year! :) We started putting up our decorations the day after Christmas--while a bunch of you wackos were shopping--Some of you have been asking me to post pictures of the house (Carey and Tami...)So, here ya go...Starting with the outside....


Fortunately everyone around here seems to like to put up lights for the holidays...it's so fun to walk around the neighborhood and see everyones lights! Lance and the kids started to put ours up the day after Thanksgiving...it was cold! They didn't quite finish, and then it rained a bunch, but now that it's back up to 80, he went out and finished the job....and it's a good thing too because our neighbors little girl came by and asked why we didn't have our snowmen and "waterfall "turned on yet!
Here's the front room--It's kinda my own room to decorate...the kids is upstairs...














And here we have the family room off of the kitchen...


This is at the bottom of the stairway....
Here's my favorite place...because of the food!..the kitchen!


This is our "family" tree upstairs in the TV room. We continue the Harwood tradition by letting everyone pick out a new ornament every year. It's always fun to pull them out and remember previous Christmases...I've still got all of mine from when I was little!


Here's my Nativity shelf at the top of the stairs. I collect different Nativities.I have a couple of favorites, some from my grandma who's passed away, I have an olive wood set that my dear friend Andrea brought me from Israel!,


A couple of other traditions we have (I'll have to post pics. later,..) My mom gave us a couple of advent calendars. One is of mary and Joseph. They move along the trail towards Bethlehem each night before Christmas, and end up at the stable on Christmas eve. The kids love to move them along every night before they go to bed. The other is one that I grew up with. Mt mom made it in Relief Society when I was pretty young...the poor thing is pretty old and haggard, and I think my mom was surprised that I wanted it so bad when I found out she was going to throw it away! But I love it! I have good memories from it! It's a big felt hanging of Santa and his Bag. On his bag are 24 pockets that you put candy in. Every night after dinner,... if we ate all of our dinner...we got to get a piece of candy out of the calendar.I loved this growing up, and my kids love it just as much! The only difference is, I don't remember ever sneaking any out before dinner....but my kids do it all the time! So, I have to keep a sharp eye on it! NO TOUCHY!!