<p style="text-align:center;"><em>A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
Several years ago, we downsized our Christmas tree. Space was an issue as well as ease of construction – we bought an artificial pre-lit tree.

This meant there was no longer room for all the ornaments, which was good news for our children.

Their handmade ornaments with pictures from elementary school that were always hung and, because I think they are precious ornaments, I placed them to the front. Howeverthe 17, 19, and 21 year olds are not so fond of them. So I put the treasures back in the ornament box to be saved for when they have all moved away.

This year our oldest Catherine helped me set up the tree. I unpacked the ornaments and she hung them on the tree.

Together we evaluated which ornaments would go on and which to save for another year. We had fun remembering the origin of the ornaments.

There was the cinnamon ornament in the shape of Texas that someone made us before we moved to Mexico.

Then there were the ones Beekeeper Brian and I got on our honeymoon and the hot air balloon I picked up in Albuquerque at the museum. Several are made by Beekeeper Brian’s grandmother out of duck eggs.

By far the most fun is the set we got the Christmas before Catherine was born. At the time we had no animals living at our house and no idea of what the future held.<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/ornaments.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5412" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/ornaments.jpg?w=293" alt="ornaments" width="293" height="300" /></a>If only we had known how prophetic those chicken ornaments would be!

Everyone has those special decorations in their family.  Take time to pass on the stories that go with them.  It is what makes families unique.