Tradition!

We have a variety of holiday traditions in our family that I love but one of my absolute favorites that my parents did every year is the yearly ornament. Every year we would get a new ornament that would remind us of what we had done that year. The year I sang in our high school madrigals group... You get the idea. Sometimes we buy them and sometimes we make them. I really like the homemade ones. One of my most precious ornaments is one that my dad made and my mom decorated. It is my gavel from the year I was the sorority president. I also love the graduation cap my dad made for Dave when he graduated from the U. (I decorated it!) Here are some of my other favorites. This one I made the year that we did the Mary and John Rencher Reunion at the Homestead that first time. PS This is Mary and John.

This one is Josh's baptism year.

This mailbox was the year all my boys from Viewmont left on their missions and I worshipped the mailbox and the great letters it brought!

We have many ornaments from our vacations, Yellowstone, Zion's Capital Reef, Disneyland, San Francisco, Sea World, Hawaii etc. Even one from the Fiesta Bowl game that I went to while attending the U.

On our tree now we have a lot of soccer ornaments, basketball, football, super heroes, first day at school and some science fair and also this one of a mini replica of Aaron's award winning Reflections sculpture. We have some that I have to alter to fit. One year Jonathan had surgery on his thumb and I looked in every store for a month trying to find a Dr. or nurse type ornament all to no avail. I finally bought this little guy and put a red bandage on his thumb so that he matched Jonathan! Reaching, I know, but he loves it! On the other hand I have been amazed at the ornaments I can find when I am looking. PTA President ornaments!? New mini-van? Redoing a room?! I have found them. So fun to find one that fits. Here is Dave's when he was put in as EQ President. Real Men do their Home Teaching it says. Funny. I give the boys their ornaments for this year tonight. What would you pick for your ornament for this year?