FullerTown

When we got married, we began filling stockings for each other. We would find all kinds of little things to put inside. So, when Luke was born, we wanted to get him a stocking and fill one for him. But we couldn't find one to match ours. So we ordered all new ones from Land's End. And, every year that we've needed one more we have called them and purchased one. They are all different and all special.

These ornaments also have a story. They were purchased from a gift shop in Siler City, NC that I loved. The Christmas that my Anna Brooke was born was a busy one. I had everything ready long before she was due to arrive. The trees, the gifts, everything; except these ornaments. I ran out of time to go and get a few of them so it would have to wait. After Christmas, my parents came to visit to bring our gifts from Florida and see their first granddaughter again. We went to eat dinner at the adjoining restaraunt and there were still several of these ornaments!! And they were on sale for a much-reduced price!! These ornaments remind me of that magical Christmas when I had my very own little bundle wrapped in soft cloths.

Today's ornaments have a story. We once lived in a house that had the cutest yellow wallpaper with fruit vines on it in the Breakfast Room. (I know that doesn't sound cute, but it's the best I could describe it.) I wanted to put a tree in there and began a search for fruit ornaments. One day I was in Dollar General and saw these. I bought every one they had and asked if other stores had them. So the search began. I have a whole tree's worth of these assorted ornaments. And I purchased them from every Dollar General between Asheboro, NC and Henderson, NC. I still love them. I still put them in my Breakfast Room. I still love them. The grapes are my favorite!

This ornament was purchsed at Dillard's several years ago. I saw it before Christmas and loved it but couldn't pay full price. So, about a week after Christmas i stopped in and there were two left at 80% off!! I was so excited. These poinsettias were also from Dillard's and purchased the same day. There are burgundy ones and gold ones. These are a bunch of pinecones that I have collected from a number of places. For some reason, I really do like them. I think they remind me of my Florida roots.

Today's collection of ornaments are probably the most beautiful on the tree. They are from the White House Historical Library. This collection was started for me as a gift from a sweet, sweet friend whom we love dearly. Every year she gives this ornament to me as a gift; and I treasure them. This one is made from the same sandstone as the White House. Every year's ornament is related to a former President's time in the White House. This one got married at Christmastime in the White House. This is one of my favorites. The President himself dressed up as Santa Claus for his grandchildren! This is my most favorite. The rocking horse and train swivel from side to side. This is what Paul wants for Christmas. A train and a rocking horse. I love the colors used on this one. And how regal it looks. There must have been a White Christmas complete with sleigh ride sometime! These ornaments come in a box with a little booklet that tells the story behind each ornament. I Love them!

These are Chrismon ornaments. I have a set of 12 Chrismons that I ordered from World Crafts many years ago. Each symbol has a significant meaning relating to the Life of Christ. You can learn more about them here . I think they are beautiful.

Patrick has been collecting John Deere memorabilia for many, many years. These are some of his ornaments. Who knew Mrs. Claus drove a tractor?

I won this ornament at an ornament exchange many years ago. I have loved it ever since. It also reminds me of the time my family visited the town of Hershey, PA when I was a very little girl. Everybody needs a little chocolate to survive.

As I said earlier on this ornament journey, we like to collect ornaments when we travel. These three ornaments have been collected from Mission Trips. This year is the first year this ornament has hung on our tree. It is from Costa Rica. This ornament is from Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. The most beautiful place I have ever visited on Earth. This ornament is handmade and hand painted in Romania. The lady who makes these donates the proceeds to the Seminary there.

Today is my Mom's birthday, Happy Birthday, Mom! Today, I will share some ornaments that My Mom has given to me over the years. She started a new tradition the year my older sister got married. She gave us all (my 2 sisters and me) an angel ornament Some years it has been a set of ornaments, other years it has been a single ornament. They are all very special to me.

This is one of the newer ornaments in our collection. It was purchased during a weekend trip Patrick and I took last Fall. We were blessed with the opportunity to get away and I found these in a shop in Black Mountain. They were very reasonably priced and there were only two left! They are a very beautiful addition to our ornament collection!

Many people may not be aware that the International Mission Board sells ornaments for every year's missions emphasis. I have collected these ornaments for years and love every one. The ornaments always is a simple collage of faces representing millions that need Jesus. Please do not let the opportunity to give to the Lottie Moon International Missions Offering pass you by. We have missionaries ready and willing to go tell the nations. The very least we can do is sacrificially give so that they can!

This ornament says New Home 2006 . It was given to us by one of our sweet church members. We love it!

This ornament is one of a set of six. They were purchased in sets of 3, a red, white and green one all with the year on them. We bought enough for us a set and both our Mother's a set. We cut the wallet size photos of the children and put in the ornament frames. They both liked them very much. I have never seen anything like this again in the stores. If you find something similar, let me know.

We place these little red birds on our tree every year. And, every year I situate two to look like they are in love. It's just my quirky humor. The tree always settles a little bit and the birds end up looking like these do.

The next two ornaments are self explanatory. You can't read it very well because apparently pewter, Christmas lights and automatic flash don't work well together. It says: Our First Christmas Patrick & Laura Fuller 12-25-2000 This will be our tenth Christmas together!! Every one has been special, wonderful, and memories have been made every single year. The next is an ornament from the gift shop of the resort where we spent our Honeymoon. This really began a tradition that we could not have imagined at that time. Whenever we travel somewhere we have never been, we try to purchase an ornament to help us remember that city or place. We are getting close to A BUNCH of ornaments from places we have visited. Let's see if I can list the memory from every year. 2000-Our first Christmas together. 2001-We spent Christmas in Florida with my family. We were getting ready to move to our first place of ministry together. 2002-I was expecting Luke and we made it as special as we coul...

Over the next few weeks I am going to attempt to share a couple special ornaments or decorations that are special every day. Really every ornament is special to us because it commemorates a special event or was given to us by someone we love. The first is special to me. Patrick gave it to me the Christmas he proposed to me. You should understand that the engagement ring wasn't my Christmas gift, it just happened to be at Christmastime when Patrick popped the question. One of my Christmas gifts from him that year was this beautiful gold tree with the date engraved on it. It will always hang on our tree and remind me of that magical Christmas when we were newly engaged.

It is our tradition to spend thanksgiving on Moulton with the whole Fuller family. Papa says there are only 5 houses on Moulton. It's really small. This year we arrived there at 11 p.m. Nana was waiting up for us and set up the camp-out bed. The little Fullers slept until 9:00 the next morning. It was very unusual. I think they sleep better there because it is so dark and quiet. Wednesday morning we were going to blow leaves in the yard. Wet leaves. Patrick blew leaves and the children played in them. I supervised. The leaves have to be blown or raked into a big pile. Then hauled by wheelbarrow to a burn pile on the edge of Papa's yard. It was hard work. Work which I have not done in a long time. This is one of the advantages of living in the city, in a neighborhood. It takes us 10 minutes to blow the leaves out of our back yard back into the woods. We worked ALL DAY LONG. And by 'all day' I mean the better part of the afternoon. I'm really sad there are no pictures...