Tis the Season...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is a fun time for a Sweet Boy who has been good all year and is never, no never ever naughty! *There is a difference, though it may be subtle..., between ornery and naughty. Just saying!

The explosion of boxes and containers and figures that come out of "The Christmas Closet" leave me a little unsettled... but I do enjoy checking out the ornaments as they are unpacked. And I like to watch them placed on the tree. [Pardon the messiness of the process!]

We normally decorate two trees...

The Eclectic and Collectible Tree. Located in our formal dining room, we decorate this tree with the Mom's collection of ornaments that go back to when she was a young pup, living with her the mama and daddy.

These ornaments include gifts from her friends through the years, as well as many given to the Mom's Mom by her friends and students. Some are expensive, and some are even more valuable... hand made! Each has a story, a memory. Each is a treasure.

This tree also displays the Mom's extensive collection of Krinkle Ornaments by artist, Patience Brewster. This passion began with Reindeer Dog (photo below does not do it justice), and has grown to be quite a large and whimsical collection.

Other fun ornaments on this tree reflect things the Mom loves, like farm animals and kitsch.

The Golden Tree. This is a tree that we decorate in our family room. Due to space limitations, it has to be small, but it's loaded! This tree is inspired by the Mom's first Golden... Comet [Check out her blog... Goldens Rule!]... but it is all about the Mom's love for ALL all of her fur children!

There are many Comet-the-Reindeer ornaments and many stars. There are many Golden ornaments, including a great many that honor The Luke, The Me, The Wright Brothers... And I'm guessing that Reuf might be honored on there, too!

Among our Treasures is the M.D. Anderson bone ornament (above) was designed by a child with cancer and given to the Luke and the me by our Aunt Dav, just days before his diagnosis last year.

 We.

This year... We decided to celebrate and decorate The Golden Tree only. And by 'We', I mean... the Mom and I! 

The Reuf has no knowledge of the customs, traditions or manners of Christmas... tree or otherwise. He watched the decoration and lighting of the tree from his 'room'. He was allowed to sniff and walk to the back of it once... and then we quickly blocked his access. 

For several days, We left some low value ornaments on the coffee table as a test... and he passed. Clearly, our little Reufus is growing up! We don't think We need the gate, but our motto is "Never intentionally set the Reufus up to fail."!

The Stocking.

When he and I had our first sleep-over on December 26, 2008, The Luke had the most beautiful stocking ever! And in 2009, the Mom happened on the same stocking design and bought it for me. This is mine!

This is Reuf's first Christmas... in our family. And the Mom searched high and low for a stocking, befitting his ALL BOY personality, and she finally found it!

Check out the custom made stocking for Lil Reuf... by PIXELCHIC Designs on Etsy!!!

The Mom is thrilled with it! The Reuf is curious about it. And I am not surprised that it faces a different direction from mine! If the stocking fits.. Haha.

The Golden Tree, tonight... room lights off.

[This year, the tree is located in the NW corner of this room. We normally put it up in the SW corner, but since Reuf's arrival here on April 16th... the SW corner has been his, for his room! We decided it would be best to relocate the tree and move display shelves, rather than disrupt the security of Reuf's 'bedroom'!

The Golden Tree, tonight... room lights on.

We are going to finish up our decorations this weekend! Reufus is enjoying the season and has reallyl surprised us with his recent good behavior! The Mom thinks that the all of the training is working... I think it's because he just remembered that Santa has made and is checking his list, not just once... but twice!

Christmas is a Special Time.

It is Joy and Generosity and Fun...
It is Innocence,
a Time to Reunite with Your Inner Pup.

And it's a Time to Remember...
The Reason for The Season!

The emotions of loss seem to mount this time of year... but our the Mom does her best to overshadow her sadnesses with Songs and Specialness and Joy in our home.

Last Christmas, we quietly embraced what we knew were the last days of Our The Luke. I think you can imagine how she feels this year, but...

I'm feeling great, and that gives her great reason to raise her hands to the sky...

Time is the Greatest Gift!