Traditions

If you ask Dan, he'll be the first to tell you how much I love traditions. I love that William will eat his birthday cake on the same plate every year, I eat one black eyed pea on New Year's - every year, I love that we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus every Christmas Eve, I love my birthday picture of me holding up my age on my fingers every year, I love pictures with holiday characters (Santa, Easter Bunny, etc.), and the list goes on and on.


So I decided that our family needs to not only continue some "old" family traditions from when Dan and I were children, but also encourage new traditions that William and his siblings can enjoy through the years.


I love to needlepoint. It is my most favorite thing to do for myself (besides getting facials). I love how relaxing it feels, I love how quiet my surroundings become, I love the unlimited creativity of the fibers and textiles at my fingertips, I love how I can stitch on the go - anywhere, anytime, and I love that my Nana shared the same passion for needlepoint that I do. She's not with me anymore, but the needlepoint is my connection to her. I know she loves everything I have made over the years and for that, my hobby is priceless.



So back to traditions. I decided that since I love to stitch, I would make ornaments each year for Dan, William and my future kids. Each ornament can be a token of something they accomplished during the year, perhaps a favorite toy, sport or even a design that might prompt a memory from the current year. Who knows, it might just be an ornament that's in my bag of tricks and has nothing to do with anything! Point is, these ornaments are for each person and a labor of love from mom. I hope that someday, my kids will have their very own collection of ornaments that tell the story of their life. And in turn, they will keep the tradition alive by hanging their ornaments on their own family trees someday. TRADITION! Man I love it!



Here are my ornaments for Dan and William this year. Dan gets a fisherman and William gets a snowman on a sled. Last year, William got a "My First Christmas" ornament and Dan, well he got his huge stocking for the mantel:


Here is William's mantel stocking with the nutcrackers and Dan's mantel stocking with the wildlife:




Most people ask me if I ever sell my needlepoint or if I can make them something too. If you are a needlepointer, you know the answer is most likely NO! It takes hours and hours of my time to complete the largest projects (such as stockings) and each one is an expensive labor of love. I make everything for me, or for my family. I want my creations to be my little mark on the world that my children will love and like tradition, keep my artwork within their families for years to come.