Advent and our Christmas Tree

This year we got a Christmas tree!!! It's been several years since we've done one since we are often traveling over Christmas. Plus, last year we were literally moving ON Christmas Day! Another complication has been the fact that we wanted to be sure our tree did have something to do with CHRISTMAS - that it wasn't just a holiday tree. So, what we've decided to do is to decorate our tree gradually through Advent - each week adding ornaments that correlate with that week's theme. The first week was Hope and the Angels, this week is Peace and Mary, then we'll have Joy and Joseph, then Love and Shepherds and then Christ. On some of the ornaments we have to get a little creative: for instance, we have several beaded ornaments that I made in Jr. High and Tyler decided the should go on for "Hope" because they "made her feel hopeful". We also did several globe-shaped ornaments for "Peace on Earth". So far I'm really happy with the way it's working - it's nice to hold on to a Christmas tradition I love - a fresh tree and the lights turned on at night-time but have it have some meaning as we anticipate the celebration of Christ's birth.