2011 Christmas Ornaments

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year.....not for the food, but to see the creative masterpieces that my mom creates for each one of us in the annual Christmas ornaments. She really outdid herself this year! Each year, she makes at least 1 ornament for each member of our family, and sometimes, if she can't decide which idea she wants to use, she makes 2 ornaments! I can't even imagine how much time it takes her to make these; it takes me usually 2+ days/nights to think up an idea and make her ornament. I can't imagine doing that at least 8 different times! I love it that my mom does this for us. It makes our Christmas tree so special - our tree really is the story of our lives!

Reese went first since she was the youngest (at least for this year - we're waiting for you, Emerson!). Her first ornament was of her and Pamma (my mom) holding hands and singing/playing in the rain - complete with a little umbrella! What a special memory the two of them shared doing this.

Reese's 2nd ornament was of Reese riding the camel in her cheerleader outfit at this year's OSU Homecoming.

Jenna announced their upcoming gift this year while we were dying Easter eggs, so Mom captured the moment in her Christmas ornament this year. Inside the pink Easter egg basket filled with Easter eggs was an Easter egg that looked just like the one they made saying "We're Pregnant!".

Casey's ornament celebrated his achievement of graduating with his Master's. We're proud of you, Casey!

The Campbell family's ornaments:

Like Reese, Jackson also got 2 ornaments. The first one he unwrapped was of him on the camel dressed in his Iron Man costume. I still can't believe Jackson wore his Iron Man costume to OSU Homecoming!

His 2nd ornament was of Jackson's Halloween costume this year: Captain Spider America Man! Jackson is really into superheroes and couldn't decide which one he wanted to be. So for some of his Halloween parties, he decided to make the Ultimate Superhero and combined the Captain America and Spiderman costumes into one!

Mom - did you notice that he really does have the Cook toe? Cracks me up that he doesn't even realize that he's doing it!

Tom started teaching lessons at TU this year as an adjunct professor. In addition to the lessons, he also helps out with the TU marching band and next semester will teach a few more classes. So it was very fitting that Tom's ornament was a little Santa drumming on a TU drum.

This year I was in charge of the Williams Tulsa Area United Way Day of Celebration, which is a big celebration complete with lunch, a skit, giveaways and the check presentation marking the end of the annual United Way campaign for Williams. It was a great campaign (we gave the highest amount ever for Williams at over $2 million!) with a really fun theme of "The Need is Real" and ties to different reality TV shows. For the Day of Celebration, we used the Survivor theme, and as part of the skit, we showed our executives planking in different locations around Tulsa to raise awareness for the United Way. Mom captured it perfectly in my ornament this year!

The McGillen family ornaments:

My grandma was in town from Iowa this Thanksgiving, and my mom made her a special ornament - her with all of her 6 grandchildren!

My parents have spent a lot of time this year working on genealogy, and recently took an extended trip to do more genealogy work and see some of the places where our ancestors were. They've traced our family back to at least the 1500's and came back with lots of interesting stories. One of our ancestors was the Camp family in the Revolutionary War. They actually found the gravestone of Thomas Camp from the 1700's in a small family cemetery at the top of a hill under a tree - just like a postcard. I made Mom a family tree ornament with a replica of the tree (and their initials carved into the trunk).

My dad got 2 ornaments this year. The first ornament was to celebrate the end of all of the work he has done over the past several years updating the church buildings. We got to take a tour of the updated facilities while we were there, and it seriously looks like a brand new church but still kept all of the historical feelings. They did an outstanding job!

Dad also helped implement DamWatch for Oklahoma dams this year, so his ornament depicted a beaver looking out across the water in the dam holding binoculars. So creative!

Mom and Dad's ornaments:

Thank you so much, Mom, for making these ornaments for us. They are very treasured! Decorating the tree always takes on a special trip down memory lane. You are amazing, and we are so lucky.