I spent Thanksgiving day listening to the Packer game while John watched. I get too nervous to sit and watch them, especially since it was expected to be a tight match up. I also can’t sit for very long and always have to be doing something. After snakcing on chicken wings and pretzels with dip, I brought out out my holiday decorations.

Kylie was curled up at the front door, snoring away, while Frankie watched every move I made. She hates to miss anything and “helps” me by sniffing through everything.

As I unpacked my holiday decorations I once again brought out my Christmas bells. I remember these bells since I was a very young girl of 5 or 6. My grandma and grandpa always had them hanging in the hallway of their home. Every time we’d visit during the holiday season my grandpa would pick me up so I could pull the chord on the bells so it would play music. It still works to this day… and it is at least 42-years old.

It is always a warm and tender “joyful paws” moment for me when I pull the bells out of the storage container and hang them in my home. Vivid images of Christmas come flashing back through my mind of how much I loved Christmas at grandma Edith and grandpa Otto’s. I love to pull the chord to once again hear the music and imagine that grandma and grandpa hear them all the way up in heaven.

Do you have a favorite holiday decoration or moment that brings back fond memories?