One of my children's favorite activities is decorating the Christmas tree. For several years, Peter would be enthusiastic, but then quickly lose focus. As Charlotte and Kit clamored around the boxes of ornaments Peter would flit in and out of the room.

I would have to cajole him to put up each of his special ornaments. Soon, he would be off in the other room, watching a Christmas special. Occasionally he would come in to see how the tree decorating was going.

This year was different. When we started decorating, Peter started searching for his favorite ornaments. He was joining the girls remembering the stories that went with the decorations. His favorites, of course, revolve around Disney World, one of his true obsessions.

Each time one of my children turned four, we would visit Mickey and his friends in Orlando. We called it that child's magic year. For Christmas following the "magic year" we would include an ornament from Disney that highlighted a special moment from their trip. All the children have ornaments from each of those trips, but they all remember the ornament that goes with their magic year the most.

For Peter it is Mickey in his Fantasia costume on a red Christmas ball with the year 2005 emblazoned on it. This year, Peter gazed at it saying "2005 was my magic year right? I love Mickey Mouse."

He searched for his Playdoh ornament, asking me why he had gotten that one. I told him it was the year he finally liked playing with clay because when he was really little he would run from the room if there was Playdoh. Peter laughs at that thought now. He loves clay and  creating things. He finds it difficult to believe that it used to frighten him.

He also put the school bus ornament with his name on it on the tree. He grinned as he saw the bus and even more when he read his name out loud. He reminded me that the bus was from when he went to pre-school like it was so very long ago. For me, it all feels like a flash, but to a boy in the fourth grade, pre-school is practically a lifetime ago.

In between these ornaments the girls were hanging princesses, violins, dance outfits and angels, each with their stories. In the past, all of that excitement would be too overwhelming for Peter, too many things going on at once and so he would retreat.

This year he was adding to the confusion with his stories and I was doing my best to keep up with three now, rather than two chatterboxes.

Christmas...the day we will find many presents under the decorated tree. After all the wrapping has been torn and presents opened, I often find myself looking at the ornaments and thinking of many different Christmases and other memories made along the way.

For my family, the decorations each hold a specific memory. For the children, the ornaments point to change and growth. They symbolize accomplishments, hobbies, things that make life joyful. Those tiny symbols of Christmas often show it is the little things that make Christmas truly special.