On a tree in D.C.

TimesNewspapers - For the second time Mortonite Cindy Villa has a Christmas ornament hanging from a White House Christmas tree.

Villa, an artist, was invited to submit a decoration for consideration earlier this year. The invitation came from the Society of Decorative Painters, a group Villa belongs to.

Villa was sent a bare wooden flute to paint.

"Deciding what to do took the longest. It took me weeks to decide what to do, and an hour to paint it," Villa said, laughing.

Asked if it was nerve-wracking deciding what to do, Villa said no, then smiled.

"No, because I've done it before. But, of course, I wanted it to be perfect. Well, maybe it was, just a little.

"I submitted in Sept. 10, and then the wait to see if it was accepted began."

Villa waited for her acceptance letter to arrive. But before that letter came an invitation for Villa, and her husband, George, to attend a reception Dec. 1 at the White House arrived.

Villa had her answer.

Knowing she had another decoration hanging from a tree in the White house is a thrill for Villa. A painter since 1979, Villa has long made Christmas ornaments an artistic endeavor. Her home is filled with Christmas decorations she has made.

"Christmas is a big part of the craft business. I've made Christmas ornaments for 20 years," she said.

"Everybody likes ornaments. It's joyous to make them. It gets me in the holiday mood early. They have their own magic."

Dec. 1 arrived and Villa was in Washington, D.C., outside the White House in a line. It took more than an hour to clear security, but then she was standing in the lobby, looking at massive holiday wreaths and Christmas trees galore.

"It was like a winter wonderland. Then we got to get into line to meet the First Lady and get our picture taken with her," Villa said.

Villa laughed as she recalled she got to spend about 15 seconds with Laura Bush.

"She was very charming," Villa said was her quick impression.

After a quick photo, Villa was escorted out of the room as other artists had their pictures taken.

"I was dying to get back into the room to look for my decoration," she said. "We had to wait until all the photos had been taken and the First Lady left. We were let back into the room with 15 minutes of the reception left."

Villa looked and looked and was having no luck when her husband called her to the window.

"He said, 'The President is outside playing with his dog.' I went over just in time to see the top of the President's head as he came back inside," Villa said.

Time was running out and Villa had still not found her decoration.

A man in a military uniform came to her rescue.

He was holding a map that showed where every ornament was located. Her ornament was No. 191. He found it located near the bottom of one of the trees. Villa posed for a few pictures with it, and the reception was over.

Sitting in her dining room, Villa flipped through the pages of a photo album with pictures of the event. She came across two blank pages.

"Those are where the pictures of me with the First Lady will go," Villa said. "This has been a very special occasion for me. I feel very honored."