NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark — By the weekend of Christmas, it's typically decided if you're decorating or not.
But this year, the Oehler family started their detangling process less than 36 hours before Christmas.
"I'm like why not? Let's put the lights up even if they have to come back down in about a week that's okay," dad, Peter Oehler said.
It's not that the Oehlers are last minute people, it's just that they didn't know if they'd be celebrating at all this year.
They've been living in a rental ever since the March tornado tore their North Little Rock neighborhood apart.
Several months ago, we spoke to the Ohlers just hours after the storm had passed, where they described the scary scene in March.
"Everything went silent and we came out and we saw everything. I was like, I'm just glad I could keep [my family] safe," mom, Debora Oehler, said in March.
Peter also recalled his experience seeing the damage that the tornado caused that day.
"I couldn't get to the house because of all the trees so had to kind of like, dump the car and then come running through a bunch of people's yards..." he said. "I counted four, and then [Debora] five. And you know, things were okay."
But with no end in sight to insurance and construction delays, a holiday back home wasn't guaranteed. That was, until a few weeks ago when they decided to come home anyway.
"I don't care if we have electricity or not. I just want to be in my house." Debora Oehler said. "We bought a generator," Peter added.
Now 9 months after the storm, there are still some cracks, but for the Oehlers, there's no place they'd rather be.
"It feels like we're back to being home again. And then like just seeing how our kids started relaxing like the house isn't a threatening place anymore to them," Peter Oehler said.
Debora Oehler emphasized that everything they need for Christmas, they already have.
"I'm happy. We're all here and all together. That's all pretty much all matters," she said.
So maybe it's not how early decorate but why you're celebrating at all, that really shines.