It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

(I know most of you are over the holiday spirit, but I'm just now getting to posting about our jolly-holly-days!)

This year I am convinced that we had the most beautiful tree in our 13 year history of Christmas trees. I'd love to say that there was a grand hunt for it through the lovely winter weather, kids bundled and shouting, "Pick that one!"...but I'd be fibbing you. This year, the Hubs went to the local hardware store, grabbed one that was already wrapped, plunked it on the roof of his beloved truck and took it home to mama. Here's to the tree that was a true present already wrapped up and waiting for us to call it our own.


Each year we've gotten ornaments from the Hub's family. It began from the tradition of his grandparents sending some of the most interesting (read:odd) finds from their home in Georgia to be opened on Christmas here. Each small gift was opened with a slight wince and a anticipatory giggle. They have all become well-loved and certainly some of the precious memories we have from Christmas' past. This year there were no ornaments from his grandparents. They have really aged in the last year, and I think this was a difficult tradition for them to continue. Thankfully, my mother-in-law has jumped in and picked up this wonderful tradition. She actually embroidered these adorable ornaments for each one of the grandchildren this year. I absolutely love them. I think if I could keep them up all year I would. To me they show how much she loves them, enough to take time to carefully stitch each of the letters in their precious little names. We really enjoyed putting all of the ornaments on the tree this year and I know next year will be just as exciting, especially when we see these dear reminders of a grandmother's love.

Cutting down the family Christmas tree has been one of my family's traditions for years. We would do the proverbial bundling, traipsing and huddling, until my dad would station us by a "possibility, yep, a real possibility!" We would stand guard by our tree hoping that the rest of the family hadn't found the final choice and was cutting it down while you froze protecting a "possibility." It was always enjoyable, and we would inevitably come home laughing about something that had transpired in the vast fields of trees, or if we maybe, actually, finally, came home with one that didn't look like it was about to give birth to another small evergreen. So one year when I got this red truck hauling a Christmas tree I just about cried. It was from a student in my class and I'm sure they had no idea what precious memories it stirred in me. This year we didn't get to do the hunt through the field, but maybe when the kids are older, and they can do the traipsing on their own. For now, I have my truck.