Oh Christmas Tree

I love everything about Christmas!!

I love celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior,

I love singing Christmas carols,

I love decorating,

I love baking,

and I love the bustle of shopping.  

Yep, as far as I am concerned, it is indeed 

"The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year"!!

On Saturday December 1st we set out to find a tree.

In years past that equaled going to a tree farm, selecting just the right one, hubby using his mean sawing skills with girls giggling and dancing about, and dragging the tree through the snow to measure, pay, and transport it home.

(Christmas 2005)

Since living in the south...we have had to adapt this tradition quite a bit:)

Our first year in NC...
There was no snow:)
 We called around to find a farm that told us we could cut our own,
drove over an hour to said farm, was even handed a saw by mrs. tree farmer...
just to gaze out over a field of charlie brown trees that didn't even reach Kylee's waist:(

So we walked back to the entrance of the farm and picked a precut tree off the lot
(2009)

 From that time on we started a new tradition...
going to the farmer's market to pick out a tree.

THIS YEAR, 2012, we were off to the market again:)

As soon as we entered the first lot my hubby pointed one out...A GINORMOUS ONE!!

Of course it took the girls no time at all to fall in love with that one!!

But I asked them to humor me and see if there was a smaller/cheaper tree that we might find.

We looked the lot over and came back to this one.
Mr. Tree Farmer gave us a good discount so this big boy came home with us!!

It took hubby and a kind neighbor to get the tree into the house.

We started with a small step ladder and then decided it was time to bring in the big guns!!

You really cannot spend much time around this clan before the sillies start coming out!

Our oldest decided that since the tree was so big...

EVERY ornament needed to be placed on the tree this year!!

And then...as God's perfect timing would have it...we were able to face time with Aaron so he could share in our festive night!!

Showing Aaron the penguin stocking he picked out for him!
(yes, I tried to talk our family into changing tradition
 for beautiful stockings with names monogrammed on them...
they were not having it.)

Thank you Lord...we are overwhelmed by the countless blessings
YOU shower on us each and every day!!!