December is finally here, and bringing with it the best time of the year!
The Christmas holidays are full of wonderful traditions and excitements. One of my very favorite parts of early December is picking out a real Christmas tree to bring home. I have never experienced Christmas without a real tree to decorate and smell and put presents under in my home.
The day after we got home from our Thanksgiving adventure in Washington, we headed up to the tree lot near our house and did some "tree shopping." Robert picked out a gorgeous and fluffy tree from Oregon (at least that's what the man selling the trees told us). We spent the next couple of days setting it up and decorating it. And here are some beauties of the final product:
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| good thing we have two walls--we have just enough ornaments to cover one side |
Isn't it lovely?
Robert and I started a tradition last year of collecting Christmas tree ornaments. That will be our souvenir from our vacationing adventures. We also decided we would splurge on one "fancy" or "special" ornament a season.
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| The first ornament we bought together--from Jackson Hole, WY |
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| Last year's special ornament--delicious! |
This year we found hand crafted and hand painted ornaments at a Christmas boutique that we both loved. Here is this year's ornament:
I'm excited to one day be able to fill a big tree with all of our collected ornaments. What wonderful stories to bring out in the Christmas traditions.
There really is nothing like taking a step back, turning out the lights, and taking a look at your sparkling tree covered in tiny lights and ornaments. It makes me think, "Wow, this is bigger than just you and me." I remember feeling the same way last year, just a few months after we were married. The Christmas tree made me realize that we have actually started our own little family--keeping and starting family traditions that one day our children will cherish just as much as we cherish our own family traditions at Christmastime. Wow, that's big.
Lovin' the spirit and smell of the tree. Let the traditions begin!
She's a beauty, alright. Chubby, too.
ReplyDeleteI love real live Christmas trees. My favorite of all Christmas decorations. And I'm with you, Carson - I love the smell of the pine. I hope we get out this week to select our tree. Everything seems to take longer when we end up in Columbus three days each week. "Shopping" time is at a minimum. And in two week you will be here. I better get hoppin'.