Now, "I know there's more snow up in Colorado than our roof will ever see...," but you have to admit looking out the front windows at our home and seeing this is not a bad thing!
What a lovely sight!
Last night as the snow was falling, we took the time to put up our Christmas tree. Typically we buy a real tree, but
there was not much success in that department this year. We went to Lowe's on Wednesday to buy one, and there were only Charlie Brown trees left.....and those were expensive! Lowe's was having a sale on all their Christmas decor (50% off!) so we thought that we might just get a fake one for the first time. Evidently we were slow to the game this
year, and everyone had already raided those as well. We tried one more place to get a real one, and that place "chose not to sell real ones this year." Their selection of fake trees were gaudy and again too expensive for our tastes. We went home a little sad, for we were looking forward to securing our tree. On Thursday it rained virtually all day long, thus making the purchase of a real tree a rather sloppy experience. Fortunately for us, Target was having a big sale on their trees as well, and Thomas and I found one that we thought A) looked good B) was affordable and C) was one of those pre-lit trees! To be honest, the purchase of the fake tree had me a little sad, for we've always had a real tree, and my family always had a real tree growing up.
My grandmother was the only one that had a fake tree, and that did not come until late life. Hers was a beast to put up--you had to put all the right pieces in all the right holes and fluff all the branches, and if any of the color markers on the ends happened to rub off, you just had to guess where the stupid thing went. In the end, it was not even that pretty. Obviously, fake trees have come a long way, for this one was in 3 major pieces that took Thomas about 5 minutes to assemble, including the base. At that point, in all honesty, it already looked nice, but I took some time to "fluff" the branches and spread things out a bit. In short, we are both very pleased with our selection, and now that we actually own our own home, we have a nice place to store the tree, which had always been a reason behind buying a real one before. In fact, if we truly wanted, we could just take the tree up to our storage room and place it in there until next year!
I've been talking to and reading the blogs of some other friends, and it appears that all their children just love decorating the tree. It was not that Daniel didn't like it, per say, it is just that he totally didn't get it. He sat this one ornament on the tree (see left), and after that, he proceeded to take off each ornament that I put on. He ended up breaking one of them, but it is repairable. The horse ornament just really appealed to him, for he would take it around the house, neighing and clapping. At some point while doing this,
he dropped it and part of it broke off. No biggie. I really have no clue where it came from, so it is not like he broke a special one or anything.
As we decorated, everything was picturesque. It was snowing, everyone was happy, the lights were twinkling.......almost perfect. I think if we had created a fire in the fireplace it would have been right on target, just like a scene in the movies. That is one reason why I really liked being able to have
decorations on the mantle, right above the fireplace. That always seems to be a pretty focal point in the movies, and I have never had one to decorate.
The Holy Family is on the right in the picture, and on the left is a snowman photo sequence that Thomas took in college (our friends Jason and Jacob actually made them, and let's just say that if you look closely, you can tell these snowmen are not exactly nice). I think after Christmas I will try to buy some stocking hangers on sale so that I can have them for next year; after all, the stockings are suppose to be "hung by the chimney with care."
Now I just need to round out the Christmas shopping by buying a few more gifts----and I need to wrap them all! I am not a very good present wrapper, for I do not have the ability to cut straight or make good edges when folding. Thomas is actually the patient one, so I think he will be recruited this year to wrap some gifts other than mine.
I hope your heart is filled with cheer as mine is today. I know that we are blessed beyond anything we deserve. Having a child that I love so much, I have a better grasp on the gift of God's son, Jesus, yet I know I am no where near comprehending what he truly gave us this holiday season. I pray that all our friends and family feel the love we have for them this Christmas and always. And, if I do not know you and you've come across my words via the world wide web, I hope you have someone in your life to show you love.
Merry Christmas!
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