Oh Christmas Tree...

This year Ken decided that he wanted to get a real Christmas Tree. We have our fake one up upstairs, but thought it would be delightful to have on in the basement. It was so bare down there last year so I was in for sure. He have some great friends that are super outdoorsy so we asked them if they wanted to come. So the two families headed out yonder for a fun afternoon.

We headed up some very slippery forestry roads, luckily we have 4 wheel drive this year, and finally decided on a sunny, open (I know, weird. Wouldn't you want a heavily treed area?) spot so the kiddies could play. And play they did!!

We walked up a hill and didn't really see anything that we LOVED. So we headed back down. This is awful but so funny!! My girlfriend A is at least 11 months pregnant (jks - she thinks she is huge but I think she looks no bigger than me and I don't have a bun in my oven) and she was carrying a saw. She happened to stumble upon a little slick area and in slow motion, she went down on all fours into the fluffy snow whilst the saw did a few triple flips in the air and somehow, managed to miss the four kids, her and I, before it came to a stop in the snow.

Of course like a true and concerned friend I asked her if she was ok and if the baby was on it's way now.... and then I held her arm like she was an elderly woman until she told me she was fine and pried my fingers from her. And the entire time I was laughing. What a jerk. But it was just so funny and it was honestly in slow motion!

We didn't have that much success up the first hill so the men went up over another hill. The kids were starting to get cold and cranky so us two girls got a small fire going. We did a pretty good job. It was enough to give the kids a bit of warmth.

I had said to Ken that I wanted a pine tree. We finally saw them coming back down the hill, dragging their prized trees. Ken had picked out just what I asked for. But after I saw the M's tree I had a little envy. I think Ken was less than enthused to go back into the woods to find another tree... but him and B did. This time they took the boys and the dogs.

Ken had found a great tree... a little flat on one side but I wouldn't dare ask him to go back in and find another one... he would have left me there. We could put the flat side against the wall anyways.

I am so used to our fake tree that when I look at our real tree it looks a wee bit un-even. BUT, I smile every time I look at it. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and how much we anticipated putting it up (it was a bloody crisis to get my Dad to put it up... don't even get me started on the lights!! ;) Love you Dad) and decorating it. The kids had fun for a bit until they got frustrated that the decorations kept falling off. I had to show them how to put them down further on the branch so it could hold the weight.

I am so thankful for this beautiful season. I am thankful for Christ and his eternal sacrifice for us. I am thankful for the birth of our Beautiful Brother who is an example to me every day of how I can try to live my life better. I am thankful for our Father in Heaven who has this lovely plan for us, to return to him one day. We are so blessed to have this opportunity on this Earth. After all, I believe that we chose to come here, trials and all, to have this gift of a mortal body. To learn and live and love and grow.