The Tree...Part 1

Two years ago my grandpa insisted on taking Nate and me Christmas tree shopping. He loved real Christmas trees and wanted us to have the "Cadillac" of trees for our apartment. We bundled up little Jansen and braved the cold and came home with a great tree. I can't even begin to tell you what a wonderful grandpa he was (he passed away a year ago)...probably the most selfless person I know...and throw in a cuss word or two and that's my grandpa!

Nate and I decided to get a real tree this year too. There were a lot of advantages to an artificial one, but we both came to the conclusion that the smell, the memories, the look, and the fun of picking out a real one were just too great to pass up.

Here we are on our way to get our tree!

You can see by the expressions on their faces how Nate and Jansen feel about the experience.

And I would love to tell you that we strolled around together for hours finding just the right one, but alas that is not the truth. We basically took these pictures, I loaded the kids back in the car (it was just too cold), and I went home while Nate chose O Tannenbaum.

Wait till my next post and you get to see the tree! When Nate brought it home we discovered that trees are much bigger than you thought once you get them inside your house...in order to get it home and fit it in the house AND stay upright on its own we had to use: a friend's truck, a neighbor's help, a saw, a drill (with special spade bit), rope, a screw-in hook, and a nail. But it's beautiful and smells so good! Now if we can just remember to water it.