I fought the tree

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...and the tree won.

Tradition is that we put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving around here...but since we were just arriving back into town this year on that day, and upon discovering our regular tree farm was non existent this year (returned home that day to a letter from them saying he was serving in Iraq and would be back next year...so proud of our tree farm man!) we had to wait till Saturday. After asking around, we drove out into the countryside of Hendersonville to a nice little family owned tree farm and picked "the perfect" Frasier Fir. It was around sunset and the lady there was nice enough to take a family picture for us with my camera and our tree. Too bad she felt the need to position us directly facing the sun...she must not have children.

The kids threw back the hot cocoa and mini candy canes and I pilfered through the leftover tree clippings for my mantle...Adam helped load the tree...and we were well on our way to tinsel town....or so I thought.We turned on Nat King Cole and trimmed the tree as a family...Just when I was prepared to sit back, stare at my beautifully decorated tree and bask in the glow of Christmas lights...what to my wondering eyes should appear in my peripheral vision ?? A 9ft Frasier crashing to the ground...ornaments, lights, and all. Long story short, the tree had to be de-ornamented and taken outside for the night when nothing we tried would work...and I had to superglue 3 ornaments....next day, same thing. So after trying to rig the tree 127 different ways and feeling neither Holly nor Jolly and testing the very vows we made when we married Adam decided it needed a better tree stand. One heavy duty tree stand and a bungee attached to my french door handles just in case...don't laugh! later, and we had ourselves a tree people! :-)

Not only did we have a tree...we had a memory...in fact a few. It will be a while before my husband and I forget this tree...and the fact that it pushed us to the brink of saying bad words...before our kids forget the hilarious although not so much in the moment expressions and comical reflexes of an unsuspecting mom and dad trying to catch the toppling tree...a few times. Of me crying because Maggie's "Baby's First Christmas" ornament was cracked in the process...but embracing Maggie and realizing that she was sentimental to me..not the ornament..and how blessed I was that she was in fact whole and healthy. Of dad mocking me because the lights weren't symmetrically even...nor the tree...but hey, I had to pick my battles...after what he'd been through it didn't seem quite fitting for me to start whining "could you move it a little to the right?"

Here's a sneak peek....hopefully you will come back on the 14th when I join The Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes to see more.

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to You"