'Tis the Season...

We are heading into my most favorite time of year. And not because of the gifts and the getting, but because I love the decorations and the general spirit of this particular holiday. We love going out and cutting down our own tree. Well, I better clarify that...I love going out and getting the tree. Marc hates the cold weather and would just rather us put up an artificial one. And this is no slam against those that have and enjoy their artificial tree, but I think Christmas needs a real tree. The smell that it has is fantastic and just adds to the excitement of this holiday. Marc and I went out yesterday and cut down our tree. It took us awhile to find just the perfect one. And you know, it always looks perfect outside when the snow is falling on its branches, but then you get it home and didn't notice that one (or five) bare spot. But no tree is perfect. And that thought reminds me of something that I try to remind myself every year while we're tree hunting. We search and hunt for the perfect tree. And there standing tall in front of you is exactly what your looking for. And it looks so beautiful in the gently falling snow. And then you bring it home and get it all set up and you see the bare spots, the crooked branches and the saggy ones, too. And even though you put on the beautiful decorations, you still know all the imperfections are there. And that reminds me of us. On the outside everything looks perfect and beautiful, but then you look a little deeper and notice all of the imperfections. How thankful I am that God sent His perfect Son to die for me. I can't imagine the heartache He must have felt when He turned His back on His only Son. But I am so thankful that He did that for me.

We decided to start a new tradition in our family. And for some families, they've done this for some time now, but for us it's something new. Every year we are going to go out and the girls will choose their very own ornament to hang on the tree. And then when they get older and head out on their own, they will have their very own set of ornaments. Of course, when they are older and see some of the ones they've picked, they'll probably just die! But I'll remember the great times we had together when we went to get them. Below are pictures of their own ornaments and then a picture of the finished tree. I don't like a ton of decorations on a tree. I like it simple. But to us it's beautiful.

Here's Emma's ornament. It didn't really surprise us that she liked this one. She always tells us that she's going to be a princess when she grows up.

Here's Lily's ornament. She fell in love with this bird as soon as she saw it! I think it's great!

And then there's Maggie. She wanted the blue fish in the worst way. Hopefully she'll still love it when she's older.

We wish everyone who reads this blog a very Merry Christmas!