Tonight as I write this post, Mr. Nielson is opening
all the windows are wide open in the house.
The weather today was 73 degrees and a little balmy.
And earlier this afternoon, my brother Andrew sent me
a video chat of his backyard covered with at least
5 inches of fluffy snow--(what are brothers for).
So tonight, I will admit, I feel a little homesick.
But looking at the weather on my phone, we might be in
for a little inclement weather later this week.
Here's hoping!
Last week we visited about five different Christmas tree stands,
and finally decided to stop at a cute little farm where you can cut
your own tree (or buy pre-cut trees).
We went fully prepared to chop our 2018 trees down-
like we did last year.
I quickly realized something would be different from our experience last year.
The trees available were, well...too perfect.
The farmers had shaped all their trees, and they looked
a little too perfect for my taste.
After wandering the grounds we
picked a tree that looked just like every other tree on the property.
Then we drove to a nursery to buy three live trees for the
Little Nies bedrooms, and I found myself picking out another
too-perfect tree, this time for my living room.
We brought them home, lit and decorated them as a family.
I decorated the family room tree with strings of lights
I stole from my dad's Christmas decoration stash
when I married almost 18 years ago.
My dad's Christmas trees are epic.
Each year he alternates between color and white lights.
He uses about 50 strings of lights per tree, so I don't think
he'd ever know if I stole three stings
These colored lights are seriously vintage and going strong.
The girls made their garlands with glitter, balls, and string
for their little mini-tree in their bedroom.
Next year I will tell you one thing: we're going
to drive the 3 hours to the mountains to chop our trees down.
To our family, it's more than just a tree-
It's the experience of choosing the right one and then cutting it down
and bringing it home.
Does seeing Christmas trees on top of cars make you as happy as I am?
I love imagining families taking those trees home to decorate them.
It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas!
