December 1, 2014 – Dayspring Disciples

With our artificial trees aging and appearing more and more dilapidated, we just could not bring ourselves to dragging the old things out of the basement this year. I don’t care for pre-lit trees which are all the rage in the stores these days, and I wasn’t eager to “shop around” with our days being as busy as they seem to be these days.

We decided to do something “crazy” and go for a real tree.
I sent out an email to many friends seeking information on purchasing a real tree, and we got quite a bit of responses!
We’d heard on the radio that 80% of the people who put up Christmas trees each year go with artificial. I have to say that well over 50% of the people I asked sung the praises of real trees.

We ended up at Wilbert’s because we’d been to their live nativity scene so many years John felt like we should go back there. So go back we did. Sunday night. In the dark. With two piddley flashlights and an iPhone bulb. We trekked around far longer than sane people should do in the dark and never found the Austrian Pine we were after. Now – they DID have an Austrian Pine all cut and ready to go for $30, but it wouldn’t be FUN to just take that one. Not when they have SAWS you can use and wagon-like-things you can drag around in the dark. We wandered further and further from the lights of the sales area, and I began looking for lamp posts and talking beavers.

After about 40 minutes of taking turns carrying Katriel (who decided it would be fun to poke around my face in the dark naming facial parts) and Johanna, (who was “fweezing”), we found something green and tree-like. As our batteries started to fade, we deemed that it was indeed the PERFECT TREE for our home thank-you-very-much and the kids took turns sawing. After what seemed like a LONG time, we hear Nigel say, “Whoa Marie, stop!” (They were each on a side.) “It’s half-way through; save some for Tabitha to do.” John then looked and the blade wasn’t even buried in the trunk. What can I tell you… they were doing it by penlight.

There will be memories. I’ll make sure no one forgets…

I forgot the real camera. So there won’t be good photos. But Nigel told my mom proudly today that he is 5’3″. She was pretty impressed to hear he clocked in at that number, until I mentioned that he measured himself against a candy cane.
The kids didn’t even get candy canes to eat on the way home because they’d run out by 6:30 P.M. on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Go figure. But that is how we roll.

We learned a lot. We remembered to take the online coupon and get a tree bag. That would be really fabulous if we’d remembered to put it under the tree. Either the first time we put it in, or after we’d taken it out to make adjustments. We also don’t plan to see the cats for the next 30 days. (I can live with that.)

It really is a pretty tree. And it looks quite elegant in the living room. Maybe looking in the dark is the way to go?

It took three more days and cancelled afternoon school to get it decorated. I also had to cancel my birthday to get the house decorated.

Overall I like it…. but what I don’t like is how all the ornaments keep falling off the tree.

Oh – and get this – AFTER we decorate it with a hodge podge of stuff, the kids mention to me how they would like to see it decorated ELEGANTLY. Really? Um, your mom can do elegant… I just haven’t had the chance in the last dozen years!