O Christmas Tree! (Grover Family Christmas Tradition #1)

In December of 2005, my birthday wish was to go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down a real Christmas tree, just like Laura Ingalls used to do (sort of!). After a little bit of online research, we found The Walls Family Farm in Terrell and it quickly became our first Grover Family Christmas Tradition. In the five years that we have been going, we have learned a few things:
1.) Go as early as possible. The best time to go is the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
2.) Take along a measuring tool, such as a precut ribbon, to ensure that you don't buy a tree that won't fit in your space.
3.) Be careful where you cut! Christmas Tree 2007 (see below) had a bit of a hole because we apparently cut above a rather important branch! Oh well, we decided this corner was a perfect place for our tree!

4.) Take along some friends or family! The Connells have joined us the past three years.
5.) Have fun! The Walls family is always so gracious and hospitable and their cookies, hot chocolate and cider is yummy too!
6.) Kids make the Christmas tree hunt all the more fun! Last year was Amity's first trip. The year before that, I was pregnant with her, and the year before that, she was just a much-longed for dream!

This year, we were some of the first people to arrive and the kids were raring to go find the perfect tree.

Amity thought she had found a good one... but her Daddy thought that we should look for one a little more substantial!

Eiley let Amity borrow her plastic saw.

Eli brought along his chainsaw for the third year in a row.

Amity tried using the saw to cut some grass.

We found lots of potentials, stopped to give Mom a snuggle, picked up a couple of sticks,

and finally found THE TREE! Daddy measured it with our ribbon. Mmmm...it looks a little tall!

Still looks really tall! Dad is 6'3" and our home just has 8 foot ceilings! Can you do the visual math here? :)

We're thankful for our big and strong Daddy that can fell the tree with just a few swoops of the saw.

The four of us and our tree!

Amity loves her Uncle Dylan ("Duh Duh")!

The men head back to the road with the trees. Wouldn't you know that we picked trees that were the furthest from the road?

Waiting for the tractor and posing for the camera!

The tractor and hay trailer picked us up and took us back to the house where we enjoyed some cider and cookies. We were surprised to learn that our tree measured 9 feet! Oops! Once we arrived home, we cut it down a bit and it soon fit perfectly in our living room.

We think it is our best tree yet! We couldn't wait for Amity to wake up from her nap so that we could show her our new tree!

Since Amity is talking and comprehending so much more this year and since we will be stuck at home over the holidays awaiting the arrival of Miss Vivien, we are looking forward to the opportunity to begin several more Grover Family Christmas Traditions. I will be adding them here as we think of them and have the chance to document them. I don't know who said it but I like this quote: "The most vivid memories of Christmases past are usually not of gifts given or received, but of the spirit of love, the special warmth of Christmas worship, the cherished little habits of the home."