Oh, Christmas tree

Once we returned from Tennessee it seemed like we had to kick everything into high gear to catch up to Christmas.

I'm used to having a tree up the day after Thanksgiving because I have used an artificial tree for so many years. I think the last time I had a real tree was the first year I was in Sacramento, and that tree was sad. It dried up within a couple of days.

Chuck always uses a live tree. We knew we wanted a live one, and a fairly tall one.

We had our eye on a tree that has to be taken down at the fire station, but decided we should also look at the local tree lot. We have bought some small starts from this guy and are growing our own, but they won't be ready for another 4 or 5 years.

So off we went to the tree lot. It was a little late in the season to choose a tree-- actually Dec. 21. I was thinking in the range of 10 foot tree or so, but the only tall ones were really tall, and the kids ran to this particular tree and decided it was "perfect."

The kids decided this was the one.

This is a you-cut lot, so we brought the chainsaw with us. There were a few men there who helped drag it to the truck and load it on the back. The tricky part came when we got it home.

It's so large I couldn't get the whole thing in the shot. Our ceilings are 24 feet, and this tree was probably
that tall when Chuck cut it. He sliced off the bottom limbs. We measured it and it's 18 feet.

It was too large for our tree stand, and we had to call around to find a place that had some of those big plastic ones. Our local Cost Less Pharmacy had some. So convenient.
Chuck took the base and I took the top and we got it inside. Once it was in I started up the stairs with the top and Lilly helped until it was steady and Chuck had it straight. He also stabilized it with boards and secured it to the staircase.

We used a ladder for decorating a lot of it, but also had to decorate on a chair
from the top floor. No star on top. We couldn't reach it.

It is a beautiful tree.  I don't think we'll get one this big next year, though. It blocks our view of the television, makes our path through the living room a tight squeeze and also blocks the hallway a little. We do love it, though. And the sort of sick thing is we had enough ornaments to decorate it, and even had some left over that we didn't use.

I do love ornaments, and I have a hard time getting rid of any. They all have a story and as I unwrap them and place them on the limbs I get to relive some of those memories.

Whether it was a gift, a buying spree with Karen when Hallmark had  75 or even 90% sale, or it was a special ornament that I bought for a family member, I do love the memories.

Chuck and I joked that if you're looking for a fancy tree with a theme, ours is not the tree for you. Ours is all about memories and family. Hand-made ornaments, some the kids made at school, photo frame ornaments, and some that are really fun and move or sing.
We love Christmas. I hope you do, too!