The Call of the Christmas Tree

It's that time of year!
Our favorite tradition to start off the holiday season is always heading down south to cut down our Christmas Tree with Brian's family. This is something Brian has done since he was a kid.. and it's something we LOVE to do with our own kids. It is so much fun to go hang out with family.. hike up and down the mountain and watch Brian haul down the perfect tree.
I realized something this year about tree cutting. You can't just find any old tree. The tree has to call to you. It sounds funny... but it's true. You look at so many trees and you always find something wrong with them until you see "the one". Cutting down trees on your own.. you never get the perfect shaped tree... they are all a little charlie brownish in their own way, but they have character. Some are better than others... some take hours to find... others end up being the first one you set your eyes on. It's different every year.. but when you find it... you know it's your tree. It's a lot of fun. We have had a blast the last couple years finding trees that are huge! We usually end up with a 15 footer and it's always an adventure trying to cut it down and/or drag it back down the mountain. This year was no different.. we found a great tree.. a huge tree. Brian marked it on his GPS and headed across the mountain just in case he could find one better. After an hour or so of hiking... he ended up getting the first tree we found. I guess it was the one that called to us this year.
The day is full of fun. We visit, watch the kids play, swing on the huge tree swing, eat sandwiches and treats, blast Christmas music from our car and enjoy the nostalgia of this fun tradition. I don't know a better way to start the season off than by doing this. It's awesome!!!

I am Thankful

This time of year I start reflecting on all the things I'm thankful for and many things I take for grantid. As I get older, it seems as if the months pass by without being able to take a breath. Years go by quickly and I tend to blink and realize another day is gone... my kids are getting older each second and these years I hold so priceless of raising young kids are one more day behind me and I can't slow it down. How can I change this feeling of speed? How can I stop and make life go in slow motion? In reality.. I don't really want life to stop... where's the fun in that? But I do want to take advantage of EVERY MOMENT. I wish I could promise myself that I will NEVER FORGET each and every moment of watching my kids grow up. I find myself praying at night that I will be able to LOVE every stage my children are in as much as the previous. I can't imagine that these years right now.. that I treasure beyond belief... will probably not be the ones I will remember as my kids are adults. How can I REMEMBER? How can I keep in my mind the sweet voice of a 2 year old.. the belly laugh of an infant... or the innocent sparkle in the eyes of a 5 year old? How can I remember that every day I call Brian at work and say, "you'll never believe what Avery did... or Oh my gosh.. Kaden said the cutest thing today.. etc, etc.. Every day we laugh at their innocence and are in awe by their little lives. Even watching Brighton wave to us while he's in his jumper brightens our day. THESE ARE THE THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR.

Family is everything. My little family... The 5 of us... who would have thought this would be my life 15 years ago? And not just my life... but what makes me whole. Brian and my kids are my center.. they bring me the inner happiness I long for. I look at life differently because I am blessed to be able to see it through my children's eyes and then get to share that with my husband. What a privilege that is! Especially this time of year where magic seems to be around every corner.

So as I think about all the things I am grateful for this time of year... my list could go on and on... but above all.. I am thankful for my life and how it has evolved into my own little piece of heaven.