The Annual Hunt for Perfection

img_2435If you guessed Cabela’s – you were correct!

Yesterday afternoon, we made our annual trek through the pasture looking for the perfect tree. The actual job of finding THE one is an adventure in itself! Once you find one that might work, you just automatically think maybe you’ll find one better just over the ridge.  The temperature was in the upper 50’s when we left home but the sun was going down. That’s what you get for trying to squeeze too many things in at the same time! But, as it worked out, we had plenty of time to find three trees that would fit the bill for what they were meant to be – a Christmas tree.

img_2451It’s a good thing I went back to the scene of the accident and found Jimbo’s New Holland cap! Besides visiting doctors, this is the first real outing he’s had since November 15th.

img_2454Jenna found her tree “right off the bat”!

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img_2457Curt found THE PERFECT tree without even consulting Jamie first. Apparently she liked it by the looks of her hug! 🙂

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img_2461With Jim still being sort of crippled, I took it upon myself to cut ours. It’s the top half of a larger tree but perfectly shaped!

img_2464While we were all together, we took advantage of the good temps to take a few family pictures. I’m sure you’ll be seeing those as soon as our personal photographer (Jenna) gets them edited and sent this way. Jamie wanted one with just her and Curt before the baby is born. This just makes me laugh cuz Curt’s so tickled about his dog rolling around in the grass in front of them.

img_2466Once we got the tree in its stand, Callie helped me replace burned out lights.

img_2470Christmas lights are so darned frustrating! I swear there are gremlins in my attic! When I put these lights away last year, they came off the tree working. When I plugged in the majority of them this year, they dealt me a fit! As a matter of fact, the two strings of mini clear lights I plugged in (to put on the tree) didn’t even flicker. I threatened to step on them but decided the miniature pieces of shattered glass may not be a good thing to have ground into the carpet. I threw them away and informed my family I was going to Wal-Mart after more lights – it was nearly 7:00 p.m. Well, as I’ve told you in a previous post, when there’s an opportunity for Jim to go to town for something good to eat, he’s in for the ride! All I wanted to do was drive up and drive back. But…it became a family outing with intentions of getting Chinese food “since we’re heading to town anyways”. What a disappointment it was for everyone when we walked into the restaurant and the cashier greeted us with, “it’ll be 40 minutes tonight because of all the takeout orders”. We turned around and headed for Wal-Mart. Guess where we ate… McDonald’s. Whoops – that didn’t work out so well. But I got my lights and several fuses and we were back home in no time. It seems the process of getting Christmas up this year is taking way longer than usual.

Tonight we finished the tree. What do you think?

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img_2796After Taylor & Callie put on their favorite ornaments, I put on mine. The one above used to be my harvest Grandma & Grandpa’s. I remember putting them on their tree as a little girl. The ones below are my favorite because it reflects the same time in our lives – kindergarten. As a girl scout, I remember making mine. After we got married, and had the girls, I created one for each of them, as well. I wonder if Curt would share a picture of himself so we can add to the kindergarten tradition…

img_2798It smells like Christmas in our tiny little home! As we were driving through the neighborhood that I grew up in last night, I very briefly had a twinge of homesickness. I looked down the street where the house sits and I wished I could go home. It’s been 23 years since my parents divorced. They both have different places they call home but neither one of them is home to me. Home is on Beadle Street where most of the families that I grew up with still live.

Our tiny little house is just that – tiny. But, it’s home!

10 comments on “The Annual Hunt for Perfection

  1. Your little home looks just perfect for the holidays!! Nothing better then spending it with the ones you love while doing things that bring back wonderful memories.

    • Absolutely right! It’s sometimes the process of getting to the actual holiday that’s stressful! Thank you for the compliment about the house. 🙂 All the Christmas decorations bring back a memory of some sort. I guess that’s what it’s all about! It’s home.

  2. Christmas it such a wonderful time to reflect and appreciate our adventurous journey through life. Your tree is really a story of many lives. Wishing your family happiness and fond memories during this wonderful Christmas Season. A time of rebirth and happiness.

    • Agreed! It is at Christmas that I pull out all the memories that create Christmas in this tiny little home. Nearly everything I have has a memory attached to it. I threatened not to do it next year, but I couldn’t actually go through with that threat. I LOVE this time of year. It’s sort of like a wheat field – when it’s finally time for harvest and the combine’s in the field, there just isn’t anything any better! Thank you for leaving your note, Mike! It’s good to hear from you.

  3. Margaret Smith says:

    It’s not the size of the home, it’s the size of the love in that home that makes it a mansion…and from reading your blog, I’d say you are living in a mansion! The tree looks beautiful and stockings hanging around it are the finishing touch! How fun to go with the family to track down the “perfect” trees. 🙂

    • Thank you, Margaret! We truly DO live in a mansion if the size of love is the measurement. I have a sign that I take with me every summer in our “summer cottage on wheels”. I just take it from this house and put it in that one. It says, “Love grows in little houses”. I honestly believe that to be true! There’s no place to go here except being with your family. I’m not sure that my teenaged daughters agree with that statement all the time. 🙂 I have to learn to be content and if anything ever happened to this tiny little house, I would miss it!

  4. Bill Spiegel says:

    Great post, Tracy. Thanks for sharing. This reminds me a lot of our family Christmas Tree hunting excursions. Great memories!

    • Thanks, Bill! This is one tradition I hope we don’t have to give up any time soon! It wasn’t until just the past several years that I’ve been able to participate due to having little kids around. Sometimes, like Sunday, I wish we had given more time to just walk through the trees and not have to hurry. I love being out in the woods and seeing all we can see.

  5. ndjmom says:

    I love your tree, ours is the same way, each ornament holds a memory. I don’t understand, and can’t fathom a “designer” tree that looks like it just came out of a showroom. You know what blog post will be coming up soon on my side. LOL

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