The Meaning of a Tree

In the midst of the show showers outside, we decided to head out and get our Christmas tree.  With the skies heavy with snow, it was the perfect day for tree shopping.  Evan and Ben weren't too interested in making sure we had the perfect tree, so Ian and I chose one that we liked.  The boys enjoyed the process of getting the tree from its place in the row to the roof of our car.  Ben just took in the sights while Evan was thrilled with the chainsaw, tree-bagging machine, and all of the workers bustling around and doing their job.  He even got a candy cane while he watched!

(Evan liked this one, but it was a bit too big.)

(Daddy and Evan next to our tree)

(Ben and I next to the tree-Take a look at the family resemblance between each of us and our boys.)

We got home, did a little playing in the snow, and then it was time to decorate the tree.  I had already gotten all of the ornaments out and set them on the table for easy picking.  The boys were also cleaned and dressed in their fuzzy Christmas PJ's.  We even had glasses of hot chocolate to enjoy.  The stage was set.  Ben thought the twinkly lights were fun, and Evan had fun hanging a few, but his attention span was not too long.  However, he did enjoy hearing the stories about where all of the ornaments came from.

 (Evan hangs his tin of ornaments.)

 (Ben and I choose an ornament to hang.)

(Ooooh...Christmas tree)

(This one goes here...)

What we all really loved was seeing the tree up and decorated.  Since its been sitting in our living room Ben has stared at it, Ripple has chewed at the little reflections made by the ornaments on the ground, and Evan has thoroughly examined all of the ornaments hanging under 2 ft. high.  While all of the ornaments may not be color-coordinated and match, while each ornament may not hang in exactly the most visually pleasing location, it is beautiful none-the-less.  The tree means more than looking pretty and serving as a decoration.  To me it represents my family that decorated it, and each of the ornaments represent a piece of our lives together.  Each year, we add more ornaments to the tree and more wonderful experiences in our lives as a family. 

 

(This one is for our favorite team...)

(This one is a little piece of history...)

(This one was found on one of our adventures...)

(And this one just reminds us of something we enjoy...)

 

(This one marks an addition to our family...)

(So many stories on one tree!)