o christmas tree

we usually get our tree the saturday after thanksgiving.

however, this year, we had a family christmas that day.

so...we went the day before thanksgiving.

it was kinda weird having our tree up before thanksgiving.

i hope this was a first and a last. 

either way, our hunt for the "perfect" tree was memorable.

i wanted a small, thin tree.

lia wanted a tall, full tree.

and the other 3 were indifferent. 

after a lot of searching and a few tears almost all of us agreed on a beautiful white pine.

it's a tradition of ours to have all 3 kids each take a turn cutting the tree down.

they love this part! 

and off they go!

thankfully, we got the tree turned around before all the needles were gone! 

it's a little, i mean a lot shorter than i thought it would be.

but, it's still beautiful!

 now if only the kitten would leave the ornaments on the tree, quit chewing on mr snowman's hat, and stop drinking all the water.