Our Christmas Tree

In all the Christmases that I have celebrated in my life, both as a child and an adult, my family has always cut our Christmas tree off our own land, many of them beautiful, but others landing in the category of a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree with their sparse or misshapen branches, crooked trunks, or spindly tops. For some reason, though, those little trees were always my favorite, reminding me in a symbolic way of the lowly Christ child's birth in a stable and his glorious position as King of Kings. In the past few years, our eldest daughters have taken it upon themselves to take the traditional walk through the woods and bring home the honored tree. This year, though, after two trips into the woods, they just couldn't find a tree that met their expectations, and they solicited the help of their dad.

You may be looking at these photos and gasping at the size of the tree Hubby is cutting down. I did when I was told the story.  I was horrified that such a big tree would be cut down just for its perfect top, but my horror quickly turned to relief when Hubby explained that this tree has a dual purpose. The top would take its honored position as our Christmas tree, and the bottom would later be used for lumber in the construction of Hubby's work shop.

 I do love our Christmas tree and the festive atmoshpere it has added to our home, and I hope that we can contiue the tradition of hunting for a Christmas tree on our land for many years to come.