trimming the tree

every year, on the day after thanksgiving, my little family and i cut down a christmas tree. it is one of my favorite days ever and i may even like it more than thanksgiving. the kids can run wild and my husband and i look on at them with smiles. eleanor hops from tree to tree until she finds the perfect one for us. it's so funny because we can show her a hundred more trees, but when she has her mind set on one ... forget about it. 

afterwards, we go to brunch and talk about how excited we are to get home and decorate the tree. with wolfgang being a bit more mature this year, it was fun for him to help hang the ornaments ... although he mostly just threw them at the tree ... of course that made us laugh, big time. 

so now our house is sparkly and cozy and smells of nature. we have been watching christmas movies everyday and haven't really gotten out of our pjs or off the couch ... it has been perfect and i look forward to spending the rest of our winter days doing the very same. 

last year, on our way home from the tree farm, we made a stop at the store because we needed a new tree stand. arick dropped me off in front of the store and i ran in ... while i was in there, i grabbed a pregnancy test because i just had that feeling, ya know? i was little more emotional than usual and and crampy ... once we were home and while everyone was distracted by the tree, i sneaked upstairs and took the test. the line was faint, but it was positive ... i remember so vividly feeling so happy and nervous and scared. we hadn't planned on having another baby and i wasn't sure how my husband would react ... so i didn't tell him that day. and as i helped my family of four decorate the tree, i fought tears and held a smile in my heart ... i was pregnant with my third baby and knew that next christmas, we would be a family of five. there would be another baby at the tree farm and in my arms ... and it was true. now we have a beautiful, little rufus.  and we are a family of five.