The above picture is the end result of an afternoon spent looking for the PERFECT tree!

After what seemed to be an untraditional Thanksgiving weekend due to Grandma being in the hospital, it ended on a holiday note.

Grandma is doing MUCH better! After watching her struggle for every breath for a couple of days, it appears she’s progressing well enough to be moved out of ICU tomorrow. Thank you for the prayers! Once again, I am reminded God IS in control!

I LOVE Christmas! And will try to do all I can to enjoy it as long as I can. The tradition of getting the Christmas tree up and decorated over Thanksgiving weekend began long ago in our household. After growing up with an artificial tree for most of my childhood, I decided that when I got married, I would have a real one. My tree of choice is a cedar tree from a local farmer’s pasture. Through the years, it has been Jim’s job to find the tree. He would take the older girls along with him while I stayed home with the younger ones. As the years have gone by and the kids have grown, we all go. Our tradition is being carried on through the newly established Hermesch household.

We headed for the pasture yesterday afternoon. The temperature was a little on the “nippy” side but the sun was shining. If you didn’t have a hat and mittens, you certainly would have been wishing for them. The brisk air definitely helped remind us that Christmas is just around the corner. Hey…at least we didn’t have to walk through snow!

Curt & Jamie found their tree first.

Some years, it takes us forever to find the PERFECT tree. There’s usually too many decisions and you never know if the one beyond will be better than the previous one spotted. By the time the PERFECT tree is found, we’ve walked further away from the pickup than you would have ever guessed.  This means that all the hills you’ve just gone up and down will have to be retraced dragging a tree. It tends to be a good workout!

“Give me the saw, Taylor, this one’s mine”. Jenna

We ended up finding four trees – one for us, Curt & Jamie, Jenna and Taylor. It’s just fun carrying the Christmas spirit into your own little world (bedroom).

This is our PERFECT tree!

 The PERFECT tree is always in the eye of the beholder. And, through the years I’ve found that even the not-so-perfect tree will look beautiful once it is decorated. Our trees tend to become a part of the family (silly, I know) and are dearly loved. The Christmas music is turned on while we put on the lights and the decorations. The girls make sure their special ornaments are put on year after year – as do I. It wouldn’t be right not to put on the same ones that we’ve always put on. Once decorated and boxes are put away, we turn off all the lights and admire our newest member of the family. Magically, the tree has become more than a tree. As far as we’re concerned, it grew in that pasture specifically for the purpose of providing us the memories of searching for it and becoming a part of our Christmas traditions. It’s so hard to take it down when Christmas is over. Probably because that means one more year of Christmas tradition and memories have come and gone. For now, though, welcome to the family dear PERFECT tree!