O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Abby and I have been waiting for today all week. Today we went to get our Christmas tree! I did all my school work and the laundry last night after work so that today would be totally devoted to setting up the tree and putting out all the decorations. It literally took us all day, but we had so much fun.
We got another free tree this year from my realtor so we headed out early this morning and picked one up. My parents also got a free tree so we went together. It's a good thing I live so close to them because I needed my dad's expertise, clippers and hand saw today to help get the tree home and set up. The rest of the day was spent setting up the tree, hanging the stockings, putting out the decorations, shoveling the walkway, making a quick trip to the store and baking the Christmas cookies for my cookie exchange. And now Abby's asleep and I'm watching White Christmas, one of my favorite movies! It's been a good day. All of the trees were tied up so we didn't know what we were getting. It was purely a guess if there were holes in the branches, if it was full enough, etc. So we just grabbed the tallest one we could find.

The place were we go to get our trees also has a small farm with horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. We were able to walk through the barn and see the animals.

There was also a building there for hot chocolate (with marshmallows) doughnut holes, and gingerbread cookies. Abby loved the powered doughnuts and the more the powder the better!

This picture doesn't do the tree justice. I tried taking a picture in the dark, but the lighting was funny. It's a really tall tree and it looks awesome!

These are my favorite Christmas decorations to set up. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see each set. I have several nativity sets that I display every year. The one on the right (on the plate) is the set I picked up while in Guatemala getting Abby. The one next to that is the one my dad got while he was in Mexico visiting my missionary aunt and uncle. The one in the middle that looks like a coconut hut was a gift from a friend who went on a trip to Haiti. The one on the left I got while I was in Ecuador on a mission trip. The tall metal structure in the back was a gift from a friend last year. I just love the message. I can't wait to bring one home from Ethiopia to add to the collection. It's so amazing that all the sets look different, but the message is the same: Love came down at Christmas Time.