O Tannebaum...

We took our traditional Saturday after Thanksgiving trip to a tree farm in the county, to bring home a beautiful evergreen tree to decorate for Christmas. We have always gone to Fullner's, a little farm just past Nugent's Corner. Our first Christmas, trees were only 15$ and we scored a gorgeous 8 foot Noble--what a deal! The second year, same story (ask Eric about the sideways rain). But year three they raised the prices to 4$ a foot, still a good deal and we found a great Fraser fir--great thick needles, shiny and long lasting, and come'on, nearly a name sake. Last year, it was pretty hard to find a great tree, even the first weekend after Thanksgiving...most were dougs. We did come away with another quality Fraser, but it was slim pickings.

So this year I wanted to try a new farm, realizing of course, that it would probably be a bit more expensive. But cutting down a tree right after Thanksgiving was something I had done since I was a kid, an a tradition I was happy to bring to our new family. After two failed attempts to visit Stoney Ridge Farms during the Halloween season to procure a pumpkins and enjoy the other festivities I was determined to get our tree there. Mission accomplished! Eric, Keely, Nonnie, Meg, and I braved the near freezing temps this morning to scope out a great Noble fir. It now sits on our garage, acclimating and awaiting the trimming tomorrow! I can't wait for that wonderful fresh smell!

Giving Thanks

There's so much to be thankful for this season...

Of course, our little Keely bug brings smiles to us daily. We're very thankful that she is gaining weight now (the verdict's still out on why she was losing) and has such a happy disposition. Hard to believe six months have already passed!! She was a supercute tiger for Halloween

We also enjoyed a great family trip to Hawaii in October. We stayed right next to Poipu Beach on Kauai and snorkeled with huge sea turtles, surfed at Hanalei Bay, visited Waimea Canyon, and Keely took her first foray in the ocean. You'll have to check out the pics on flickr, sorry I never got around to fully blogging about it.

We are also thankful that we found a great church that we are super excited to be a part of, a true community of folks who are following Jesus together. We are becoming official "members" and Keely will be dedicated on December 30th...


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!