Christmas Countdown Adventures

Every year we've made it the tradition to wait for our youngest daughter to come home for the holidays so that we can "bond" by trekking  out in the fields in search of the perfect Christmas tree for our home.

And it was with much anticipation that we waited for her to return this year, elated that she had saved her vacation days in order to be able to spend this special week with us.

After spending the morning decorating our Church, we came home for a quick lunch, then hopped in the car to fulfill our quest:  finding the perfect Christmas tree.

And you have to admit, there was no lack of enthusiasm on Marty's part.

We found the late date to be to our advantage, as it afforded us the opportunity to explore the trees at our leisure, and without any crowds.

We headed out to the field of Canaan Trees, but were careful to follow the signs along the way.

When the perfect tree was chosen, a hug was in order

Marty was called over

And, then Marty's real fun began.

We managed to get it home,  in the house and decorated before evening set in.

Beautiful, don't you think?

All this, and gingerbread face cookies, baked and decorated as well.

It does seem like there's always one grumpy face in the bunch doesn't it?

But that wasn't the end of the day's fun.  We all decided to take advantage of the warm weather and stroll around the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights.

How about this for entertainment?

That is Abominable.  And, when we got to this particular house, he was laying on his face, on the ground. 

That seemed such a shame, don't you think?

 So, I headed up to the house and knocked on the door to ask the owners if they minded if I stood this guy back up.  

The house was dark, two little dogs began barking, and after several minutes with no answer, it appeared that no one was home. 

What to do?  It seemed such a shame for the creature to be all lit up with his head face down in the snow.  What would you do?

It was a mixed jury.  Marty and Amy thought that we should just keep on walking.  Stacey kept encouraging me to stand the poor fella upright. 

I was already on the front porch, just a few feet away, when I decided to side with Stacey. 

 I was just setting him upright when, much to my surprise, (and Stacey's as well),  the front door opened and a young man's perplexed face was looking at me.

I realized just how bad this must have looked.....some stranger in the front yard, with her arms around Abominable.  What would you think?

I quickly explained that we had seen the Abominable laying face down in the snow and I hoped that he didn't mind that I had adjusted Abominable for everyone's enjoyment.  Then, I wished him a Merry Christmas and told him that we all really liked their decorations.

He said, "Thank you, Ma'm, I'll tell that to my mother."  

So, if you were worried that I ended up getting arrested, you can calm your fears.  All is well here in Bumble land.

Merry Christmas!