The tree

A couple of weekends ago, we took a family trip to the mountains for a wedding at Lake Junaluska. On our way home, we visited a Christmas tree farm so we could bring a fresh cut tree home. We hiked up the mountain, really large hills that seemed like you were hiking a mountain, to find the "perfect" tree. It was a bit overwhelming as there were so many "perfect" trees to chose from, but we finally settled on one. They cut it down for us and strapped it to our car while we warmed up in the tent with heaters, warm cider and snacks.

We were actually able to get our tree up and decorated that evening! Cate had a blast, meticulously chosing which were the perfect ornaments for her to hang. Drew just kind of wandered around, finding great interest in the large bin the tree ornaments and accessories were kept in! He's done quite well leaving the tree alone, much to my surprise!

So far, my December has been overwhelmingly busy. But, I really hope these last 9 days before Christmas will allow some time to sit by the tree and rest!

Merry Christmas!

With the birth of baby #3 approaching quickly, we won't be sending out Christmas cards this year. Instead, we'll send a Happy New Years card including our newest addition. But, I wanted to say Merry Christmas. We hope your Christmas is fun and a sweet reminder of God's love for us in the gift He gave us through Jesus.

"Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is LOVE and his Gospel is PEACE.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
let all within us praise His holy Name!

CHRIST is the LORD!

O praise His name forever!

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

His power and glory evermore proclaim!"

(From O Holy Night)

Puddle Jumping

Yesterday afternoon, it finally stopped raining which resulted in some great puddles and "streams in the street" as Cate called it. We donned the rain boots and made do with an old pair of boots for sweet Drew! He didn't care that they were pink. They had such a good time racing leaves and splashing in the puddles. Good thing it was fairly warm because they were both soaked afterwards!

You can't really tell from these pictures, but the water was flowing quickly and was fairly abundant! Fun times:)

Lobster time

Once again, Gmom and Papa treated us to lobsters. Cate went to pick them out and we even raced them before cooking them! There must have been some mental disconnect on her part since she really personifies everything. But, she had no trouble cracking and eating it!! Go figure!

Plymouth

While in Boston, we took a trip to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower. The weather was not the best, very cold and rainy, but we bundled up and took a step back in time. It was helpful for Cate to understand the history of Thanksgiving better and a good refresher for us adults!

Plymouth rock just a short way down the road but I failed to take a picture!

Thanksgiving

Backtracking a bit, we spent Thanksgiving at Gmom and Papa's house in Boston this year. Despite my slipping and falling down the stairs a couple hours after arriving and spending some time at the hospital, we had a really nice trip. Thankfully I was not seriously hurt and the baby is fine, but my tailbone is still sore today!!

Gmom cooked a delicious Thanksgiving feast for us and Aunt Faith even made special, theme appropriate hats....a pilgram hat for Cate and Indian headress for Drew!

Drew is serious about his food and is wondering where his is in this pic!

Aunt Faith is very silly and made the kids laugh a lot!

Here is Drew with his great grandfather, Pa!

It's cold outside....

I realize that I have a lot of blogging to catch up on...Thanksgiving, our weekend trip to the mountains, chosing and decorating our Christmas tree... However, until I have a bit more time I'll just post this one cute picture I took over the weekend. We are enjoying the COLD weather...it actually feels like winter:)