Tradition

First off, here is AAWFAA all finished.

And All Was For an Appil by the Scarlet Letter

40ct R&R linen (can't remember what)

DMC fibers

As anyone will tell you who has stitched this piece, those letters were a right pain.

There is so much sadness in my heart for what happened in Newtown.  It made it all the more special when we were given an unexpected gift Sunday of a chance to revel in the company of one of our kids and to enjoy one of our time honored Christmas traditions together.  The girl child unexpectedly came home for the day so that we could go get our Christmas tree.  And here we had thought the two empty nesters would have to fend for themselves, and settle for a pre-cut tree at the local charity tree stand.  But no, our girl child came home!  And off we went!

Here's the tree we picked.  That's the father type on the ground there.  lol!  

The girl child was trying to take pictures of the little "flowers" or beginnings of pine cones on the tree.

We all took turns carrying the tree, but the girl child took the lion's share.  Treating the old folks right.  :D

At the baling shed.  Competing iPhones.  

Father type cutting off the stump.  Want to see our collection of stumps through the years?

Another tradition in our family.  (The girl child laid all the stumps out for display.) It became the tradition for the kids to decorate the stump from the bottom of the tree each year.  The girl child usually did the honors, until she wasn't home for the tree getting when the boy child took over.  When they were tiny, I just wrote the date.  lol!  They usually live on the mantel piece in a big pile.

The first one on the top left is from 1984.  It was the first tree stump from our first tree in the first home we owned.  The tree was taken from the top of the bushes of our house, the house we live in now.  We were (and are) friends with the lovely family who lived in our house back then.

And here is the tree all decorated.

The girl child is a perfectionist -- she made sure each ornament was in its right place to make a beautiful tree.

It was a wonderful day, ending with a  late take out dinner and then the girl child leaving for the train late in the evening.  The boy child was kept informed via text message and pictures.  

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  Have a wonderful week.

Make sure to give your kids extra hugs and tell them how much you love them.