Oh Christmas Tree

I went shopping for a Christmas tree this year for the first time in a many years. I fully expected to pick one of those perfectly triangle, kelly green trees. But when I got there, and thought about our house and our family- it just didn't seem right. Then, as I turned the corner, I found the perfect tree. I called Emmaline over and we discussed how much we loved the pine cones that were still attached and decided that we would buy it. When we called the owner over, he took one look at it and said, "I have no idea what kind of tree that is. I've never seen one like it. Make me a good offer." $35 later, we had the tree attached to the top of the car and were off. It was just me, Emmaline and the boys since Savannah was babysitting. When we got home, Savannah was there. She took one look at the tree and said, "That is the ugliest tree I've ever seen." Luckily Emmaline and I were secure with our decision. =)

It reminded me of something that happened to Emmaline long ago. I had gone to her kindergarten class to help with the Christmas party. One of the first things they did was a craft where they were supposed to draw a Christmas tree on a piece of paper. After receiving instruction, Emmaline got straight to work. It was only after she finished that she looked around to the other kids' drawings. Then, she burst into tears. When I asked her what was wrong, she explained that her tree didn't look like a Christmas tree like the other kids. Her tree was drawn with individual branches. I wish I could find it! Every other kid in the class had drawn a tree shaped like a triangle. I think that was one of those moments when her teacher could finally see "who" she was. They struggled a bit that year, but I definitely felt like after that incident, she saw that Emmaline's little personality just couldn't conform. She's got more creativity than a class full of kids put together!

So back to our tree. I haven't regretted it for a second and it is definitely a conversation starter when people come over! Since we've gone a little skimpy on decorations with our lead interior designer out of the country- that's a good thing!

If the decorating looks a little lopsided, please understand. We had almost completely decorated it when I discovered I had put the lights on backwards. So we undid them all and re-decorated, only to have Tucker un-decorate most of the lower branches. Such is life in a home with a 20 month old.