Tree Trunk

One of the first things we wanted to get done after our Thanksgiving trip was...

Go get a Christmas Tree!

So we headed over to Lou's Drive-In to find one.

They had plenty and the boys helped pick one out.

Derek got it ready and we headed back home.

Where he does the heavy work.  He really loves me because he does NOT enjoy this...

And he really didn't enjoy it when we discovered the trunk wasn't long enough to fit down into our tree stand.  Or when he started trimming branches off the bottom and most of the tree was coming with them.  So, there stood our tree while Derek went to the hardware store hoping to find something to help support it.

Which he did, but by then it was bedtime.

So we waited until the next day to decorate it.

Cooper was a happy helper while Miles napped.

When we got the lights on, we noticed some of them were burnt out.

...and that the tree was leaning a little. 

But we were committed at this point...

When Derek got home, he searched the internet trying to find tricks to fix lights.

When he was unsuccessful, he ran to the store for more lights.

The boys kept themselves busy setting up other decorations and playing with the nativity. 

With new lights filling in the gaps, it was time for the star.

Daddy also brought egg nog home from the store...

Miles enjoyed some while he watched the star go up.

And with that, it was on.

The boys added just a few ornaments (all at the bottom) before it was time for bed.