Oh, Christmas Tree… Oh, Christmas Tree!

We were blessed with a FREE Christmas tree this year!  It’s not your typical tree farm kind of tree — this is a natural white pine from the woods of Pennsylvania that a lady cut down from her father’s property.  In fact, she cut down several trees and decided to share them with people in the community who needed a tree but maybe didn’t have a lot of money to spend on a tree.  It’s not exactly a *whole* tree… it’s missing the back part… but if you look at it from the front, it’s lovely!  It’s taught us a lot about thankfulness and being content.  At first, we joked about “where’s the rest of it” and Dean did have to prop it up with some 2 by 4 ’s in the Christmas tree stand because it’s so thin.  But it’s got character!  And, it’s kind of grown us!  We took it home in Charlie Brown fashion and fixed it up with some homemade ornaments and popcorn strands and little white lights.  It is definitely a conversational piece!  The story behind it is simple — as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and remember the simplicity of the manger, it causes us to stop and think about what’s truly important.  So, thank you God for our little tree!  And, thanks for sending your son Jesus.  What a gift!