Friday, December 18, 2009

The Big Hunt

A couple of weekends ago, we partook in our annual outing to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. Color (not too green, not too blue), height, girth (hate that word!), and symmetry are all key for the perfect tree in our household. Especially symmetry. Keeps me awake at night worrying about all sides being even, the separation between the branches being even... Ryan probably just needs to send me away. I am obviously not sane enough to stay in mainstream society with my symmetry obcessions.

Anywho, back to the hunt. We typically attempt to find a good Christmas tree farm, you know, the ones that are dedicated to Christmas trees, with lots of variety for us picky tree-choosers. We have lost a few farms over the years to people moving away, selling their farms, etc. So this year we were on a mission to find a new one. List in hand of the local farms in the area (I use the word "local" loosely... most on the list were in the outskirts of Arlington, approximately 20-30 miles away from where we live), we headed out to find a dandy.

We ended up driving to a "farm" that was actually a former nursery. I'm not quite sure how they managed to make it onto the coveted Christmas Tree Farm list, but I guess they had a few trees that could be worthy enough to be displayed in our living room. I was skeptical, but I got out of the truck with an open mind. We searched around for a bit, and low and behold, Ryan spotted one. It had great height, a little larger girth than we needed, but still not too big to handle, had wonderful color, and best of all... obtained that required symmetry. It was perfect.... so was time for a photo-op.



The man helping us had a chainsaw that he was willing to cut down our tree with. But Ryan, being the rugged man that he is (umm...) announced that he would be glad to cut it himself with the hand saw that we brought along. Go, hunny, go! Tiiiimberrrr!





Load it up! Time to get back to civilization and get some hot cocoa to round out our adventure.


Thursday, December 17, 2009

Dream of Peace

This isn't really a Christmas song, but it's one, that especially at this time of year with all of the references to peace, and love, and good will to man, that brings about the spirit of Christmas and about loving all people, no matter what your differences may be. This song makes me want to be a better person, in hopes that if we all do our part, we can make this world a better place for all. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCn9RKdx-XA

When I was young I used to wish for many things
All the things that children wish for in their dreams
Every night before I lay me down to sleep
I’d dream of all the things that tomorrow would bring
but now i’m older and i have children of my own to protect
and everywhere i look all i see is the hate and conflict
if i could have back all the wishes of my youth
i would wish for one thing only

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyonewould throw down their guns

i imagine theres a future where all of us live
in a world of peace where people have more love to give
its a place where hate can never, never survive
its a place where war is always, always a crime
cuz i beleive theres a goodness in each one of us
if we could find the language to help us to trust
then we could grow the seeds with all, all that we need
we could find a better way

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyonewould throw down their guns

oohhhh…i beleive that we can
make a difference this time
i beleive that we can
change the future one by one
i beleive that we can try…...

*guitar break*

When I was young I used to wish for many things
All the things that children wish for in their dreams
now i’m older and i see things through my sons eyes
all the innosence and hope

I dream of peace
i dream of love
i dream that everyone
would throw down their guns

i dream of peace…for you
i dream of love …for everyone
i dream of peace

i dream of love
i dream of peace…