Wide Open Spaces...

I THINK this post might come full circle... but this is me talking, so you never know.  With that disclaimer in mind, shall we dive right in?  I decorated our Christmas tree totally differently this year.  I didn't buy anything new, just pilfered through all the "old stuff" that we don't regularly use and then got out my glue gun and some coffee filters in a momentary stroke of genius and of course, some spray paint & BLAMMO.  I think I almost have the country tree of my dreams.  

And a Side Bonus... the pinecones are cinnamon scented.  So I wish that smell would transfer over the Internet so you could have a little whiff.

Which brings me to what I think is the reason I'm so happy about my newfound woodsy tree decor... the truth is, I feel most at home in wide-open spaces.  And this may or may not be on my mind because a gorgeous house in the middle of nowhere was on the market and we took a walk through and we were THIS close because it was THAT perfect but the timing was, well, OFF.  But it solidified what I know about myself...  When I get out into an open golden field and watch the sun set on grain, and feel the wind blow throw my hair... my soul sings.  Or when I'm tucked under a nubby blanket looking out big windows at snowflakes flitting down onto the valley floor painting everything white... it's almost spiritual.  It's the girl of the west in me... and I know that all I really want out of life is a happy family, a big spread of land, and probably some chickens roaming around with a fat cow in the pasture.   And no less than two horses and three boys.  :)

OK, and a giant tire swing in a big oak tree in the back yard for little crazies like this one...

If you want me to get specific.

Yes.... That is why this girl, who can appreciate the wonders of the city just as much as the next girl, is head-over-heels in love with this earthy version of our Christmas tree.   Don't panic.  The kids' trees are all sorts of fun and the ornament clumps are epic as they do the decorating all themselves.  You know, lest you thought I was being super stringent about all things tree.  And the basement tree is a hodge podge of the red and white hand-me-downs from upstairs and all in all... these halls are decked.  And I love it; even if the halls are not on a big old ranch in the middle of nowhere.

Ornament Clumping 101...

Meanwhile, the Light Master General was up to all good things last night, outside, in the dark... to beat the snow storm that is whipping things up today.  Is that a good little Clark Griswald or what?  I know, where on earth did we find him?



And where did we find his little helpers who would come dashing out to say the dang sweetest things of all time, like, "Daddy, you OK up there?"  and "Daddy, you're doing a bery good job."  and "Whoa Daddy, you're almost done and it's looking REALLY good!"  He loathes this task every year, but with his new cheerleaders and the odds 4 to 1-- I think it's been written in stone... we will have lights on our house for Christmas!  Secret victory laugh...

 And now it feels official.  It's Christmas!  One of the best times of the year... and as usual we'll be in a holiday mad dash all the way through New Years, with the occasional time out called for deep breaths, hot cocoa, Charlie Brown Christmas specials, and little mental snapshots of growing babies in front of lit Christmas trees.

 It's a good season of life right now, right here, in our space.