How Lovely Are Your Branches

We had such a wonderful weekend.  On Saturday we went with friends for our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm. With the blanket of snow from the winter storm, cutting tree this year was the quintessential Christmas experience.It was frigid but it was also beautiful.

Yesterday some of us renewed our consecration on the technical feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The girl made her consecration for the first time.  It was so lovely. I still tear up every time I say those words of consecration.

To cap it off we had our priest friend come over for dinner, he blessed our Advent wreath and played indoor basketball with the boys. He told us that his staff also made their consecration that morning. We are not his parishioners but our kids play sports at his parish school. We chatted about homeschooling, the state of education in general, his vocation story, etc. He was in youth ministry so he is familiar with the pulse of what's going on in the world of the young (he also happens to be very young!).  He's not had Filipino food before so I was a little bit nervous that he wouldn't like it.  Well, he left with some of the food so I think that says something.

So here's a ton of photos from our trip to the tree farm.  Happy Monday!!!

all buckled up and ready to go

winter wonderland at the tree farm - this is our fourth year here

warming up with hot cocoa while waiting for friends

I would love a window with a view like this

playing a game of checkers

the six-year-old playing with his dad

here we go!

the perfect tree....for Charlie Brown but not for us

the oldest pulling the younger siblings

it wasn't too long ago when they were all about the same height! well, except for the two youngest

eureka! the husband getting ready to cut the one

everybody gets a chance to cut

then the oldest will finish it off with his Swiss-army knife

but not before the six-year-old gets a turn on the saw

the hubby with the cone-head wife

every year they have to hoist the tree over their heads

baled and ready to go home

truck is loaded and ready to go - don't worry the kids didn't really ride on the back of the truck on the way home

goofballs

the babe and the tree

trim-a-tree

 Happy Second Week of Advent!