Family Tradition

You were expecting Hank Williams Jr., weren't you? Well sorry to disappoint you but this seriously is about one of our family traditions.... so please continue....

Okay, it was a family tradition. All year long we fill up our jar with pocket change. Then, we cash it in to buy our Christmas tree. For the past three years Charlie and I have taken Lula Mae to the local Christmas tree farm to pick out a tree. It is so fun! They have some animals, a fire to roast marshmallows over, hot chocolate and a little ornament shop. We pick ornaments out and write the year on the back of them. This year was the first year Lula Mae got to pick her own ornament. All the pretty little ornaments and what did she pick? A cow. Not a cute cartoonish cow, oh no, a big fat realistic cow... with utters. Yep, a big fat cow. That's my girl. She loves animals. Then she helped me pick Jayce's first ornament, a little bell that says "Babies 1st Christmas" with a snowman on top.

So then we went to look at the trees. We always go back to the "clearance" trees. You know, the ones they hide way in the back because they are cheaper. They are smaller and sometimes have a few gaps in the limbs and such, but that is fine with us. Then it happened.... we saw the price.

WHAT????

You are kidding????

That is almost double what we paid last year... and this one is SMALLER!!!!

And this is when our new tradition was born.

From now on we will be visiting the lovely little tree farm, petting the cute animals, roasting marshmallows, sipping the hot chocolate and letting the kids pick an ornament. Then we will drive 2 miles down the road to Food Lion and get a tree for $29.99.

I'm totally okay with that. Traditions sometimes need to be tweaked, but they are still special. I hope you are all starting to enjoy all those little family traditions of your own!