Our 2nd Christmas Tree!

Today, we ventured out in the (literally) freezing cold to find the perfect Christmas Tree. We bundled up and waddled out into the car in search of the tree that would "fit" in our tiny corner. Jeff even brought the tape measure to be sure our eyes didn't get bigger than our corner!

We drove about 40 mintues north to get to the tree farm. It was so cute and festive! We boarded a haywagon driven by a large, old man with rosy cheeks that laughed, sang, jingled his Christmas bells and gave everyone updates on the Bengals game. We were taken down a dirt road to a field full of trees. It was beautiful! Each tree had dew frozen on its branches due to the temperature - they all glistened in the sunlight.

I was so afraid to cut one down. I feared that as soon as I did... I would then find the "perfect" tree. After 30 minutes of wandering through the trees, I became more motivated as I began to lose feeling in my legs (the only part of me that was not properly bundled). We settled on a gorgeous little fraser fir. Jeff chopped it down and I dragged it back on the sled. We handed it over to the "tree man" to be properly prepared (shaken and baled).

In the meantime, we boarded the haywagon to head back to the barn & gift shop with fresh garland, wreaths & FREE hot chocolate! This was a perfect end to our chilly tree hunt. As we paid for and picked up our tree, we headed back to the Element to load up - expecting fully to tie it to the roof as we had seen so many cars do before us. However, the Element never ceases to amaze the two of us (it is the BEST multi-purpose SUV out there!!) - we were able to put up the back seats and put the tree inside! And, since the floors are a plastic substance, when we arrived home, we merely unloaded and used the leaf blower to get rid of all remaining needles.

So, our tree is now up - and fits perfectly in our little corner! I spent the evening putting lights on the tree. I am one who puts thousands and thousands of lights on the tree - covering each branch. I was very proud of my work when I was able to stop getting poked by needles and stand back and view my handiwork.

The tree is beautiful! I will post pictures tomorrow of the entire process... selection, cutting, loading, unloading, and the final results!

Merry Christmas!!!

New Nash pics

Begging... as usual

Ready for a ride!

Sleepy Boy!

Our small group

Recently, I posted about the small group we are starting in the larger network of the Vineyard Community Church here in Cincinnati. We threw our small group ad (which felt like a personals ad) out in the chuch bulletin and just prayed for the results.

We have been so blessed with some great responses! In the first few weeks, we have had 5 couples respond with interest in our group. Last Monday, we had our first meeting! I am an entertainer at heart, so I had enough appetizers ready for an army of people. The night turned out to be very cold, rainy and disgusting - much to our chagrin. Jeff was sure it was the "evil one" at work - keeping us from doing God's work. Luckily, one brave couple came out in the dark, cold rain to join us.

We had such a wonderful time! What a blessing to find a young, Christian couple out there seeking the same things! It was GREAT! We are so excited for our small group meeting this week - and hope that the weather will be beautiful so all 5 couples can join us!

My days off

I took 2 vacation days this week - today and tomorrow. Why is it that I intend to do so many things on my vacation days and end up accomplishing nothing?! I get distracted with all of my spare time. I am so much more efficient at work with a structured day and deadlines!!

When I can't leverage my pocket pc throughout my day, all of my intentions and "to do's" just tend to melt away. In retrospect, perhaps this isn't such a bad thing.

So, I'll be enjoying my long weekend filled with good intentions!