well hello december~

there is no month that flys by faster for me than the one marked

by Jesus's birth-

there's still leftover turkey in the fridge- but the house is also

decorated for Christmas. lars and i went and got our tree last friday and

it only took me about 20 seconds to find what i was looking for.

i wanted the tallest, skinniest fresh tree in the lot.

every year my sweetie tries to talk me into a bigger one.

i start out with a pep talk on the way:

"so hon, i want a small, pretty tree this year, we just don't have room for

anything very big".  he nods in agreement.

then we get there and i spot one i think will work and he dutifully holds it up

and say's "nope too small". we look some more and he drags a few more

out of the pile and shakes em off a bit. "nope, still too big i say". 

some years i give in and we get one that's way bigger than really fits in our small space, but 

this year he kind of reluctantly agreed to the one he thought was too puney and

you know what? it's magnificent! it's all adorned and i love it! it's just big enough

and it is just beautiful all lit up in the dark. 

what is it about the tiny white lights glowing in the dark that brings

us such satisfaction... it's just magic to me.

i don't think i'll ever want an artificial tree. there's no smell, nothing unique from

year to year. i love the going and picking it out part, the helping lars get it in the

stand...even watering it every day. it's the least i can do for all the happiness it

brings us.

if i ever get to the point that i don't want a real tree- then i think i'd rather just have one

awesome spruce top in a small pot on my table.

i took some pictures in the back yard on saturday.

these are rose hips. all the roses of the future are in these

pretty colored pods

flowering crab apple berries

we have big woods around our cabin and i asked my sweetie to 

bring me home some evergreen boughs and some birch logs.

i was picturing short fat birch to use in my big pot, just as an accent.

when i saw what was in the back of the truck i suppressed a chuckle. 

he'd brought me the entire tree!

*(remember, this is the same guy who wants a church sized tree in our living room).

you know what though? us girl scouts know what to do in this

kind of situation~ i just decided instead of an accent, the birch would

be the main event.
they reach all the way to the roof~ and i like it!

and here's what i did with the rest of the tree he brought home for me.

he helped me and we tied the bundle of them to the deck and put white 

lights on them. sooo pretty right outside the door~

thanks hon!

look at the potato that rolled out of the bag on Thanksgiving morning! i love when i find

a heart shaped one...and even more special on Thanksgiving. thank you mother nature~

adria brought this yummy salad for our meal. there's no sugar in it so it was not only pretty but also healthy. it's seasoned with a bit of honey,fresh ginger and cinnamon.
the pom seeds made it extra pretty.

kenzie was in heat and duke was in love...so that resulted in us doing

our best to keep them separated. kenzie upstairs, duke downstairs.

thank you very much.

but, how cute is this little face peeking through the railings looking down at us?

i was a little late getting adria's annual birthday photo with her papa. better late

than never though right? i've been doing this all 31 years of her life and the lineup of them

together over the years is priceless. it won't be long now until he'll be walking her down the aisle.
( got lump in throat just writing that- Lord help me).

right before i headed to bed on Thanksgiving night, i looked over and saw koda

sleeping with his head pritnear IN the geraniums.

next best thing to tip toeing through the tulips huh buddy?

aaaaaaaand~
it's my seester's birthday today, so here's a

loving shout out to her~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN IRENE,

hope your family spoils you rotten today, because you deserve it!

WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAYS

JUST KEEP ON COMING.

(and remember, i get to go first).

:  )

xox, beth