What we discovered yesterday that it’s not, ultimately, about finding the perfect tree, but it’s about the experience.

Yesterday our family for the first time had the chance to pick out our own Christmas tree.  In Japan, we have an artificial one that is fine.  But we were REALLY excited about the chance to go outside — not to the shed — to get our tree this year.

We went to a great Christmas tree farm just a few minutes away.  It really is much more than about the tree!  Even though it was quite cold, we went on a hayride to the back tree lots; the kids sat on Santa’s lap; went on a train ride; and  did a small hay maze.  This was all before we even tried to find the right tree.

When we did finally go looking for the tree, the kids were freezing cold and would have been happy with a 2 foot branch.  Some hot cocoa helped to pacify them while Eric and I found the most beautiful 7 foot Frasier fir in all of South Jersey.  Look at that beauty!!