O Christmas Tree...

I had the pleasure of working at the Johnson Tree Farm this weekend. Farmer Rob (Johnson) and his family run the place. It sits on a beautiful patch of land about 25 minutes from our house. Farmer Rob is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's a very kind man, with a huge heart. He loves kids, and is giving high-fives to 5-year-olds all day.

The Farm is a very special place. Not only can you hunt down your Christmas tree, but you can also take a wagon ride around the property, feed the goats, rabbits, and chickens, or curl up with some hot cocoa in front of the fire. It's neat to see so many families, many who have made a tradition of coming year after year.

Although this might come as a shock to some, I'm a proponent of real Christmas trees. Nothing artificial in my house! We need little reminders of creation in our houses, and the smell and feel and sight of a real tree help with that. I suppose the best would be to have a live tree, but I don't know enough about that yet, so a formerly live tree will have to do.

Inspiration

Well, it's the day after Thanksgiving. We had the privilege of spending yesterday with our friends Cassie and Matthew and their family in Santa Cruz, and then capped the night off with the Waltons and their kids. It was a good day. Amazing food, and a lot of fun. Spending time with our friends and their families definitely made us miss our families all the more.

Last night, with the Waltons, we were discussing blogs. Ryan and Sam Walton have a blog that I enjoy reading. Sam mentioned that she has faithfully been checking our blog since July, every time, hoping for an update. Well, Sam, here it is! You have inspired us. One thing that was said last night was that "blogs are personal, not private." I think that's true. They can be like an open diary/journal. I feel like our blog has mostly been more of the "here's what we've been up to lately" type - at least when we're updating it. I'm going to venture into more of some thoughts and opinions that I have as well sometimes. I've never been a journaler, even after trying numerous times to start. Who knows, this probably won't last very long as well.

No thoughts or opinions right now, really. But, get ready, cause they're a comin'!