Whirlwind Weekend- part 1

A look back on the history of the Hosmerville Family Christmas Tree:

• 2000: This was the first year we were married. Tom and I bought our tree out of the Alpine Ave. Target parking lot in Grand Rapids. We used the ornaments of our youth to decorate the small tree; but we didn't have a tree topper so Tom placed 3 animal ornaments at the top and dubbed them "the Triumvate" (whatever the heck that means). We promptly left for Florida the day after Christmas and by the time we returned a week later our poor little tree was completely dried out. Tom and my brother took care of it the way any other man would and threw it off our 2nd story balcony to drag to the dumpster in the parking lot, in the process earning the fiery wrath of the little old lady who lived below us. Apparently she was allergic to all of the pine needles that had fallen onto her patio. A phone call from the apartment manager, a personal apology with warm cinnamon bread, and 2 thorough cleanings later and I think the issue was finally put behind us. Lesson learned- never allow a man to work unsupervised, especially when your teenage brother is involved.
• 2001: Our new apartment strongly discouraged real Christmas trees as they could be a fire hazard when the trees dried out- hmm, who knew? So we resorted to a hand-me-down fake from my mom. We finally got it together and it was so tall and skinny, I named it the "toilet paper tube tree". I called to complain to my mom that this tree had seen better days when all of a sudden she just "happened" to remember that she had pulled our lovely little tree out of my grandma and grandpa's trash. Lesson learned- never accept holiday decorations from a self-professed garbage picker.
• 2002: The first and only Christmas in our little home in GR. Tom and I planned a house warming/Christmas party for all of our friends and family. I was 7 months pregnant with Austin and just the day before the party had finished my student teaching for my BA. We hadn't gotten a chance to get our tree yet and I was resigned to the fact that we weren't going to have one for our party. The hour before our party was to start, Tom's parents arrived early and he and his dad headed out to find a tree. Not knowing where to go they just started driving out toward Allendale and finally (as they were turning around to head home treeless) found a house with fresh cut trees out front for a donation only. We were able to get the tree up before any of the other guests arrived and if I remember correctly our housewarming/ Christmas party became a tree decorating party as well. Lesson learned- dogs prefer the water in the tree stand over the fresh water in their bowls.
• 2003: We were living with Tom's parents waiting for our house in GR to sell. Tom, Austin, Eddy, and I were all crammed into his brother's old room, but we did manage to put up a very small table top tree to have our own Christmas together. His mom always has a beautiful tree in the living room, so we enjoyed that one, too. Lesson learned- babies like the bright shiny lights and breakable ornaments the best.
• 2004: The first Christmas in our present house and our first visit to a real tree farm. I was pregnant with Audrey and Austin was 22 months old. The day we went out to get our tree was incredibly cold. I spent the time waddling after Austin and trying to keep him in sight amongst all of the trees at Arends. I was determined to find the "perfect" tree and by the time I finally relented and let Tom cut the one down he had spied a good hour earlier, the air was just full of Christmas cheer. Lesson learned- never go tree hunting in the cold with a 22 mo. old when you're 6 1/2 months pregnant.
• 2005: Audrey was 9 months old and fell asleep on the way out to Arends. (We always go to Arends because that's where Tom and his family went when he was growing up- a bit of 2nd generation family tradition.) I really wanted to include Audrey in all of the festivities but I didn't want to wake her, and not having to cart around a bundled up baby was a plus, so we left her in the car. Ok, I know this sounds bad, but at Arends you can drive back into the fields. I kept her in sight the whole time and Austin had a blast playing in the fresh, deep snow. Lesson learned- sometimes it's ok to not do things as originally planned.
• 2006: This sounds even worse, but I cannot remember if Lexi was with us when we went to get our tree this year. It finally came down to a get-a-tree-or-not-have-one-for-Christmas-situation. We had waited the last possible moment and day to head to Arends. We got there at 4:55 pm; they, of course, closed at 5pm. We hopped out of the car and picked one from the selection of pre-cut trees. In 5 minutes. In the growing darkness. Giving Austin final say. That was a beautiful tree. Lesson learned- do NOT wait until the last possible moment, you'd think I would have learned that by now.

So that brings us to this year and this past Saturday. Once again we bundled the kids up and headed out to Arends. Audrey made snow angels in the 1/4 inch of snow and Austin helped Tom cut the tree down. We headed back to the front of the farm for hot chocolate and candy canes. At home we put on some Christmas music and made some more hot chocolate. We got the entire tree in place and decorated without major incident. Here's some pics from our tree excursion:

my little snow angel

the men with the tree

helping daddy

enjoying a candy cane