All we really want for Christmas...

The Girls, Noah, Smokey

Cold.  Really cold today.  But you guessed it - it didn't stop us.  Today was the day to go and get the tree.  This afternoon Dad, Mom, Joshua, Noah, Hannah and Naomi set out to trudge through the forest in search of the 'perfect' tree.

So we bundle up, make a thermos of hot chocolate grab a bow saw and we're ready.  We head to the USFS check point to purchase a tree cutting permit -sort of a tradition for us.   Smokey the bear (Pike Hotshot in a suit) is there and while I'm purchasing the permit, Naomi cautiously approaches the bear in the hat.  Pictures - really awesome ones too.  As we saddle up and get ready to go and a familiar voice, a friend of ours Terri Miller calls out " you're not going there to cut a tree are you?"

So that settled it - we're headed to Kevin and Terri's - because they have lots of trees and none of them are "Charley Browns".  Such awesome generosity.  We follow them home and they  lay it out:  where the best trees are, where to stay away from and that's it -they turn us loose.  Question: how many of you would turn us loose on your property with a saw?  So we trudge about -and locate the perfect tree.

They invite us in when we arrive half frozen from the forest  to warm up (right in front of their lunch I might add). Almost immediately Terri, Kevin and their guests (we go to church with all of them) Scott and Hermie want to know - How is it going with bringing Jacob home.  I love that about brothers and sisters in Christ - how are you - does it go well?  It was a great but short visit (we did not want to crash lunch - even though it looked yummy). But how cool is that?  " How are you? - When do you bring him (Jacob) home?"  The body (the church) is a beautiful thing.

The Worthey Christmas Band

So we collect our tree and we go straight to tree modification.  This involves a drill, extra tree parts and artist's eye.  As the family unpacked the ornaments  I was busily creating a "bionic" tree where holes are drilled in the tree and extra branches are carefully filled in -grafted into the trunk.  Then on to decorating the tree with the family - what a great time the Lord blessed us with today.


As we spent time together Lorrie and I looked at each other often and we knew what the other was thinking: "we're one short", "I wonder what our son Jacob is doing".  It's a beautiful time of year -Christmas - celebrating the birth of our king.  For those of you who are Steven Curtis Chapman fans - "... all we really want for Christmas - is Jacob - home.

Marshall