HAPPY DECEMBER! Love, Murphy

HAPPY DECEMBER!

Ah, this is the life!Our Christmas Elf, Murphy, showed up right on time on December 13th, for the 12 days before Christmas.  He magically found some mini marshmallows in our kitchen and just couldn't resist taking a marshmallow bubble bath before starting the holiday season.  Emily, being the first to find Murphy, was absolutely smitten with him and the Christmas spirit.  The joy that the belief and excitement of a little one brings is contagious and each day as she plays hot and cold with everyone to find Murphy, we all believe even stronger in the magic of Christmas.  

Can I tell you what I really want?

  

After hiking around the mountain at Grandma's and Papa's pines, we finally all agreed on our tree to cut down.  When Courtney found out that it was the same price for any height after 6 ft, she quickly convinced everyone to max-out the footage and we ended up with a 19 foot 6 inch tree.  We were quite the sight, slowly, driving home as the tree exceeded the 12 foot trailer that we were pulling!

Ben was thrilled to discover that someone had left the top of a tree, just for him to find and decorate and put in his room.  It was like winning the lottery when the tree guy told him he could just have it...for free!

How many engineering minds will it take to get the tree in the house and set nicely in it's Christmas home in the stairwell that extends from the basement to the main floor?(without messing up my newly painted stairwell walls)

Maneuver #1 get it through the door!

 maneuver #2 four-point turn in family room to get it over the banister. 

#3 angle to far corner

 #4, #5 and #6 stand it up, walk it down, lift it back and angel through opposite column.

#7 Will it clear? Yes, 1/4 inch clearance on the ceiling! #8 placed in stand below. #9 water and decorate!

From the basement, it filled the staircase...and fit perfectly!

 Uh! Oh! afterthought...what decorations will we put on a 19 foot tree?  Not enough kids ornaments to reach all the way to the top, so we strung cranberries and popcorn!  The girls lasted a bit longer with the tolerance that it took to string enough cranberries to fill the tree, but only 4 or 5 needle pokes later and we were set to decorate!

It's fun to have the girls to decorate. We set out all the traditions
and had a great time reliving past Christmas'!

I love the magic and spirit of Christmas!