In test mode, the stuff of life takes a backseat. If you’ve ever felt embarrassed by your lifestyle, my current one would help reassure you. There might still be oatmeal caked onto the kitchen floor from this morning’s (okay yesterday’s) breakfast smash. Most of my dinner tonight might have been the remnants of daughter’s, eaten directly off the kitchen floor. Classy? No. Efficient? Absolutely.
But we couldn’t wait to get a tree…we’re just waiting to decorate it until after boards. So it’s been sitting naked in water in our living room for the last week:
Here was the runner-up:
(My friend/neighbor/sister-of-another-mother has a hilarious story about how her dad once ruined Christmas. The parents had bought a robust fraser fir. Upon returning home, they thought it would best be displayed propped up on top of a coffee table [don’t ask me why]. Of course, now their tree of generous size could not stand erect without hitting the ceiling. The patriarch solved this problem by chopping off the top of the tree like the one picture above. Some individuals might have been quite emotionally affected by this action…)
And Aurelia and I had a small little holiday excursion this Saturday–an attempt to get out of the house for several hours to guarantee John some sleep post-late shift. The local elementary had a crafts fare, and our good friend was the main attraction of “Breakfast with Frosty.” I almost wonder if Ari had a sense of the woman behind the snow, because she instantly snuggled into her white fuzzy arms…
anna in med school 
I think it’s really neat to have the tree just sit there for a time. We did lessons and corals at the monastery, and at the reception (food is my big motivator for membership in this group), the tree was there, nothing yet on it.
I love the picture of John’s “You got a PROBLEM with that?” interaction with the tree, while Ari is obviously thinking, “Why is Daddy acting this way? Should I be getting worried?”