Christmas tree decorating...

Thankfully, Brent and I still agree about getting a real tree. I feel like we're in the minority these days, but we still love the look and smell of a good fir at Christmastime. There's nothing quite like it. Gavin helped me pick out the perfect tree this year (just outside at King Soopers, though someday I think it would be so fun to go cut down our own tree as a family), and he really enjoyed hanging the ornaments with me, especially the ones that were his. It was strange for me to see so many of my childhood ornaments hanging on my adult tree (you know what I mean) and then consider that Gavin's little ornaments may hang on his own tree someday.

I felt grateful this year to realize that both of my boys really enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. I can't remember the last time this happened, but somehow we managed to get every single ornament in our two-tiered box up on the tree this year. Gage would dangle little ones on the very lowest branches--some that would nearly scrape the floor--and smile at me with so much pride when he was done. I'm sure that those moments may have given birth to the ever-popular "good job" that comes out of his mouth lately, too. It's so powerful, humbling, inspiring and challenging to know that our kids will always imitate the things they hear us saying, right?