quality family time

I hate that I don't have pictures to post with this.

Yesterday we decided we needed to trim the trees in front yard in order to decorate for Christmas. By we, I guess I should say I. I knew Ray wanted to get it done but also wanted to do other things but this was my priority for the day.  We had considered hiring a tree trimmer but decided we could use the money elsewhere. So, we started at 10:00 AM and 4 1/2 hours later we were done. Ray used his long pole cutter and started taking off the leafy branches. I used the smaller cutters and cut each branch into 4 ft pieces and then Ryan, Cameron and Faith took these pieces and stacked them nicely in a large pile by the sidewalk for the city workers to come by and collect this week.  They also raked and swept into piles all the leaves and put them all in the trash bins. Cam's favorite task was to get in the bins and stomp down the leaves. It was hard work but luckily it was a cool day to work. And as soon as we got done with the trees, we began the yard decorating. It was so worth it!  And to add to the day, our next-door neighbor was assembling his large nativity set in his yard and hanging lights. And the neighbor next to him is a city councilman and he and others were assembling the city council float for the parade that night.  We had great conversations and shared the Christmas spirit as we all did our thing. It always feels so good to accomplish the hard work while working together- nice quality time. And then we were able go to the parade and relax and enjoy!