beginning to look alot like Christmas

oh the stories...
first there's the one about the christmas tree. kari and derek found theirs in 30 min, it took david and i an additional hour and a half of tromping over what felt like 50 acres of trees until we found the tallest one- a mere 8 1/2 ft! david whined all the way to the car. soon after entering I75 on our way to a well earned dinner, derek turned his head to observe that OUR tree was quickly sliding off the back of the trailer. while dad was crossing three lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder the tree was deposited directly in the middle lane. david jumped out of the car and briefly stood on the roadside, timing his entrance, then ran to the tree and pulled it by its head to the back to the trailer. a speeding car narrowly missed the trunk, which would have likely caused an accident that i'd rather not imagine. we can laugh about it now (tho some did while it was happening- not me) but it was quite distressing at the time. thankfully the tree was scarcely damaged, having only a couple scratches on her underside. i speculated she realized david was grumbling about her stature and was attempting some sort of escape.
next there's the one from putting up christmas lights. i am very tickled about the cute little snowflakes all in a row across the front of the porch (the picture does them no justice), but i payed fairly for my pride. i had to use a crowbar and hammer to drive holes in the frozen ground before i could press in the stakes that support the little flakes and their light. with 9 of them done, my hands were beginning to numb (it wasn't cold enough for gloves). i was pounding the head of the crowbar to make the hole for the tenth and last snowflake when the hammer slipped and clobbered my left hand, beneath my forefinger. it hurt, but i just moaned "ow" and finished the job. soon, however, the numbness and shock were not enough to block the pain signals and additionally there was a bump about the size and shape of half of a golfball swelling on my hand. i moaned somemore and showed david, who sensibly took me inside and ordered me to ice it, which i did, with a bag of frozen cranberries. i started feeling dizzy and we sat down on the couch. after confirming i could still moved my fingers, i had a good cry as my hand throbbed and reddened. and, really, that's what makes this a story- because i hurt myself bad enough to cry. for the last week i've had a big, lovely bruise to observe. it's turned all the different shades of the rainbow, but has quickly healed.
also making this holiday exciting: the first in a house we own, the first with a lively kitten- who's managed to cause only 3 ornaments to break (thank God for that pet repellant spray Kari gave me), wolbi playing with tinsel (before it was on the tree- good kitty), friends that helped decorate, cookie baking, shopping with dad and kari, our fifth annual christmas party, making plans to take classes to become foster parents...

Christmas Day is almost here! tidings of comfort and joy.