Putting up the Chris Tr

What exactly is a Chris Tr? Well, it's half a Christmas Tree. This year space is at a premium in our house. We have added Sophie's Pack and Play and a chair in the family room where the tree usually goes. So I decided to put the tree in the living room where Bill hangs out -- next to the gun cabinet -- the only available space. Oh well, I'm sure Jesus is proud of us for having the guns locked.

I don't really like owning guns but at least I never try to tell anyone we have them "for protection." The guns are each individually locked with a trigger lock. The ammo is locked in a separate cabinet. The keys to the trigger locks are locked in a cabinet in another place with the key to that lock hidden. So I can just imagine trying to load a gun to protect us. But - back to the tree -- such as it is.

There's not a lot of room to spare in there either, so I did what any intelligent person would do. I only put up the front half of the tree and the back half is flat against the wall. I really don't think it looks that bad actually.

I didn't put the tree up this year. The little kids did, with Jacob in charge. I was sitting on the couch sewing trim on a Wise Man costume for the church Christmas play next weekend.

Perhaps a truly wise man (or woman) might have looked up in time to notice what appears to be a row of branches out of place. Notice about two thirds of the way up the tree it dips in and then branches out again. I think those branches are reversed. I'm not sure why it looks droopy along the bottom. Probably because it is so old. This is the last year for this tree. I suppose I could have corrected them but they were so happy with themselves, it just wasn't worth mentioning.

After the Christmas parade Sunday, we will be putting on the ornaments, but I like to get this part out of the way.

This year - we have a tree that Charlie Brown would be proud to call his own. And so are we -- but we have the added bonus Wes just came to tell me about. If you throw a pingpong ball at the top of the tree, it "finds a way down to the bottom." Picture Plinko if you will.

Come Sunday this game has to be over, but in the meantime - Plinko at our house!