Monday, December 05, 2011

Christmas Tree Farm Part Two

We ventured out on Saturday to cut our Christmas tree and it was a gorgeous day that made our outing that much more enjoyable! Read Part One here. We were all excited to go back with David this time around! Most of this story can be told just through pictures - so I will keep the words few until the end!

At this point in the day, we stopped to make and enjoy dinner: snowman pizza! And, we read The Pine Tree Parable! We've enjoyed this book before - but, I recently received a copy from Tommy Nelson to review. We loved reading it at dinner - you can view the flip book here.

After dinner and decorating, we always turn all the "real" lights off and just enjoy tree lights and other Christmas lights. We also had a cozy fire and I served a little Christmas tree themed treat:

Our friends at Tommy Nelson want to give one of you a copy of the Pine Tree Parable! To enter the giveaway, please share how you reach out to help others during the Christmas season! Leave a comment {make sure I have a way to contact you!} on this post ~ comments will be accepted until Wednesday, December 7 at 10pm EST.

Inspiration for snowman pizza here.
Inspiration for Christmas tree brownies here.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Pine Tree Parable as part of the Tommy Mommy program. But, it is already a book I love and all opinions are my own.

23 comments:

Lecia said...

What a lovely day! We reach out to others by buying presents for those who cannot afford to do so. We also help our church with food bags for needy families. Giving is truly a gift in itself.

One Pretty Little Box said...

One of my favorite treats this time of year is to stop in at Starbucks and order a Peppermint Mocha along with a Cranberry bliss bar (eventhough I have a great knock off recipe for those). I don't do it often, and for me it's a treat ~ so I often like to treat the person behind me as well! :)

Grace said...

Our church has many ways to reach out to people and we take advantage of those. We do the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. and we support our local homeless ministry.

Shelby said...

We buy gifts for children that wouldn't otherwise get them. Also we donate money to a shelter that helps men get back on their feet. I usually cook diner and invite some men from the shelter to eat with us.

Lovely tree Monica

richellecucchi@comcast.net

*carrie* said...

It's fun seeing your house so festive!

We just did the OCC shoeboxes, of course, and our church is doing something similar for children in Haiti, so I packed up a bag for that. I look putting those together!

Anonymous said...

L Youast year I read the book The Christmas Jar (it is a wonderful story) and we saved coins all year in our own jar. I bought everyone in my family the book and gave them their own jars, hoping to start a tradition...alas, only a few members were interested. So this year, on Christmas eve, my husband and I will find someone to give our jar of coins to. You hafta read the book to get the gist of the idea (tease) LOVE your home pics, Lynnebee
Mynessik@aol.com

Jamie said...

My family reaches out to others by donating food to the local food pantry.

Jamie

jmiller_221@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

p.s. The novel is by Jason F. Wright

Mom said...

Lovely photos of your Christmas tree farm outing and tree decorating. I especially love the end result -- glowing lights/fire! Fun theme foods, as usual! I'm looking forward to seeing your decorations in person soon! Love, Mom

Patti said...

Through our church we donate Christmas gifts for children from other parishes and we support local group homes for adults. You can give either toys or pajamas. We also give a bigger food donation for the month of December.

Penelope said...

Our Sunday school class adopts a family. This year I'm buying cleaning supplies for them. I figure I'll go to Costco and see what I can do.
penelopelephew at hotmail.com

angie said...

We pack the OCC shoeboxes, and my kids each pick out something from the Samaritan's Purse catalog to purchase with their own money. Hanna: mosquito net Curry: milk supply for a week.
We give to the local food pantry. And I am hoping to do a 31 fundraiser at the end of Cec/beginning of Jan to give the proceeds to "My Brother's Keeper" fund.
I loved seeing the blankets and pillows spread out on your family room floor, at the ready for tree gazing.

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

HI Monica,
Oh, I LOVED all the photos of your family at the Christmas tree farm. That looks like so much fun :) :)

Hmm..this year I am sponsoring a little girl who lives in a rural community about an hour from me. She needs some warm winter clothing, so I'm going to get some good things for her. It's a ministry that many people in my church are participating in. There's a whole community of kids in this area who need warm winter clothing and can't afford those things. That's where me and other church members get the honor of helping out and being a blessing :) This is the first time I've ever done this :) :) I"m really excited about the opportunity :) :)

If I win the giveaway, I'll give the book to one of the young family's in my church. There are kids EVERYWHERE here :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

Jennifer said...

I did shoeboxes for OCC and then give to several programs through my church.

Lisa said...

Not entering for the drawing, but have to agree that the Pine Tree Parable is a wonderful story!!! My 3 year old says it's her FAVorite! :-) It brought tears to my eyes when I read it the first time. Also, your tree looks beautiful. :-)

Heather said...

We typically buy gifts for a family and do as much donating as we can. This year we are recovering from an emergency c-section and adjusting to a new baby so we'll be doing a lot more serving each other and setting an example of selfless love for our own children...and that is okay by me. Although I can't wait to be healed and doing more!

Heather

Lisa Northcutt said...

My Family sponsors another family in need--we provide a full turkey dinner and this year we are helping with the church toy drive. We struggle sometimes but always have enough to share with those less fortunate.
Blessings,
Lisa

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

this Christmas we did Operation Christmas Child and I am organizing a fund raiser to build a pastor in Gbornee Liberia a house. The youth at our church put together 240 cookie jars this Sunday and we are selling them next Sunday, hoping to raise the $4300 we need:).

Becky said...

We try to follow God's leading each year in how we should serve and give...every year he reveals opportunities - which is so exciting. Thanks for the opportunity to win this book - I think my kids will love it!

rjkleinsasser@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

You have such a beautiful family. I love the pictures reminds me of being little and the joy of a child. You a wonderful example of a prov 31 woman.
Each year it changes. This year we used
our coupons to buy things for any soldier . com We packed boxes and mailed
with an encouraging letter. To say thank you God loves you and we are praying for you. We used to send money for our compation child but his family no longer needs support. This is a miracle. I like have people over that may be alone or just to fellowship this a hard time of the year for some people. Thank you for your blog it has really help me when I
needed peace. Patti

Anonymous said...

Looks like such a FUN day for your family! I thought about you on Sat. wondering if you were able to get your tree. It's BEAUTIFUL!
Also, all your fun, festive food looks delicious. Love all the photos. Can't wait to see your festive home in person.

Love you all, Grandma/Nana

Amy said...

We do OCC boxes, serve at a pantry (we're going to start doing this all year), and make big batches of our secret recipe cookie to pass out to friends. Thanks for the giveaway! brian amy 10 @ hotmail dot come

Kelly said...

That sounds like a great book to add to our collection!