New Couches and Our Tree!

Yesterday we got these new (to us) couches and I'm so excited!
I should have taken a picture of the old couch. It would have made you appreciate these even more! Really. Plus, we only had one couch before to fit our family of six and some had to sit on the floor and it was a big deal sometimes, not to mention if we had company over. So now we have a couch and a loveseat and a chair. Our living room is small and I'm still trying to figure out how HGTV would arrange it but at least we can accommodate seating more people. I feel like we're stepping up in the world! About time.

This was the living room as we were dragging out decorations! What a mess! And I was scooping out fish tank water, which took forever, because we had to move over the fish tank in order to make room for the tree and it was too heavy until I scooped up about 15 gallons of water. Then, I had to refill. How nice it would be to have a formal living room. But I can't have that AND live in paradise. I'll choose location.

Linnea took a few pictures of her favorite ornaments. My favorites are the ones the kids make in school with their pictures but it seems Jacen's teachers have done that more than the other kid's teachers.

The day after Thanksgiving, we love to get out our Christmas decorations and put up our Christmas tree. The kids helped to pick out just the perfect Christmas tree. We buy a real one every year. I have been pretty insistent that we are real tree kind of people, even though Albert thinks it is more economical to buy an artificial tree. I don't think its more economical because to get a nice looking one, a person has to spend quite a bit of money and in the number of years it would take to pay off that artificial tree at say, $20 a year, I think the tree is going to need to be replaced before its paid off. Plus, one has to store the thing all year and if you live in a small coastal town where storage is worth more than gold, well you know what I mean. Still, I have to admit that Albert is wearing me down simply because I always try to lighten my carbon fingerprint on the Earth and it does seem "greener" to buy an artificial one. Some friends of ours rent a real tree that is potted and then it gets picked up after Christmas and planted later. That's a great choice but too expensive for us. Anyway, what are your thoughts on trees?

Finished product. Not as fancy as some but "ours" with a story or memory for each ornament. I was remembering when Albert and I were newly married and we didn't have all these ornaments.