Putting up the Christmas Tree

We put our tree up on Sunday.  I have a TON of pictures that I thought I'd share since it was so fun and since a lot of the pics show the kids' personalities so well.

Getting the tree out of the box.  I just thought this was cute that they're all huddle around it.

Michael loves to be "in charge" of the whole tree assembly process.  The branches are color-coded to help put it together in the right order and it always amazes me that  Michael remembers the order every year with no cheat sheet!

I told Blake to smile and got this.  He really wasn't grumpy.  He just loves to get a reaction from me.  (And don't worry, I took down the Thanksgiving decoration in the background.)

Katie actually smiled for the camera since she's so excited for Christmas!

Remember how I said Blake likes to get a reaction from me?  We got all the branches sorted and ready to put up and... Blake and Nathan sat down on the couch right then.  They knew that would stress me out.  They were right.  Look how proud they are of themselves. 

 Lydia, sorting branches:

Elizabeth:

Caleb tried to help with the branches, but changed his mind after actually touching a branch:

He decided playing with jingle bells was much more fun!

OK, notice this picture.  Blake held the branch in front of his face on purpose trying to get another reaction from me again.  (And yes, it worked.  And yes, maybe I should stop reacting.  But I can't help it.  They know when I'm volatile and they play on it.)

Now look at this picture that was taken a lot later.  Neither one of them knew about the other picture.  Wonder where Nathan get is from, huh?  And yes, Nathan did it on purpose too as soon as he saw me with a camera.

Michael had a stiff neck for days so that's why his head is tilted funny.

Lydia laughing because her branch looks like an upside-down Christmas tree.

Caleb finally got used to the feel of the branches and helped Daddy.

I LOVE this picture of Nathan!  It's sooo Nathan.

 Caleb helping Michael.  I love this one too.  He follow Michael everywhere and just adores him.

Nathan showing Caleb his stocking.  We picked out a stocking with a train on it back when he was a tiny baby and didn't know of his love of trains.  It was the perfect choice for him as you can see:

My job is always the lights, because I love it and because I'm so picky that no one else wants to take over.

And another one that I absolutely love: