Christmas 2021

 

It's Officially A Christmas Tree Tradition

 For the second year in a row, we got a permit to cut down a Christmas tree in select areas of the Tahoe National Forest. Like last year, Egypt was my partner and she selected the perfect tree after driving down a few snow covered roads. The tree didn't look so big when compared to other, far more mature trees in the forest, but after a few clips here and there, it was a dream come true type tree for our house. 

 

A New Christmas Tradition?

We don't have many traditions in our family, but most of the few we do have happen at Christmas time. We often travel on other holidays and are rarely home for Easter and Thanksgiving, but we are always at home for Christmas. Lisa makes a traditional meal, the girls wear new dresses, and we visit the tree on display in the downtown area wherever we live. As far as trees, Lisa and I didn't put one up before kids. We lost Everett on December 7th and Christmas was a rough time for us. When Kellisa was born, my dad wanted to make sure she had a tree at home and bought us a small fiber optic tree which we used every year until it died. We did replace it to keep the tradition going...guess we have another one.

When Kellisa was 4 years old, we purchased an artificial tree that we used every year, but we threw it out when we moved to California. Instead of buying another artificial tree and storing it all year in our limited space, we decided to purchase real trees. For some reason, we always wait until the weekend before Christmas to pick a tree from a mostly empty lot near our house. We are always shocked at the high prices and Lisa is usually able to negotiate $20 - $40 off a $200 tree since it's so close to Christmas.

Egypt was asking to get a tree earlier this year and I somehow read an article about the national forests in Northern California offering permits for only $10 to cut your own tree. I did a little research and found the closest to our house, Tahoe National Forest was included. The idea is to thin the forest to help lower wildfire dangers while also allowing more mature trees thrive. I got a permit and a map of areas where harvesting live Christmas trees was allowed. I picked an area I was familiar with about an hour from our driveway.

I was hoping it would be a family outing, but Lisa stayed home with Kellisa as she was still recovering from her surgery. After purchasing a small chainsaw, Egypt and I headed out to the forest. As we gained elevation, the temperature dropped and patches of snow decorated the forest floor. We enjoyed some spectacular views before Egypt saw the perfect tree a short distance off the dirt road we were driving down. 

We got out and walked over to the tree and Egypt had already made up her mind. I could see at least 6 other trees that were just as perfect. Our permit limited us to trees less than 20ft. tall and trunk diameters of no more than 6 inches. I asked Egypt to at least look and consider the other trees. To her credit, she humored me and checked each tree out. Egypt was adamant about her first choice still being the best. I couldn't help but agree.

I went back and got the chainsaw as Egypt walked Evie. We posed for a few pictures before Egypt helped me cut down our first ever Christmas tree from the wild. I dragged it back and tied it down before driving back home. 

I had visions of clipping the tree once it was home to make it the perfect Christmas tree shape, but we decided to leave it natural even though it was a little uneven and stuck out in our main walkway from the front door to the kitchen, living room, and Kellisa's bedroom. 

Our tree was perfect and we started talking about "next year" and doing it again before we even decorated this tree. 

Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Christmas 2017

Just Pictures:

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning (2014)

 

 

It's our tradition to see the Jacksonville Christmas Tree at the Jacksonville Landing on Christmas Eve before heading to the evening service at our church.

 

Christmas morning in our house was completed in two shifts. Laurel wakes up by 6am every morning and Kellisa will sleep as long as possible every morning. We didn't want to make Laurel wait for hours or to wake up Kellisa long before she was ready.

 

For Laurel, it was a very Frozen Christmas and it was another "Wiggly" Christmas for Kellisa. Laurel's big gift was a small laptop so she can complete her (kindergarten) homework. Kellisa's big gift was a new iPod.

 

(More Christmas Pictures)

Christmas in Cimarrone

St. Johns, FL

 

December 2014

 

 

 

 

 

Laurel's first pony ride, sleigh rides, and Santa Claus....it was Christmas in Cimarrone.

 

(More Pictures)

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2005

The picture below might be shocking, but it's nothing compared to how Kellisa looked when she was wheeled back to her hospital room on December 16, 2005, following her shunt replacement surgery. Even though it was her 18th surgery (as of 12.25.05), I was not prepared to see her shaved and heavily bandaged head. This would be Kellisa's 3rd surgery in as many months. Kellisa had two shunt repair surgeries, one on October 6th and one on November 15th. When the repairs did not work, a complete shunt replacement was necessary.

 Like usual, even though Kellisa was only nine days removed from a major surgery, she was back to her usual self as she enjoyed Christmas:

All dressed up for a traditional Christmas dinner:

You can see hints of a scar on her neck (left side) in several of the above pictures. However, we don't have a clear picture of the scar. The neurosurgeon had to open Kellisa's neck to help the shunt's drainage tube down to her stomach.