Deck the Halls

This weekend Bret and I went to a charity dinner. We get invited to a lot of charity dinners and fundraisers and so far this year we haven't been able to make it due to other obligations. This was one we wanted to make for sure because it was for a great cause. In our little town there is a child development center. This organization offers free services to children at all levels of need. They offer services for children with speech, hearing, mental, and physical needs. They came and evaluated Logan and have been working with him on some speech things and some physical therapy to build up his left shoulder more. It is an amazing organization and they do everything absolutely free of charge. They will only bill insurance if you give them permission but anything insurance will not cover is still covered by the organization.

So the event is a lot of fun. It is a very dressy event and they had great appetizers and desserts to eat. It was a cash bar and this mama brought her purse :) Bret was on call so he drank diet Coke all night.


The event was a Christmas theme. There was a silent auction and a live auction. They had fully trimmed trees that we auctioned off for $1000's of dollars. They had nativity sets, pictures, toys for kids, and all kinds of things. We bid on a lot of things but most things quickly went well outside of our price range. The only thing I bid on that I really really wanted but didn't get was an outdoor nativity set. It was amazing. Bret and I joked because we never made it to that side of the room so I only saw a picture in the program and what they were showing around the room and on the screen. If I had seen the whole set before hand I wouldn't have stopped at the $$$ that I did. Let's just leave it at the bottom line that it went for $700.

So the end of the night was drawing near and we still had not bought anything. Like I said before we had talked before hand that we wanted to leave a donation (besides my drink tab and the cost of our tickets to get in).

Behold what we purchased. Again we only saw this from across the room. I saw the lighted branches at the top and thought it looked nice. A couple girls around me said they liked it and that it would look nice out on our porch. I was a few drinks in and although sober Bret was in the mood to bid too. So bid we did. Surprisingly enough we got this thing for less than the valued price..but not by much. It is OK. It looks nice on the porch all lit up. It is not something I would have bought at the store. I am not crazy about the snow balls. They seem a little out of place. Oh, well...it was for a good cause and they delivered it. This sucker is huge!!

My mom thought it was funny. It is really big and not at all like something Bret and I would normally use to decorate. It is growing on me.

So speaking of decorating for Christmas I had someone come out and give me an estimate to put up lights. I had to sit down. It was a lot. Bret said it was still a lot less than what it would cost us for him to break an arm/hand/etc. It's true but still a lot. I had already priced the cost of the lights and it was a lot too. When we bought this house both Bret and I commented that we had already pictured what it would look like at Christmas. We just didn't picture the cost of making it look like that. So I am getting another estimate.

Although I am the one is all about the Christmas decorations for the first time ever Bret is totally on board. I figured he would take some convincing but he has even done some online Christmas shopping for the kids already. You guys this is the guy who barely gets me a present in time for me to wrap for myself some years. He even suggested we get a big wreath. I am not sure who this guy is anymore. The biggest shocker was when we were on the way to the charity dinner he played Christmas music in his truck. Christmas music before Thanksgiving is a big deal but willingly is even bigger.

Stay tuned for pictures when we finally gets some decorations actually up!