If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

My weeping willow tree...at our first house my husband gave me a weeping willow tree.  I love weeping willow trees and how their graceful wispy branches touch the ground.  My tree sat at the top of our hill and sometimes in the middle of the day, when I needed a break, I would walk up there and sit under it....my own little oasis.

Two weeks after we moved to our current home and I gave birth to our fifth child.  Instead of flowers my husband bought me another weeping willow tree. I loved it.

Well the tree grew very quickly and became quite large in 14 years.  It started to lean towards our house and Carl wanted it to come down.  Even though I protested (carrying "save the tree" picket signs around the kitchen table), it was no use the tree was going to come down.

Yesterday was the day.  We weren't expecting the tree service to show up when they did but we were flexible. 

To save money, Carl decided to do the clean up himself.  So last night instead of helping at a homeschool seminar (I went by myself) Carl, Liza's boyfriend, and our children pretended to be lumberjacks.  They made a huge dent in the pile of brush and logs.  We are very thankful for the wood.  God always provides for us.

We use a wood stove as the main source of heat in the winter.  Our oil furnace is a back-up that comes on only at night.  With the price of oil and this big old house, a wood stove is the only way our family can afford to heat our home. 

There are some winter mornings that its pretty cold when I roll out of bed.  And the first order of the day is to make a fire.  That's why you will find that I have a pack of matches in every jacket, sweater, and even my housecoat.  One more reason I'm glad its spring!!