A Branch Who Loves His Trees

Today was very bittersweet as I turned in the keys to our very first home.  Kee and I have been very blessed to have been able to put our house on the market and in just four days have a buyer.  We have also been blessed that when we were ready to give up hope in finding the perfect home, the house we had always had in mind came on the market.  Even so, it is hard to leave this little ranch of ours.

I will miss the many memories that fill each of the rooms of our home, but I know that many more memories will overflow from the rooms in our new home. 

I will miss the safari decorated room that I brought both my beautiful babies home to and rocked them in for endless midnight hours. 

 I will miss the many family meals (even if I did not cook all of them) shared in our dining room.

It is with fond memories that I took the photo of Twiggy’s purple princess big girl bedroom.

Kee made fun of me Saturday as I awoke and immediately began crying.  I was so sad that it was the last morning I would spend in my home.  He tried to add insult to injury by saying, "Just think Jess, this is where we brought home all our babies." Not missing a beat I replied, "Just think  Kee, you won't get to see your trees mature."  Silence followed. And if it hadn't still been dark in the room, I am pretty sure I would have saw tears!

Our big tree in the front yard.

You see, there have been many afternoons and evenings when Twiggy and I have had to hunt for Kee.  She knew her daddy well and would inform me, "Hims looking at his trees."  She was usually right.  He would be pacing the yard and checking on his shrubs and beloved trees' progress.  He spent countless afternoons consulting his The National Arbor Foundation's Field Guide to North American Trees book in order to identify every possible tree in a five mile radius to our house. You know the love of your life has taken tree identification too far when he spots a cluster of trees from afar and nonchalantly informs, "That's classic American Basswood."  I guess I asked for that when I bought that book for him for Father's Day!

Kee's prized Black Stella Cherry Tree

The summer just will not be the same without the ability to fight off the birds to harvest 20 of our very own cherries from the tree Kee planted when we moved in.

Believe me...I know this is hard to see.  But there really is a three-year old White Oak sapling that Kee grew from an acorn.

Just how will our lives be complete if we don't see this little sapling grow?!  Kee asked if I thought he could dig it up...of course I said no.  Hopefully the new owners do not simply mow over it!

For all you nature lovers who are feeling sorry for my husband...there is a happy ending to this story.  On the very day that we closed on the sale of our first home, Kee was given these two tiny pine trees.  He dropped off Twiggy and Z to daycare and the teacher said she had these two trees left over from Arbor Day the day before.  Believe me, I got a phone call that morning from a very excited husband!  In our hectic few days of moving, Kee was sure to carefully transport these promising saplings to our temporary home.  And hopefully they will survive until June to be planted in our new house!