"Okay guys!" Henry said to the kids, "Lets spread out and find our tree."

The tradition was to let the kids find the tree, then he and Elizabeth would agree, or send them back out to find a different one. This year was no different. Just because she was Secretary of State, did not stop them from walking around the Christmas Tree farm to find the perfect one. Carrying the saw in one hand, and holding her hand in the other, they too walked around looking at trees that maybe the kids had missed, or just skipped by. There was something refreshing about the crisp December air and being in the middle of all the trees.

"Mom, Dad! Over here!" called Jason, "What do you think about this one?" Jason asked as he stood touching the tall Frasier Fir.

"Jas, its beautiful! but I'm afraid its just a little short." Liz said to her youngest. Noticing his face drop a little she added, "Why don't we mark it, then if we don't find anything else we will come back to it, Okay?" ruffling up his hair.

"Ok mom, thats a good idea." He said as he put a piece of red string on a branch, marking that it belonged to someone.

Stevie was next to find a tree. Her's a Blue Spruce, and just a bit jaggy really was a lovely looking tree. Upon closer inspection, however, it was discovered that the tree was full of Praying Mantis nests. That immediately vetoed her choice. There was nothing worse than to have a Praying Mantis nest hatch inside the house. They had learned that the hard way!

Laughing at this memory, Stevie added "yeah I guess you're right! That was such a crazy year! I mean, who thought there were that many babies inside one of those things!" It had taken months to get those TINY things out of the house.

Allison was next to find a tree. She had found a beautiful Douglas fir that stood about 6.5 feet tall. It really was the perfect shape and size. The branches were full, the trunk straight, and best of all there were no nests of any kind hanging on the tree.

"Oh Ally! It's beautiful!" Liz gushed over the choice her daughter had made. This tree, for some reason, had taken Liz back to when she was a young teenager.

"Mom, Dad! Over here!" Lizzie called out. She had found the most beautiful Douglas fir in the whole Christmas tree farm.

"Oh Lizzie, honey, it's perfect!" her mother exclaimed. "You really are getting good at picking out the perfect tree every year"

As her dad cut the tree down, her brother Will stood there holding it, making it easier to get the saw through the trunk.

Unknown to all of them, this was the last tree they would ever pick out as a perfect family of four.

"Okay, Jas, how about you drag it out and over to the car." Henry said to his son.

"Ugh! Why do I have to drag it? Ally is the one who picked it, shouldn't she be the one to do the dirty work?" Jason whined at having to do a little bit of physical work.

Henry laughed at his antics. Oh how this boy needed to realize that while his mom and sisters were perfectly capable of dragging the tree out to the car, it was the men who were in charge of the "dirty work" as he described it. Henry watched his family walk back to the car, his three girls following Jas, encouraging him on. He noticed that while Ally and Stevie were picking and taunting Jason, Liz was quiet. She normally would have joined in on the friendly banter along with her children, something they both enjoyed doing. He caught up to them, catching his wife's hand in his.

Feeling his strong hand grip hers, she looked over at him and smiled. She knew he knew she was remembering back to when she was little and picking out trees with her parents and brother.

Henry squeezed her hand in his, giving her reassurance that he knew she was remembering, and that it was okay. He looked over at her noticing as she flashed that smile at him, that she also had tears welling up in her beautiful blue-green eyes.

"Okay guys, lets get this tree on top of the car and secure it with the rope!" Henry called out.

Helping the kids, Liz and Henry hoisted the tree on the top of the Jeep, while the kids took the rope and wrapped it around the trunk a few times then across the top of the tree. Happy with the way the tree was secured they all climbed into the car and headed back to their house in Georgetown.