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First lady Laura Bush receives this year's White House Christmas tree from NC

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- First lady Laura Bush kicked off the holiday season by standing out in the rain to receive this year's White House Christmas tree.

A horse-drawn wagon pulled the 20-foot Fraser fir up to the White House on Sunday as Bush was waiting under an umbrella. The tree will decorate the Blue Room.

Jessie Davis and Russell Estes, owners of River Ridge Tree Farms in Crumpler, N.C., where the tree was grown, joined the first lady, along with their families.

The North Carolina Farm Bureau says River Ridge also will provide about 25 smaller trees for the White House, including the ones for the offices of the president and vice president.

Bush says this year's holiday decorating theme would be announced later this week.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)