The Christmas Season, 2015

To say life has been full for our family the past few months would be the understatement of the year. Three days before Thanksgiving we closed on our beautiful forever house. We've moved enough times in the past three years to know for certain that we never want to do it again. When we found this house last Fall we jumped on it, despite the fact that we had planned on renting for a full year. It was the perfect house for us, and we love it. We spent the week of Thanksgiving making two trips a day with our cars loaded up like the Beverly Hillbillies, and then finally got most of our belongings in in early December, thanks to the help of the world's most amazing friends and family. Since then, our focus has been on blissfully keeping our heads above the water line. The house is still a bit of a wreck and the kids and I only baked three kinds of Christmas cookies this year, but only words of gratitude are coming from my lips. I am just so grateful to be back in the city I love, settling in to a lovely new home surrounded by the people who make my life blessed.

Here are a few of the special moments I want to remember from this Christmas season...

Attending Pittsburgh Ballet Theater's Nutcracker performance with our besties - a yearly tradition!

Chloe and her three best friends:

Dapper cousins.

Our wonderful CC friends!

Love these girls so very much!

Handsome fellas.

Lovely ladies.

We went to a new neighbor's Cub Scout pancake breakfast and hung with Santa.

Santa visits & hot chocolate parties with the Lewandowski's and Bozeks...

Who needs nightstands when you're 31 weeks pregnant? Grateful for this healthy growing baby!

Christmas Eve with the cousins!

Christmas jammies at Aunt Cici's...

He knows Jesus is the whole reason for the season, but he is still a 3rd grade boy after all...

Shiny new bicycles to ride down the tree-lined streets in our new neighborhood!

All she wanted for Christmas was a book about ballet. I love her sweet spirit so much.

Our reptile and amphibian-loving boy received yet another encyclopedia to add to his growing collection.

Lots of joy this year! So much to look forward to and be grateful for.