Family

Our Christmas

All in all, our Christmas was lovely.

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Jimmy and I headed to church on Christmas Eve to celebrate with our congregation. We watched Hannah along with all of the teens and kids in our church sing and play music. It was absolutely beautiful. Afterwards, we headed to my parents’ house to exchange gifts, eat cookies, and catch up. My brother was with his wife’s family and Hannah was with her boyfriend’s family, so it was just Jimmy and I with my parents, and of course the dogs!

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Jimmy and I headed home from my parents’ and were both excited to sleep in on Christmas! I think we slept until 7:00 a.m., a treat for us 5:00 a.m. waker-uppers. I think sleeping in gave me a headache, though. Nothing a little coffee and Advil couldn’t fix ;). We exchanged gifts after having breakfast and Jimmy played with his (a drone!) while I started preparing the house for our guests to arrive in the evening.

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We had Jimmy’s dad, siblings, and dad’s girlfriend over for dinner and to hang out. We all exchanged gifts and enjoyed chili, broccoli cheddar soup, corn muffins, and challah.

Every time Jimmy and I host a get-together, we are hyperaware that we don’t have a lot of seating in our home. Our couches were given to us by different family members (which is why they’re all mismatching), our kitchen table seats two, and someone usually ends up sitting on the floor. You know what, though? It’s cozy and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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After exchanging gifts, we played card games, drank smoothies, and watched Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel. My father-in-law and Jimmy are avid Gold Rush fans, and they like to tease me because Jimmy and I watch it every Friday night and I fall asleep halfway through the episode.

We’ve been watching Gold Rush for years, and I looked back and saw the first time I mentioned it on my blog was in 2012! One of the people on the show got a black lab mix a season or two ago, so I’m always excited when I see the dog. His name is Dozer, and every time he’s in a shot, I’m like “LOOK JIMMY, IT’S DOZER!!” and he’s like “Yup…a dog..” haha.

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After everyone left, Jimmy and I tried to stay up a little longer and watch a Harry Potter movie, but we were tired from all the fun! Christmas 2015 was absolutely delightful. Jimmy and I were so happy he didn’t wake up with the flu like last year, so we felt extra felt blessed that we were able to celebrate Christ’s birth surrounded by family and friends. I hope you had a happy and healthy holiday as well!

Tell me about your Christmas!

Life Lately

Hi! It’s been a while since I last blogged. Life has been full lately, and in the very best way. It’s now December, which blows my mind a little bit. I’m pretty sure it was just August yesterday, right? I’m not complaining, though, because I love Christmastime and all the joy it brings.

The icing on the cake–or gingerbread cookie?–is the warm weather Pittsburgh has been experiencing lately. We haven’t had snow yet, but I think we may actually get some tonight.

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Plus, when the morning sky looks like this, how can I not be thankful for every moment of my life?

So, life lately. I think I’ll share a bullet-point style list and some pictures to go along with it. Does that sound good?

Recent happenings:
-I took Hannah’s senior pictures. Loved every second of it.
-Jimmy and I are still trucking along with our closet room renovations.
-We had family visit from NY. This prompted a thorough house cleaning 😉
-Jimmy and I watched Hannah swim in a meet near our house. She did great!
-We hosted Thanksgiving. Nine people in a 900 square foot house requires lots of logistics.
-I have started to decorate for Christmas. We actually bought a tree this year, haha.
-Jimmy and I watched The Nativity. It was truly amazing.
-I had a fun time Christmas shopping with my sister-in-law and father-in-law’s girlfriend. We went to Charming Charlie, which is such a fun store.
-Jimmy and I got Christmas pictures taken. I will share them soon 🙂

I think that’s everything?! How about some pictures?

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One of Hannah’s senior pictures. I took it in my parent’s backyard. It was tricky to figure out places in their yard that I could photograph Hannah and not have another house in the background, but we made it work and had a blast in the process.

Hannah Swim Meet

Hannah swimming at her meet! I actually got in trouble for taking pictures “on deck” (where the swimmers stand) and promptly got moved to the stands. Whoops. I forgot that I’m not a swimmer anymore, thus I’m not allowed to be on deck. I still got a few good shots though ;).

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I purchased a wood burning kit from Jo-Ann Fabrics a few months ago. I decided to make a Christmas tree and add our last name on the stump in the kit. When I started, I was just awful at wood burning. I don’t know why?! Needless to say, Jimmy saved the day and finished for me. Thanks, Jimmy!

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Thanksgiving was spectacular. We had a warm day and great company. We hosted my father-in-law, Jimmy’s siblings, my father-in-law’s girlfriend and her son, Jimmy’s grandpa, and my sister-in-law’s boyfriend. It was nice to just kick back after the meal and chat over pumpkin pie and coffee. By the end of the night, Jimmy and I were exhausted. We plopped on the couch and watched Ratatouille, which was random and perfect. I had to work on Black Friday, which was a bummer since Jimmy didn’t have to. I changed my attitude pretty fast when I remembered how blessed I am to have a job and how much I enjoy it!

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Our first Christmas tree is up and decorated! We got it for a great price at Pool City. We were prepared to spend a bit on a nice tree that would last us for years and picked this one out. The worker in the store said he had this same tree, except that it was last year’s, in the back of the store all opened up and put together. He gave us last year’s tree (I’m thinking it was the store model?) for $50. Score! We got our ornaments and tree skirt from Target. I made some decorations, but our mantle is looking a bit sparse. Maybe I’ll share pictures soon?

Alright, this post is getting pretty long and I need to get ready for work. Hope everyone is doing well!

How was your Thanksgiving?
Are you excited for Christmas?