Miracle on 34th Street

This Christmas we have filled every minute.  It's been memorable at times and pure chaos at others but let's start at the beginning shall we?

So about a month ago something unexpected happened.  I found my little dream house.  After more than a year of internet and in person searches I had lowered my expectations and decided that when it came to our first home buying experience I would probably be settling for something less than ideal.  I love it when I arrive at that place because I'm learning that's usually when God is going to step in and blow my socks off.  So as I look back I'm not at all surprised that things easily began to fall into place.  I think I was afraid to believe that it could actually happen so I didn't talk about it very much.  I even tried my best to distract myself with Christmas.  In the back of my mind I think I thought things might not work out and I didn't want to be disappointed.  So Emme and I kept ourselves busy with things like a scavenger hunt for baby Jesus...

And the whole family made a memory with a walk through live nativity (I don't think we'll go back but it was interesting!)...

But then they put a sign in the yard at our rent house and I think reality began to set in...

And then we had a garage sale which was the moment it really hit me...WE'RE MOVING!

Carter took full advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunity and I love her for it...

It was exciting and a little crazy and I found my thinking a little bit more about the sweet house we were leaving behind.  I had watched my girls do so much growing up there over the past few years...

It had been a cozy home.  A place where they laughed (and made us laugh)...

 A place where they became friends...

And the place where they recently learned to love riding bikes...

Home is a place where little people spend so much of their time and it had been a good one...

But new places bring excitement and we were all feeling it.  Emerson asked me almost every morning if we were moving to our new house today...  

I was thrilled when I could finally say YES!

I'll be the first to admit moving at Christmas can be a little challenging.  I was determined to still have it feel like Christmas and that wasn't always easy.  But amidst the chaos of boxes and packing some of our favorite people arrived for a visit and that served as a welcome distraction from the mess of moving.   Claire and Emme had one of the sweetest reunions after almost 6 months apart...

I think they're destined to be best friends forever...

We were all thrilled to spend some time hanging out with some of our favorite people...

I've learned over the years absence really does make the heart grow fonder...

It was perfect because there were a few nights where we literally had nothing to come home to but boxes and beds.  We spent those evenings out and about making Christmas memories.  For the first time ever we headed out to La Cantera to ice skate and check out all their festivities...

We were joined by our buddies...

And everyone loved it!  They had really decked their halls and gone all out...

There was caroling and storytelling...

And then we wound up in our very own winter wonderland...

Complete with snow!

And of course there was a visit with Santa...

Apparently third time is a charm because this was the first year Emme didn't shed a tear...

There were also a few other activities filled with holiday cheer for the girls.  Emerson's Christmas party at school...

Followed by Carter's Christmas party at school...

And a Christmas painting class with friends...

I told you it was crazy.  :)  And then, just like that, it was finally here.  We walked into a building, signed a few papers (ok make that A LOT of papers) and bought our very first house.  AHHHHHH!

It was like my very own little Miracle on 34th Street...

It was empty at first...

But that quickly changed and before long it was already beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

I was a little overwhelmed at how much we had to do...but even more overwhelmed by how much we had to be thankful for...

As Christmas morning arrived...

Followed by family fun...

It took no time at all for our new house to start feeling like a home...

I can imagine this being the place my kids grow up.  The place they will remember.  The place they will tell their kids about one day.  Maybe I'm jumping the gun or being a bit idealistic but a girl can dream.  I've been waiting 10 long years to lay down some roots and settle in so I'm going to enjoy every second of it.  There's no place like a new home for the holiday's...

Happy New Year!