Merry Christmas!

Just seven days after moving to Texas, we packed our bags AGAIN and headed north to Illinois to celebrate Christmas with the Muellers and the Ekenas and to meet baby Lily. (In case you’re wondering, between November 11th and December 28th, the four of us drove approximately 5,660 miles and Tom and I flew 1,865 miles. Our kids are solid road warriors and Tom and I are exhausted.)

Sara and Jeff had a crazy December as well – they welcomed the four of us, my parents, and Jeff’s parents on and off for Christmas just days after both giving birth to their first child and moving into a fixer-upper house in Washburn, IL. Thanks to a lot of hard work prior to Christmas, the painting was done and the new carpet and windows had been installed, but there were still plenty of jobs for us to tackle while we were visiting. Hallie and I helped by holding the baby.


We also spent plenty of time playing and relaxing and eating and celebrating.

We made a gingerbread house...


...and played outside in the snow (a highlight for Will, a lowlight for Hallie).


We dressed up in silly costumes...


...and helped take care of Lily.


After six days of family fun, we hit the road, bound once again for Texas.

Merry Christmas!