Christmas 2013

Christmas is so much more fun with Sweet Em in our lives. 

 Every time she opened a present she said, "Oh my! Oh my!" which is her new favorite phrase thanks to the book, "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". I can't get enough of her saying it...so hopefully that phrase sticks around for a while. :)

The big part that she didn't understand was opening more than one present. After she opened one, she wanted to play with it instead of opening more.

It was nice to not have to travel this holiday. Every other holiday for the past 5 years we have made the big trip from S.C. to Ohio and everything was always amazing {and really rushed}. This year - it almost didn't feel like Christmas because we weren't making plans to travel - weren't stressed out and packing.. and I didn't have to spend hours in my classroom getting everything ready for the new year.

We had a lot of family come in from out of town and this morning they all left. The house is definitely quiet and I'm a little sad that it's all over. We are still living with my parents because we just can't find a house we both love! It's been a blessing.. because we have somewhere to stay mortgage free.. but at the same time - it's been a hard adjustment. Sweet Em loves it though.

I still feel like we are living in limbo.. not really settling in here, but not really knowing where we are going to end up. I wish that I could just get past it and enjoy the time I have at my parent's house - but it's hard to keep perspective at times. I miss the little life we used to have.. I miss living in more than two bedrooms, I miss Saturday mornings together as a little family at the beach and Charleston... and I still miss Summerville and the people there a lot.

Even though life has been a little {off} for me lately.. I still know how blessed I am. An amazing hubby.. and perfect daughter. A family that supports me and a new school and community close to home where everyone has been so sweet. Not to mention a group of kindergarten students that make me smile every day {even if they are a little crazy}.

It's easy to lose perspective - and miss everything we used to have.. but it's also pretty easy to get it back.. especially when you have memories like this.

P.S. - Don't let this picture fool you - Em was terrified of Big Hugs Elmo for the first 30 minutes. Ha! :) 

Hope you all had an amazing holiday with family & friends! Xo.