One Year Ago

Oh what a difference a year makes! This time last year we had just had the movers pack up all of our things in Connecticut. It was bitterly cold...all of 11 degrees the day we packed up. We weren't able to get any of our Christmas decorations out, as we knew we would be on the move when the big day arrived. Christmas day was spent in a hotel room in Virginia, which was almost half-way to our new base in Misssissippi. To add to the craziness, Matt and I got the flu that week. I remember shivering under the blankets in our hotel while poor feverish Matt stayed up late putting bikes together. Thankfully no children became sick. That was Christmas miracle in itself!

Fast forward to this holiday season. We have now been in the DC area for almost four months now, and are pretty well settled in. I feel like we are getting to catch up on all the holiday traditions we ad to skip last year. Each Sunday we enjoy watching the advent candle being lit at church. We have also enjoyed our own advent calendar at home. The kids have just skipped from one holiday party to the next. There is no shortage of fun things to do here! There was a USO party, the youth center party, the library party, the chapel party, and finally Matt's unit party. Yes, six Christmas parties! Such craziness and good times. We went and cut our own tree this year, and have all of our favorite ornaments up. Most of them are homemade, most have been repaired at least once, and none of them match. I feel like our tree just screams tackiness, and I love it!

Here are my big girls enjoying some Christmas crafts.