Well that's over!

Well one day perhaps I'll be a proper blogger and not go completely underground at every single opportunity, but then again maybe one day I'll have my thyroid in order and won't be moving cross country at Christmas :) We are moved though - if only in the sense of having all our stuff on the same side of the country as ourselves. My mother-in-law's spare bedroom is full to bursting with books, clothes, Christmas presents, and the assembled detritus of two people living in approximately 100 square feet (which is to say that we're trying to not have our things spread out over too much of their house). Speaking of which, we are in the offer/counter-offer process of buying a house. It's a little more of a fixer-upper than we originally planned on buying, but it's also in a great location and offers the chance for us to really design and create a space suitable for having the whole family over and (Lord willing) raise a few kids. Right now I'm knee deep in kitchen design - my pinterest boards are full of back splashes, counter tops, and various design elements. My father-in-law is proving immensely helpful in being able to talk us through parts of this process. As a homebuilder/remodeler he has the expertise (and the contacts) to help us make smart decisions. And that's been a lot of our Christmas right there. We looked at houses, visited family (including a flying trip up to Indiana), went to a wedding, and tried with varying levels of success to keep it all together. In retrospect Allen and I didn't pull together as well as we should have, but then again after 5 years of marriage we're finding our relationship growing out of old patterns set during my pre-counseling days and finding our balance as somewhat more mature and emotionally stable people isn't as easy as you'd think given the above description. And that was Christmas basically - not exactly bad but not really an experience I'd like to repeat. Our second day driving cross country was actually one of the least stressful days of our entire Christmas. Drive, nap, read, listen to Christmas music, repeat. One set task to accomplish and everything needful for said task right in front of you. Not at all like the pandora's grocery list I brought out after we arrived in Birmingham!