Christmas, welcome to our home

Two days before Christmas... 

here's a glimpse into our home this Christmas season.

Step one: pick our Christmas tree

Step two: decorate our tree

 (or read business week to emma and baker.... hehe, just kidding)

 our tree, minus an official tree topper and presents

 a few gifts

 our little guardian angel

 Step three: set up the manger scene and our shelves

(as best as possible knowing the puppies may eat the pieces)

 this season, we celebrate the birth of This Baby

 Step four: hang our wreath

 Step five: hang our Christmas lights 

J was a superstar this year and hung them on top also!

 Step six: continue our tradition... enjoy the spirit of Christmas in our home over Starbucks with Luigi

Capture the moment: sneak peak of Christmas

Thanksgiving meets Christmas

 Friday afternoon, we enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving feast and Christmas decorating with my family.

Sweet Casey girl

Sammy boy

the three of us :)

It was turkey cutting time. Can you tell? :)

and what a beautiful turkey it was!

dinner time! mmmmmmmm.

(this is my favorite part)

mom and me decorating for Christmas (well, she was decorating, I was watching :)

LOVE the fire in the fireplace

these two were quite the helpers...

 Carly chowed on pie

while I helped Mom put Christmas lights on.

this is how it has been since I can remember.

i untangle the lights. Mom puts them on the tree. (not that she likes it. but she does it.)

this year, we bought new lights, so untangling really meant take-lights-out-of-package-and-straighten.

Thanks for the yummy meal and special memories, family. I love you.

Can't wait for Christmas to come to my house next week!

Welcome to the McGovern home, Fall

The day has come...

I acquired my first fall decorations!

[might I say, on amazing sale at old faithful]

Little by little, our house becomes a home.

Instead of wishing everything was perfect right now,

I'm trying to embrace the process.

It's actually kinda fun. :)

I assembled this basket. I'm rather proud. I baked the pinecones and everything.

It's a small feat. But a feat, none the less. 

[is feat even a word? it sounds kinda funny... oh well]

Thanks for my scarecrows, Grandma! :)

  

(please disregard the fact that half the shelves are empty... I opted for empty shelves instead of this)

Yay for fall!

Next up - pumpkin carving!

Twas the night before Christmas

John and my second Christmas married proved to be another special couple of days. This year, we decided to go to Mom and Steve's house on Christmas Eve, since we go to my grandma's Christmas morning, and John's parents' Christmas evening. It makes for a busy couple of days, but it is really special to experience Christmas as we grew up with it with the ones we love.

We started out at one of my favorite restaurants ever for some excellent New York Steak and mashed potatoes. I love my family. It was just the five of us - Mom, Steve, Carly, John, and me. And the pets, of course. :) (minus Sophie - our more shy kitty, who wasn't quite as present as these three).
I love my mom's house at Christmastime. She always transforms the entire home into Christmas with such simple touches. One day I will have lots of little decorations to transform our home - at this point, it's just the living room. :)

The tree with presents under it is always magical. Each present is uniquely wrapped and beautiful.
I got some of the funnest stuff! This beautiful necklace, a super cute vest, and a fun glove/scarf/hat set...Simon also got some fun ribbon to play with. The cute thing about my pets is that they love Christmas as much as I do. They all come lay all over the wrapping, and Simon plays with it until it's gone.
I'm so thankful for my amazing family and a special Christmas Eve. Thanks for making it so perfect, Mom.

Day 1 of vacation for 2

John and I are on vacation! 3 weeks! J took some time off while I had a break from school, and yesterday was his last day of work. He works so hard all the time, so I was so proud of him for taking time off. He hasn't done that in quite awhile.

I am beyond excited to look ahead at 3 glorious weeks with my husband.
My sister and brother in law are in town.
Friends.
Family.
Pets.

I love December!

To celebrate, I finished my Christmas shopping... and wrapping! Now we get to look at all of the presents for one whole week. I can't wait to play Santa and deliver these beauties to their rightful owners on Friday.

And look how many Christmas cards we have gotten! Thanks all who sent one. I really love cards and get so excited when one comes in the mail. Christmas cards are especially fun because I get to display them for all to see. In some sort of haphazard way. :)
I love the perfection and chaos of Christmas.