Hello friends! It’s been a lovely holiday season for us Shireys! We are usually busy getting ready for our annual flight and visit back with our families back in Minnesota, but this year we decided to celebrate at home.
When my husband mentioned it last year, I was a bit taken-aback. But I figured that it was time to be a bit more flexible and hear him out. He really doesn’t like airports and crowds. And as much as we adore our families, it’s so much work to coordinate everyone’s schedules and manage everyone’s expectations.

The week before Christmas, we rented a cabin in the mountains. It was so lovely to have our little family together. We brought a gift for them to open and played games in from of the fireplace for hours. We ventured to a little tourist town and marveled at the snowy mountains. I got to show them two of my favorite movies, Ocean’s 11 and Uncle Buck!

We have had time do relax with friends and try new food. Lots of naps, playing games, watching movies and more screen time than usually allowed. We have tried a new indoor play space and plan to try indoor skydiving!
We also took some time to rearrange our bedroom furniture. I love cleaning under the beds and rearranging the pictures on the wall. It feels all fresh and new!
Christmas Eve we had a video call with my family and opened gifts at the same time. It’s not the same as being together, but it was pretty wonderful. Christmas morning, we did the same for my husband’s family. Then we played with all of our new gifts. I also discovered Ultimate Beastmaster on Netflix!
I loved the Christmas decorations and gifts, but the house begins to shrink somewhere around the 18th of December and I start to feel claustrophobic. So Christmas afternoon I gathered up the wrapping paper and cardboard boxes, they were banished to the garage. All of the Christmas gifts were put away in their new homes. I did a deep clean of each room and everything felt MUCH better. I didn’t take down any decorations, because I love them so much. And I believe in decorating the day after Thanksgiving and enjoying it until Epiphany!
I know I’m a little crazy, but I can’t wait for the new year and have been thinking about the new resolutions and goals that have been brewing in my heart. Don’t worry, I’ll share how 2017 goals went and share my new 2018 goals. I hope your holidays were magical and just what you had hoped for.
Merry Christmas!
Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash
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