The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:
the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
*Burton Hillis

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We had breakfast, a candle, and presents… and Jess surprised Bella and drove up from Boulder with her favorite treats from Starbucks!

The next stop was dropping Bella off at “Raccoon Clan“… her nature/survival day school.

The land where they meet is so beautiful! I will be blogging about it soon…

Nana and Papa arrived from Iowa while she was gone…so they went with us to pick her up. It was a fun surprise!!

When we got back to the house, Laura and Dan had arrived from Minneapolis and were waiting impatiently in the front yard

Such sweet reunions…

We went out to the Pumphouse Brewery for supper. We laughed, ate delicious food, drank margaritas, teased each other, encouraged each other, and just had a fabulous time together. Everyone is in town except for my brother Michael (we miss you!!)

We ended the evening with a “family viewing” of last night’s American Idol performance and tonight’s results show. I feel so blessed that my family is so stinkin’ amazing…we have such fun together. It’s like spending time with my best friends.

Looking forward to an amazing weekend with them! I’ll be taking the weekend “off” from the Internet to focus fully on my family. Can’t wait to connect with you all next week!

Oh little one…you steal my heart each and every day.
You and Bella spend every morning getting dressed together.
My little fashionistas.
In fact, every move and expression that Bella makes…you mimic.
You love to sit up in our porch window.
You call me out there every 30 seconds to show me something new.
Seeing squirrels outside makes you giddy with excitement.
When you want to get my attention…you scream. LOUD.
Your favorite food is ketchup.
Eggs and ketchup. Avocados and ketchup. Oatmeal and ketchup.
Even in my most weary mama moments…
Your bright, wide eyes and your infectious laugh bring a smile to my face.
But I think if we asked you about your favorite part of the day…

….you would say it’s when your Daddy comes home.

Crazy defined: “intensely enthusiastic / passionately excited”.

That sounds like us! Or, it can mean “mentally deranged; demented; insane”. Well, that’s us too. I have a passionately insane family. And I like it that way.

I’ve been holding this photo hostage until my mama got her spring update letter out…but it’s in the mail so now I can post it! This was from Christmas and every time I see it I feel happy little sparkles inside.

My family is such a blessing and I am so DEEPLY thankful for their love and support. Each one is so unique, talented, and yes, crazy…I can’t imagine life without every last one of them! (Click twice on photo to enlarge)

Here are a few little bits of inspiration for Monday:

*I love this! So funky and colorful.

*Loving this new blog I found.

*I’m so fascinated with car-free people. While you’re there, check out Smalltopia too. Good stuff!

*Love seeing San Francisco through Tara’s lens.

*Some delicious Etsy finds:

These are so crazy beautiful. Although, I do believe at least half of you will think I’m nuts.

Love this. I need one that says “maté love”

Oh so dreamy.

We’re gearing up for a great week around here. Expecting some snow tonight and tomorrow, but back to 60 by Friday. Just in time for the lovely Monica to arrive on an airplane from Portland to come to MY HOUSE! Yippppeee!

One week ago Nana and Papa arrived and it’s been a whirlwind since then! Here are a few glimpses into our week…a birthday for my love, walks on Pearl Street, reading books, being with family. Love it. Your regularly scheduled blogging will return shortly. But for now…I’m off to bed!

My family is here! We are having a great time with Nana and Papa…it’s such a blessing to have them around for an entire week.

Right now I am sitting at the coffee shop with my Dad while Mom has the girls at the park. We’re headed to our favorite little cafe for lunch and then we’ll have Matt’s birthday party tonight! It’s a beautiful, sunny, 50-degree day and we’re enjoying every moment.

I will announce the Lettergirl winner later this afternoon. Stay tuned!

The girls loved helping Daddy with the project…their favorite days are when he is home all day!

He also crafted me this adorable laundry shelf out of the old torn down fencing in our back yard. *love*

We spent a lot of time talking with family via FaceTime…which is always fun. We feel like we are “right there” with them. All of my siblings have iPhones so we are able to keep in touch this way and it’s such a blessing.

My brother Scotty came over tonight for supper…which involved more FaceTime with our family in Minneapolis, who had also gathered for supper. It was like a big party! He ended up spending the night…so right now, he’s sleeping on the couch to my right…Bella is on the couch to my left…and all I hear is the sound of the heater fan. Blissful silence at the end of a busy day.

“What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life…to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.”  *George Eliot

Colorado has a little law against texting while driving. But what about taking photos while driving? I didn’t see any laws against that I just couldn’t help myself…it was breathtaking!

Tonight as we were driving to go meet Matt at Chipotle for dinner, I was greeted with this beautiful fiery sunset over the mountains. The thing is, as I was driving south, I had no idea that once I turned the corner to drive West, I would see this!

Isn’t this how life is too? We get so focused on the bumpy gray road we are currently on that we forget what beauty is all around us…just waiting to be seen. All we have to do is just turn and face it.

Yesterday, Ann Voskamp’s new book arrived at my door. I read the first chapter this morning and was a little shaken for the rest of the day. You’ll have to read it to see what I’m talking about. Let’s just say that it reminded me how fragile life is. I drank in everything that the girls did today with extra care. I smelled Lucy’s neck for longer than normal and squeezed Bella so tight.

Today was like every other day. But with eyes wide open, not wanting to forget these moments…I chose to see it differently.

• A newspaper magically arrived at my door for me to read while I sipped my mate.
• Steamy pancakes flipped by an excited 6 year old make life worth living.
• An ecstatic little Lucy leads me over to her most recent artwork (nevermind that she drew in a book instead of the paper).
• Sisters creating together. Such sweetness (and sometimes fighting, but mostly sweetness)

Oh these precious moments…I want to always have open eyes to see them for what they really are. They are little blessings in the every day of life. There is so much joy to be found if I just remember to face the sunset.

*you can (and should!) read Ann’s blog, A Holy Experience, here.

Today we signed a lease to rent an adorable little house in Longmont, Colorado! We’ve known for some time that we would be heading back to work for my brother’s real estate company in Boulder…but now that we have a house, it’s official. We leave Iowa tomorrow morning and move in on Friday.

We are not “getting off the road”…but rather, taking a break and settling in for a bit. It seems to be what we do…and it works for us. We can feel it in our souls when we are ready for a little more stability, and it’s time.

We are keeping the RV (we can actually park it at the house)…and still plan to travel this summer. We will be in Colorado at least through the fall and maybe longer. My brother, Scotty, is moving to Boulder too for a new job…and my brother Dan and his fiance, Jess, will be visiting often for business. Family fun!

We are SUPER excited about this opportunity to re-connect and find our rhythm again…while living in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. The hooping community in the Boulder area is vibrant and full of love…can’t wait to get plugged in there too.

During the first couple of months of the new year, I will be focusing on finishing our Modern Nomadic Living eCourse as well as some other exciting projects that I have in the works.

I know that there are MANY of you in this area and I’m super excited to have you all over to our house for supper/coffee/hooping/cookouts

Here’s to new adventures and a new canvas to decorate! Yay!

I’m thinking back on the past two days, and I am so thankful.

Thankful that our entire family was together.
Thankful that we love each other so deeply.
Thankful that all of us call Jesus our savior.

I take a deep breath and re-live several of the moments from our time together.

Family marbles.
Caramel rolls.
Via coffee. Lots of Via.
Late-night movies.
A new sister.
Bella and The Easy Bake Oven.
Breakfast made by Mom and Dad.
Lucy giving kisses.
Homemade pies (thanks Jess!).
Wedding talk.
Amazing food.
Gifts given in love.
Blessed togetherness.

I hope your Christmas was just as joy-filled as mine was!

*This is the last photo of the official “December Photo Project”. I love posting photos of daily life though…so I will try to continue to post more