A Christmas break montage (of sorts)

It's hard to believe that Christmas break has come and gone already! I'm back in Chicago after being in Colorado for 3 weeks. It was a really great break filled with tons of downtime...maybe to much downtime! But downtime with family and friends is something that I can never get enough of. Some of the highlights were Bob and Rachel's wedding, Sophie's birthday, the "Blue Hair" Family Christmas party, Christmas Eve at Ben and Michele's, a White Christmas day, and some New Years puzzle making. I've heard that a picture says a million words, so here are some pics (ok maybe a lot of pictures) from the break...

BOB AND RACHEL'S WEDDING...

The Happy Couple

Me and Ben...and rachel's flowers, I'm not sure how Ben ended up with those

BLUE HAIR FAMILY CHRISTMAS...

3/4 of the "Blue Hairs" (missing Teri)...love these ladies!
Robin, Gloria, and my Mom

Laura and I...she is the only one that Bill could talk into wearing the antlers

Dave looks like Harry Potter

CHRISTMAS EVE...

The Fam

Making Dinner...soup and mini grilled cheese, awesome!

A WHITE CHRISTMAS DAY...

On a walk with Soph and Dad

Digging in

Mom and Grandma

NEW YEARS...

We headed up to the very cold mountains as soon as they reopened I-70...you don't even want to know how many times I tried to take this picture

Waiting at the weird stoplight at the tunnel...I like these ladies a lot!

Group pic...Cav and Ev are there behind the balloon

And then this is what we did the rest of the time, a puzzle...it was awesome

Well congratulations, you made it through all the pictures. Christmas really was great, I feel very rested and it was so good to be with good friends and my family. There is just something about going home that feels so safe and familiar. That said, I am very thankful for my life in Chicago too. I was realizing that it is unusual to feel so at home in two different places but for right now I'm thankful that I have a foot in Chicago and Colorado. This year has flown by and I have learned way to much to put into words, but I do know that I am thankful for what has happened and I'm excited about what will happen. At a church service that I went to last weekend the pastor talked about approaching the new year standing still for awhile and reflecting on what you just did...take a breath...what just happened?...then using that to help you move forward. I like the image of taking a breath while standing between last year and the coming year, that's what I hope I can do in this month that I still have before classes start. Yea for long breaks...!