Welcome to 2012!  We hope everyone’s holidays were merry and bright – ours definitely were.  The kids and I headed back to Colorado a few days before Kyle, just in time for a perfectly white blanket of snow and even better, the arrival of my first nephew, JR.

Isn’t he beautiful?!  And obviously a genius…we took this when he was four days old and asked him how old he was – he holds up four fingers!  (OK, so that story may not be true, but he is definitely a handsome boy and so precious.)

Christmas Eve was at Kyle’s family this year and the kids were more than ready.  Kade remembered all about Christmas and presents and was ready to dive in.  Berlin just wanted to wear her new shoes, even with her Christmas jammies.

I made the mistake of asking Kade if he wanted to kiss Berlin on the cheek.  Perhaps I should have checked with Berlin first!  I love how proud he is that he “won” at the end.

Christmas Day we drove out to my family’s place where Kade got to be Santa’s helper and pass out Christmas stockings and Berlin discovered the joy of independence as she figured out how to walk alone with her new baby stroller.

It’s always so much fun to go back and be with family and friends.  We did puzzles, drank hot cider, played games, held babies, and slept in.  One of the best days was going thrift shopping with my mom and sister.  I literally doubled my wardrobe in 1 day!  We had so much fun hunting for deals and I may have actually purchased 15 cardigans for myself.

Now we’re safely back home; Christmas is packed away; we’re mid-grandparent-detox with the kids; and I’m trying to sort goals, resolutions, and to-do lists.  Thank goodness for vacations and thank God for His blessings.  Happy 2012 and may you see Him work this year!