just enjoy.

Oh, friends.

I hope you had the merriest christmas ever.

I've so enjoyed my vacation from real life. I watched old fashioned christmas classics. I ate immense amounts of delicious home cooked food. I sent my oldest brother on a scavenger hunt all over the house in order to find his Christmas present (he tried to hide it, but I could tell he was delighted; and for just a moment, I felt like we were both kids again). My sister and I annoyed everyone by putting on elf hats and trying to play christmas music on two random recorders we discovered. I cuddled my newborn nephew every second I could.

Best part- I 

just enjoyed 

my family and the wonderfulness of being together. We're not perfect (except for my mom), but I can't imagine a better family for me to have grown up in. As I packed my bags, a familiar lump developed in my throat, and I had to sit in the bathroom and just cry for a few minutes as I thought about leaving my home state.

Gideon scooped me up and told me it was ok; we could just stay and live in Texas forever. I have such a sweet husband.

The fact is, it's important for us to be on our own. I know so many people who never leave the place they've grown up. There's nothing wrong with that; most of my friends live within 15 miles of the home they learned how to walk in. That works beautifully with lots of people. The way I'm wired, I've gotta get out of my comfort zone to really learn things. Otherwise, I think it'd be too easy for me to depend on the comfortable consistency of my life. I'd never need to make new friends; I'd never want to experiment with anything different, or unexpected. I'm so grateful my parents encouraged me to explore; everything good that's come to me has come from leaving my comfort zone.

Anyway, my point is that I miss Texas already, but there is an undeniable beauty to the tiny home that I've created here with my husband. We had our own little Christmas celebration; just the two of us, and he presented me the most delightful gift I've gotten in a while: a ukulele. I don't play the ukulele. But I love lots of songs that are traditionally sung on the ukulele. I mentioned to him a few months ago that I was thinking about buying a cheap little ukulele at target or online; nothing more than 10 bucks tops. The instrument that I opened for Christmas isn't quite what I had in mind. It's a gorgeous piece of art that smells like heaven and was made in italy. It's an opportunity for me to try something new. I'm so excited to just enjoy it. It reminds me of my introduction to the guitar, and the awkward months that followed. Gideon got me other lovely gifts too, but the uke is my secret favorite. It's like a small symbol of newness and change. I can't wait to wrap myself with it.

I know this was a super jumpy post friends, but the gist of it all comes down to three facts:

I love my family and cherish them deeply.
I love change and the growth that comes with it.
I love my gideon more than I can say.
I hope you all had a beautiful christmas.

That's four facts. But I'm pretty sure you'll get over it.