SOLD!

That's right, our house S-O-L-D! We have been in the "new place" for 2 weeks now, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. Let's start from the beginning. How did we get here? Well, it's been something we've been discussing since October. The biggest decision was to figure out where we were going to move to. We loved Lake Highlands, LOVED our street!!, and loved our house. But, with 2 kids + 2 parents + 2 dogs + home office... 1500SF was beginning to be a tad small. We looked in Lake Highlands, and then we started looking up north. We happened upon a small, new neighborhood in Frisco and fell in love with it. That's right... we're heading to the 'burbs! The house we drove in the neighborhood to look at was a few years old and previously owned. But then we noticed there were lots open, new houses being built... so we stopped into the model home to ask some questions. We thought about it for a week and went back to "seriously" talk about it some more. One more week to sit on it later and we were in a contract!* (with a contingency based if we sold our house) Well, we sold our house within 1 1/2 months. So... we are building a house! More on that to come soon...

It's been a very bittersweet move, but we couldn't be happier with our choice. We are currently in an apartment in Plano while things are underway with the new house. We are close to my parents who are keeping the pups (thank you Mimi & Poppa!!) ... and we are close to the new neighborhood to keep an eye on all the excitement there. A big thanks to everyone who has supported us through this very busy, stressful, chaotic time! We love you 9304 Liptonshire, and will always cherish the many memories we made there!

Sit: Good boy!

Between our two dogs, Chester is quickly becoming the kids favorite (especially Aiden's!). Maybe it's the fact that he follows them wherever they go ... or his desire to be a kid and play with them ... or his big licks after they feed him food! Regardless, he's definitely a big kid with them:

Did we celebrate Christmas this year??

We sure did! It just came and went with a snap of our fingers it feels like! After getting back from our vacation, we had one week to get ready for Christmas! In that week we put up a tree, decorated the house, did our last minute shopping, continued to keep the house clean for showings {*more on that later}, baked goodies, and hung out with family. Whew! It was the first year that we've been married that we haven't traveled. Although it was weird not seeing Bob's parents during Christmas weekend, it was nice to just relax and let the kids experience a full Christmas at home. Bridgette and Aiden also made their first appearance in our church's Christmas Eve Pageant! Enjoy the pictures, and stay tuned for more details on the craziness that is happening in our lives right now!

{It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!}

{Christmas Eve Pageant}

{Merry Christmas!}

Looks like Santa came...

Aiden's first look...

...and Bridgette's first look...

Christmas Day at Mimi & Poppa's

Brasil: Part Um

That's right... there may be multiple posts on this one. We were fortunate enough to go on a 2-week trip to Brasil at the beginning of December with the whole Bloem family, and I still can't believe we made it there and back with the 2 kids - ha! There were lots, and I mean lots (2,000 on our camera alone!) of pictures taken... and I'm still going through them. It's so hard to pick just a few to share on the blog, so I think I'll be making a short video to showcase just how much fun we had. {stay tuned}

But just to sum up the trip in words... beautiful, fun, exhausting, chaotic, loved, blessed, crazy, lucky, wonderful, did I mention exhausting? Ha! Who knew you would need a vacation after a vacation with 2 kids! But it was worth every minute! We flew into Sao Paulo with Sandra & Cliff, then stayed with Bob's Tia Stela e Tio Paulo in Campinas. Tia Stela was the one who we surprised, and we got her good! They were so generous to open their home to all of us. We stayed there for the first week and enjoyed the weather, a trip to Bobby's Vovo's farm, and a birthday party/bbq for Stela (and me) ;) We then went down to Riviera de Sao Lourenco for the second half of the trip, and enjoyed the beach, sun, and all the coconut sorvete we wanted!

And most people want to know about the plane ride: I think overall it wasn't as bad as we (or Sandra and Cliff) were anticipating. Bob and I were most anxious about this part! The trip back was a lot better than on the way down... but, once the kids got settled.. they slept pretty good. Bridgette had her own seat, and Aiden rode as a "lap baby". Bridgette sat in between us, and used her nap mat to get comfy on the seat... and we took turns holding Aiden. Once we exited the plane, Bridgette and Ava both loved looking out the airport windows at the "big planes" outside!

So... all in all, it was a great trip! The kids got their first passports stamped, Bob and I survived our first big trip with our kids, we got to travel with his whole family, and we have great memories because of it! We're not sure what the kids will remember as they get older, but Bridgette sure is holding onto things now! She came back with new words, remembers new family names that she met, can count to 10 and knows new songs in portuguese! We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! A big obrigada to Bob's family for making us feel so loved!!

Here is just a little taste of Brasil... stay tuned to a video coming soon!