Yikes...

Talk about time for a New Years resolution...

December, December, December...could you have thrown us any more craziness? Don't answer that.

We basically hit the ground running as soon as December 1st hit. Our last weekend in the mountains was bittersweet...man, I miss Calgary already. We had a short week back in the city to pack for California, and had an amazing weekend in Santa Monica and LA which deserves it's own post. Four days after, we were back in Ontario!

Christmas is always crazy. Homeless Christmas is even crazier, with more boxes. Among the chaos, we were able to spend time with friends (including two new puppies and one new baby!), I met my second midwife at my 24 week appointment, and three days before Christmas, Eric got a call to get to the hospital in Waterloo, where he made it just in time before his Grandma passed away. Definitely a hard time for his family, and logistically, some changed plans for us and definitely a different mood around Christmas. As unfortunate as the timing was being around the holidays, thankfully this didn't happen while we were away, or in early January when Eric would be crazy with work. At least he had the time off already to be able to be with his family and be there for the visitation and funeral.

During this time, I realized I had a thing or two to learn about being supportive in the right way. Everyone deals with things differently, and I know there are some big differences between our families as it is, so it's always a different perspective to see what happens in a time like this. Sometimes I need to watch my mouth, or simply shut up and just listen. Sometimes offering solutions or looking on the "bright side" isn't the right thing to do. Especially with grieving. Everyone will need to do this in their own way, on their own time.

Thankfully with the way events worked out, we were still able to keep most of our plans, and had Christmas with my extended family on the 23rd, Christmas Eve and Day with Eric's family, and Christmas with my immediate family on Boxing Day. We alternate each year, which makes it busy for us, but fair for everyone. We'll see what happens in the next few years once baby is added to the mix!

Well, this poorly constructed attempt at trying to "catch up" is starting to sound rambly, so I need to get working on the rest of this blog, posting my weekly pics, and my resolve to start posting more often so I don't have to do a catch up like this again!

Christmas Kicks :)