'tis the season: part 3 ('tis ALWAYS the season)

so, i've just decided that i'm going to stop apologizing when i haven't blogged for a while. it's really just a waste of world wide web space and finger power. i blog when i blog, you understand.

to start off, i'm going to give you a very BRIEF synopsis of what i've been up to for the last few weeks since my last post.

i moved out of my sister's house just in time for ma and pa gagnon to make the trek down to pittsburgh from bow for christmas. they had plenty of space there, and i've had plenty of space in my new digs, housesitting for a friend in squirrel hill, a nice little section of pittsburgh that my dad affectionately named "rodent mountain."


(the christmas tree at the house where i am house-sitting. i feel right at home!)

despite my change of address, amy and doug, mom, dad, me, koen, tavin and friends along the way all thoroughly enjoyed Christmas morning and the surrounding activities. it, as always, was a very special time of year. but this year, more than ever, i have decided that it is completely acceptable to wake up and pretend it is Christmas morning every day of the year. the same Miracle is always there whether it is december 25 or not. note to self: pretend every day is Christmas. and try not to get down when every day does NOT yield wrapped presents.

so here is a little bit of pittsburgh, a little bit of family, and a LOT of love. all wrapped up in a few photos.

the view as i left my last day of work at the gingerbread shop.


a pretty little house on my walking route to gap.


speaking of gap...the holiday line you DIDN'T know about...


it was a "slippery" christmas. (4 out of 7 of us got slippers. see above, koen and doug's slipper high five.)


i just love this...the boys chasing each other around the dining room table. ah, the good old days!


does it get any better than this? he didn't even care about the present, he just LOVED the tissue paper!

(okay, so i just realized that i didn't really make it into any of these photos, but i'm not going to apologize for that, either, as this blog has basically been the abbie show up until now. besides, it's january. i'm getting pretty pasty.)