Brace Yourselves...This will probably be long.

Well Christmas vacation has come and gone already and I can't believe that I am back in California in our apartment with just me and Molly Bear hanging out. I feel like my time in Memphis was a whirlwind of activities and things to do and people to see. I'll try to keep it short since I didn't update while I was home, but let's start at the beginning shall we?

I made it to Memphis without any problems of flight delays or getting lost in airports or being sick. I didn't mind flying by myself as much as I had thought that I would have. Mom and Em picked me up from the airport with a tearful reunion on the side of me and mom while Em just watched in awkwardness. Maddie Pup remembered me right off when we got home. It was so good to be there and it felt as though time had not passed at all. The Christmas decorations were all up and it just felt good to be home. 

I saw several people over the next few hours and days and got to eat at most of the places that I had been craving within the first 48 hours. Glorious. Over the next several days, I basically hung out around the house, helped with Em's birthday party,  visited several friends around town and helped mom make all of the Christmas candy while she was still working. I did get sick one day which pretty much knocked me out for the entire day, but I was able to just hang out around the house and be sick with nothing else I had to do. 

It seemed like time flew before William arrived even though I was there for 9 days before him. We had a little change of plans when William's first flight was cancelled and he was on standby behind 8 people for the next flight which he had to make or he'd miss his connecting flight in Dallas and would not have made it to Memphis. Thankfully though, he made his flights and was in Memphis on the night of the 20th. Once William got there, things really went fast! 

We had my parents' Open House on the 22nd, which we had been preparing for for days. It was really fun and a ton of people came, so we got to see a lot of friends and catch up with people we don't get to talk to often. 

On the 23rd we had Christmas with Mimi and Leah and Chaney at Mimi's house. Dad didn't get to go because he had to work on some stuff, but it was fun getting to see them and eat dinner with them.

On the 24th we went to the Christmas Eve service at church and then had Dad's sister, Sarah, and her husband and family of 7 boys over for dinner and visiting. 

On Christmas day we got up and opened presents. Aly Stone, one of Em's friends, joined us for that. Then we ate a late lunch and then had the Coes over. We went to see Marley and Me (big mistake...huge!....too sad for words) and then back to the house for dinner and games. 

The day after Christmas William and I drove to Indianola to visit his grandmother. His parents and brother, Paul, met us there so we could see them all at the same time. We stayed the night at his grandmothers and then headed back to Memphis to say goodbye to Em and Steve-o who were leaving for their ski trip that afternoon. 

After we were back I feel like everything is kind of a blur, but I did get to have a Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants marathon with Laura and Emily Gray. I also went out shopping/returning Christmas gifts with mom and Anna, and we got to celebrate mom's birthday with her before we had to fly home yesterday. 

So...like I said...it was a whirlwind of a trip, but it was so good to be at home and see everybody and eat good food and just relax and hang out. We got back last night, after a delayed flight from Dallas, around 10pm and headed to the Kaisers to pick up Molly Bear. She was excited to see us, but after being around Maddie Pup for so long, Molly looked like a beast! 

Now, I've slept in our bed and taken Molly for a walk and am just getting readjusted to being back in California. I feel like I was gone for forever and now I have to get used to living here all over again. It's a strange feeling to be in your own apartment and it still not quite feel like home yet. I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to live here and that I've forgotten how to be Molly's mom and I've forgotten just what I'm supposed to do with myself not being able to call Emily Gray to come over from around the block or have people around when I wake up in the morning. It is going to take some adjusting, but I'm sure I'll get back into the routine before long and California will feel like home once again. 

So...that's that for now...I feel like my belly is starting to grow and I'll be showing soon. My clothes are definitely tighter and I've experienced my first maternity pants, so we'll see how it goes....I'll be sure to take pics when it really starts showing!