We had a LIFE Group/Christmas gathering with the students at our house last night. Only a bit before everyone arrived our hot water got hooked up and we were stashing miscellaneous boxes that still need to be sorted through (though probably won't be, realistically, for at least another few weeks, if not months!). Mom and Danica helped me with some final holiday decorating--I have yet to see the house in a "normal" decor, but it certainly goes well with Christmas!--and they did vacuuming and party set up, too.

The party was fun, especially since it was at our house. This house has been much-anticipated not only by us, but by a lot of the students. Of course, many of them headed out on the early end of the evening in order to study, but a couple hung out until very late.

We ended up spending the night there since we'd laid the kids down in their beds hours beforehand, even though that hadn't been the plan. We could have dragged them out in the cold and down the street to my parents', as we'd figured we'd do, or go retrieve some necessary toiletries and just join them there. Since it was after midnight, the latter option sounded a lot better! Of course, we left this morning shortly after waking up and showering/dressing to come back here to Nana and Papa's because there is absolutely no food in our house right now! One glance in our refrigerator will prove my point: choose from juice or half and half. That's it. Period. Guess the next step in getting really settled there is doing some shopping.

It really is a wonderful house. I look forward to having lots more people over in the days ahead. Hopefully this baby will hang out where he/she is for a while and let me get lots and lots of hostessing in before an arrival!