{...a breezy life} at briemarisa.com

It's a quiet, early morning for me, as I am at work but the chickadees are still asleep! It's one of those weird, usually warm December mornings that I can never decide if I like- sometimes, I feel like if it's supposed to be cold, then it should be cold. None of this random warmth!

So it's the Monday after what was a relatively busy weekend for me! It all started off Saturday with a birthday party for Thomas at the ever-lovely Chuck E Cheese! Thankfully, it was so insanely crowded and the kids all seemed to have a BLAST! I remember Thomas's arrival three years ago, bringing some much-needed testosterone to a brood of three girls! Of course, since then, there's been the addition of James! Much of the birthday brood was Baus kids- all five of them!

And even better...Eric is home! After a second long tour in Iraq serving as a major with the US Army, Eric is finally, thankfully, safe at home! It was so good to see him- we haven't seen Eric since Pete and I's engagement party in 2007! And since he'll be home for a while with his new assignment, we can all rest a little easier! It's such a weight on your heart to have a loved one fighting overseas, as so many thousands of people know. Having Eric home filled in a missing piece.

Of course, it was hard not to notice that not everyone was there- I found myself missing Greg even more. I look at my sister-in-law getting through the days and just continue to marvel at her and how she holds it together for their girls. But with Eric home, it's hard not to be flooded with selfishness and want everyone to be home. And Greg is never coming back.

Thankfully, I had a nice long car ride to cry it out after the party, since I went to Marla and Steve's NEW HOUSE!!!!!!!!!! It's just gorgeous and all new and shinny and full of potential! And so a few of Marla's favorite wine glasses got broken, and so the fridge does not work (I spent 2 hours on the phone with Sears trying to work that one out!). It was fun to think of all of the exciting things their new home holds for them! We already found an awesome place that delivers really yummy food, so that's one thing down!! I am looking forward to all of the fun times the house will bring, and can't wait until Pete and I have our own place!

We were all too tired and retarded to take some good pictures of the house, but for now, please enjoy this picture of the towel bird I made out of their new towels! I felt like practicing some of the skills I acquired on our honeymoon!