Hello Pittsburgh Hello!!

For those of you who have not seen That Thing You Do, just ignore the title. And to those of you who have...you're welcome for getting that little phrase stuck in your head.

It's a winter wonderland here in the Burgh and I love it. I'm planning on bundling Mariah up and taking pictures of her in the fresh snow right after she gets up from her nap. She's going to love it...or at least thats what I'm hoping for.

We had a wonderful Christmas thanks to Tanner's parents. The last few years they have started a new tradition of Shepherds' night on Christmas Eve. A family from their ward came with their four children and two of our Church's missionaries came as well. We ate a meal on the floor similar to one the shepherds may have had. We then had a little program that was so wonderful.

Yep, thats right folks, I was the Angel bringing "glad tidings". It was a lot of fun to see the surprised looks on the kids faces when I walked out. Everything is better with children, thats a fact. It was such a great way to prepare for Christmas and remember the birth of the Savior.

On Christmas morning we gave a gift to the Savior before opening our own gifts (Thats how Tanner's mom puts it and I just love that!) . We went to a Retirement Home and sang carols to the residents. I had a blast visiting with all the wonderful people there and Mariah was the girl of the hour. No surprise there. She was ooohed and aaaahed enough to last her the rest of her life.

The only half-decent picture we were able to get there. Our fancy camera couldn't handle the lighting.

We then went home and opened our gifts. I actually took some pictures! I'm pretty proud of myself.

Mariah was a little confused with the present opening, but she didn't mind chewing on the wrapping paper. It was a wonderful Christmas!