Gingerbread Houses

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making Gingerbread houses.  Growing up my mom would always make two Gingerbread houses - one for our family and one to give away to another family.  We always had so much fun each year as kids deciding and voting on which family we would give our other house to.  The last couple of years, I've been going to my sister Kimberly's to make my Gingerbread houses with her and another sister, Cari.  My youngest sister Aubrey just moved to AZ this summer from Texas, so we were excited to make them with her but unfortunately she had some really sick kids and ended up not being able to make the trip.  We definitely missed her! Next year! We always have lots of fun and even though they are a ton of work, we always feel so good when we finish and never regret the time they take!

Cari, Kimberly's friend Brandi, Me and Kimberly

This year our family decided to give our Gingerbread house to the Merrick family.  They live just a few houses down.  They are a wonderful family who unfortunately have had an extremely tough year.  We admire their strength and examples.