Christmas Recap

I must admit that I struggled to really get in to the Christmas spirit this holiday season. Maybe it was because our house resembled a disaster area. Maybe it was the boxes upon boxes of Christmas decorations that remained unopened in the attic. Maybe it was that I was just so exhausted and stressed that I let that overwhelm my usual joy and excitement for the season. I'm sad that this season passed me by and that I wasn't able to throw myself in to it as much as I would have liked. That being said, we still had a wonderful holiday season with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day being spectacular.With the impending move we altered some of our typical plans, and created a multitude of memories. Usually on Christmas Eve we head to the Christmas Eve Family Mass. The past few years we have arrived about 50 minutes early in order to insure our getting our normal seats. This year was no different, it was merely enhanced when we were able to sit with our dear friends The R Family! The church looked amazing!
During Mass Father Theo invited all of the children to come up and see Baby Jesus lying in the manger. The entire church sang "If you're happy and you know it" and "Happy Birthday" to Jesus during the homily. He even reminded the kids that one of the best ways to make Jesus happy was to listen and obey their parents! (Something tells me more than a few parents dropped something extra in the offering when he said that!)After mass we spent the best evening we've had in a very long time hanging out with The R Family. We made a bunch of homemade pizzas, ate dinner, the kids all put on their Christmas PJs, the big boys and I baked homemade Chocolate Chip cookies for Santa and the adults all enjoyed great conversation and wine! We were blessed to have Father Charles join us midway through the evening. After his arrival we got out a birthday cake for Jesus and we all sang to celebrate! We left late that night with full bellies, hearts and souls. What a perfect Christmas Eve!After we got home we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, left Reindeer Food out for the reindeer and tucked the boys in to bed. Then just like every year, Gabe and I brewed some coffee and watched "It's A Wonderful Life".

Christmas morning brought such a sight! We finally woke Connor up at nearly 9a.m. and when he stumbled out of bed he couldn't believe his eyes! Our boys were DEFINITELY blessed this Christmas. (As was our entire family). We spent the rest of the day as a family enjoying one another and playing some Bakugan with Connor. Then it was back to the grind, trying to finish up the packing.
To see more of our Christmas pictures, you can go here. (WARNING: It's a lot!)