Christmas 2016

Back in true form with tons of pictures! I love Christmas time and all that comes with it.

These days, with Dominic being away at college, I love Christmas even more because it means all my people are under one roof!

This year my brother and his family were traveling for Christmas so we celebrated a little early with them. P.S. This put all our kids in full present mode a week early!

Emma Kate has started going through her room at Christmas and gathering things of hers to give as gifts to everyone. This is what Uncle Scott got this year....

And how I've wrapped my gifts the past couple years...

While Scott and Shawna were busy packing for the FOREVER trip, we swooped up Harley and Abby and took the kids to the Living Nativity.

This is our second time and we love it so much!

They have tons of activities for the kids and every 1/2 hour they re-enact the Christmas story.

*I have no idea who that little girl is on the left or how she got in our picture. lol*

I like to take each of my kiddos out for a Christmas date, complete with Christmas shopping and dessert every year. This year Connor was the only one who got to go. I don't know HOW I ran out of time. We seemed to be cramming everything in the last few days before.

Including going to see Santa! At least this year we made it on the 23rd!

I see everyone's "Crying Baby Santa Pics" and I'm not gonna lie...I'm a little jealous...it's been YEARS since any of my kids were scared of Santa. 

So this year Dominic hammed it up a little...

I love this pic better than the professional one taken...

(Thank you Dominic!!)

Connor and Emma Kate sang in the kids' Christmas Eve choir again.

Definitely a highlight of this service!

And my picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree.

(These days not much of the tree shows! Maybe next year we'll sit.)

Dominic and Missy were both home for 3 full weeks! It's always a little difficult when he comes home so early because we wanna just hang with him all the time but we still had work and school up until Christmas so I felt a little robbed of our time with him:(

Christmas Eve Jeff's parents go to church with us and then come back to the house to exchange gifts and hangout a bit.

Dominic set up Emmy's new mini iPad...

And we ate lots of cookies!

(Dominic was a rockstar and led the kids in most of the cookie baking this year. Did I mention I ran out of time already?!)

After Jeff's parents leave my family moves in for the night. Usually this includes Scott and fam but this year was quiet with just Mom and Dad. We watch The Polar Express and get breakfast ready for the morning.

We go to bed WAY TOO late and the kids wake us up WAY TOO early!

And no matter how often I threaten the kids in the weeks prior that Santa is watching...

he always comes!

After my parents take off we head over to Jeff's parents to have Christmas dinner with them and his sister's family.

I think this was Dominic's favorite gift this year...

He LOVES Ronald Reagan and will wear this shirt proudly!

Jeff's parents always think of something clever and this was our family gift this year...

a blanket with a picture of the two of them on it!

*DYING*

It was a wonderful Christmas and we are so blessed to have one another and the many gifts that are provided. It was a season of mixed emotions though. We missed my brother and his family. 

And the Monday before we had to have our sweet Libby put down. She was such a gift to all of us.

We miss her so much.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season celebrating our Lord's birth and spending lots of time with your loved ones!

New Year's Eve 2013!!!

There's always so much hype about New Year's Eve.

And some years I get wrapped up in the hype.

Most years, since having multiple children, I just want to sleep.

The idea of staying up till after midnight and then getting up early with the kids just gives me anxiety!

(I know. I sound really old!)

However, we like to do something special, especially for the kids because they always get wrapped up in the hype. About everything!

So this year we invited Nana and Papa over for dinner and dessert, etc...

(They're night owls so we can count on them helping us stay awake!)

So they came over and helped the kids make confetti... 

We made special drinks to go along with our dessert using my new milk jars I got for Christmas.

 

And I tried a new recipe from Pinterest. Yum! Accompanied by Shawna's Salted Caramel Sauce.

Double Yum!

Then we celebrated New Year's at 9pm with the kids before sending them to bed...

Countdown and all! 

Confetti EVERYWHERE!!! 

I'm just now realizing I got no pictures of my dad or hubby:(

(And of course Dom was gone for the evening. Like for the 7th year in a row!)

But here's Benny...pooped!

All that partying wore him out! 

We did make it till midnight.

But proceeded to kick my parents out immediately after.

Sorry guys!

Mwa!

Christmas 2013

I love, love , love the traditions that come with the Christmas season. Some old. Some new.

Here are some of my favorite ladies and I gathered together for a Favorite Things Party, a tradition started by Heidi and few years back.

Love.

An even newer tradition..."The Polar Express" (J & I started this with the kids last year.)

This year did not disappoint as we surprised the kids again with tickets under theirs pillow at bedtime. Conductor Dad was waiting at the door to the garage to punch their tickets.

They boarded "The Polar Express" only to find Ma, Papa, hot cocoa, and their own special bell awaiting them! (Even with a mini van, it's a little bit of a squeeze to get us all in there!)

And off we went to see Christmas lights!

Now for an older tradition...

No matter how old Dominic is I think we will still include him in our Santa visit!

An intense conversation with The Big Man...

(I just love this picture.)

We always go to Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek to see Santa.

The intimate room they've had in the past has been perfect for my Connor, who has such a fearful heart and is so scared of big, obtrusive decorations of any kind.

This year they changed their Santa-visiting-location. They used an empty store. It was so impersonal.

We got so caught up in Christmas craziness that we put our visit off till the last minute and ended up going the morning of Christmas Eve.  The line was long and Santa was...well...tired.

NEVER AGAIN.

This year we'll go as soon as we pick Dom up from the airport!

(Can you imagine? This year Dom will be "coming home for Christmas!")

Later that evening Connor sang in the Christmas Eve Children's Choir. These kids are so cute! 

...and he was in the play as well!

He was so nervous! But I really don't think anyone was as nervous as I was!

(All I could picture was him totally blanking on his lines or being so completely nervous that he would shoot vomit all over his fellow angel and Mother Mary!)

None of my worst case scenarios came to fruition and he was PERFECT!

Dominic also sang in the Christmas Eve service. In the adult choir.

 Of course Christmas continued with lots of family, way too many gifts, and lots of food.

But nothing compared to seeing the smiles on these sweet faces!

Merry Christmas!!! (In August...lol!)

Christmas Train 2013

December 1998 marked the first year our family rode the Christmas Train. Jeff has volunteered at The Niles Canyon Railway for many, many years. As a child he developed a love of trains that has only grown over the years. And when we became a part of his life, he began to share this love with us. Every year the NCRY decorates the whole train in Christmas lights for all to come and celebrate the season.

Many of our family and friends have come along throughout the years.

Even my late grandmother and J's late grandfather joined in on the fun during the early years.

 

In 2001 Jeff proposed to me while riding on the "chapel car" which gets its name because the benches are old chapel pews that have been donated to the club. 

That night Jeff gave me a diamond ring and Dominic...a ring pop! 

I'd say our family has grown since then...!

 

And not just our immediate family...

We now get to share the train ride with our niece and nephews.

 

I love grandkid photos! 

This year The Reed's joined in too!

And of course all the grandparents.

We get silly.

Get snuggly when it's cold.

Eat and drink lots of yummies!

But most of all...

Enjoy the smiles that the train and lights bring to our little ones!

Here's to many more years and memories yet to be made!