Christmas Moments

Christmas was a flurry of non-stop activity for us. We literally hit the ground running upon our arrival in Florida and haven't really had a chance to stop. I have to admit that I am quite anxious to have some days of no activities or events. I desperately need to clean and organize our condo not to mention try to dig us out of the sea of laundry which has consumed us. Despite the aftermath we had wonderful celebrations of Christmas and enjoyed sharing the time with our families.

As I mentioned in an early post, we treated the girls to their first performance of The Nutcracker Ballet...not sure if I will ever get them to another one though. I sure did enjoy it.

We spent Christmas Eve at my brother and sister in laws' home and enjoyed more food than we could ever eat and the girls added some Hannah Montana paraphernalia to their collection.

Christmas day was extremely mellow in that we didn't leave our condo and stayed in our jammies most of the day. I prepared Christmas brunch for Mike's mom and dad and we enjoyed a simple meal of potato soup, salad and bread with my mom and dad. It was really nice to just have a quite day. The day ended with a birthday cake for Jesus...(my best friend Lissa's, Mee-mee's Red Velvet).

The day after Christmas was spent celebrating with my family at my sister's house. We had decided to celebrate the day after Christmas because my grandparents and aunt drove down from GA on Christmas Day and we wanted to wait for them. Of course we had tons of good ol' traditional foods and the kids (and adults) had a blast rocking out to my nephew's Guitar Hero. I see one of those in our future. Mike and I got to snuggle with my sister's precious baby girl Bella and of course there was an abundance of gift opening.

Mike and I enjoyed an afternoon and evening by ourselves while the kids had some time with my parents and grandparents. We shared in the wedding of our good friends daughter. What a beautiful celebration it was as we had the privilege of seeing such a wonderful work of the Lord through the life of a mom and dad and their only daughter. The love of two parents for their baby girl as they rejoiced over her marriage was incredibly wonderful to witness. And I danced with my husband for the first time in YEARS. That treat was more precious than anything.

We had the pleasure of spending New Year's Eve with my sister and brother in law which was such a treat in that we had not had much alone time with them since arriving in Florida.

So that is about it. It is hard to believe that 2008 has come and gone and that we are now embarking on a new year. I have thought alot about my goals for the new year and have a long list of things that I hope to accomplish in the upcoming 365 days and am looking forward to what lies ahead for us as a family. God blessed us beyond our imaginations during the past year and more than anything I pray that as I begin this new year that I will always honor Him in everything that I do and say. I have thought and prayed for my sweet friends who are awaiting the blessing of a child whether it be through pregnancy or adoption. I can't wait to experience what I know will be a year of joy as God brings about the gift of precious children to beautiful families. Blessings to each of you in the new year and to all of my "blogging friends" I look forward with much excitement in sharing this year with your families as well.

Christmas Celebration at my Sisters Cousins

My sister and her baby girl.

My nana, aunt and sister relaxing after lunch.

Nana and my aunt chat.

Grandaddy supervises Emily on the Guitar Hero drum set.

The Boys.My nephew...isn't he adorable. Such a great photo subject...a boy of many faces.

Me and my precious neice...Miss Bella. She is so very snuggly.

Mike and Bella. I love this one.

Not much eating taking place at this table.

My beautiful girl.

Emily and Garrett enjoy yummy Christmas food.

Emily plays the drums....glad the drums stay at my sisters.

Cody plays a little Bon Jovi on Guitar Hero.

Camden adds some drums.

Now Mike gets in on the vocals.

Christmas Eve at my brother and sister in laws' home

Grace and some Hannah Montana goods.

This one is actually at my sisters...Emily and her serious face.

Come join us at "Chef Emilys"

Mike and Emily and some Hannah Montana stuff

Happy girl.

Cody and my nephew, Tony

Grace and Emily and their cousin, Allyson

Daniella and Christoper's Wedding

Mike snapped this one at the reception of a wedding we attended of a good friend. Daniella was a gorgeous bride.

THE NUTCRACKER BALLET

Waiting for the Nutcracker to begin....see the excitement in Emily's face.

My girls before the Nutcracker in the lobby of our condominum building.

Me and my girls.

Skiing at Copper Mountain

I took this one of Mike during our ski trip to Copper Mtn. just before we left for Florida. The photo doesn't even capture the breathtaking beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Can't wait to head to the mountains again.