Back to "Real Life"

Happy New Year!! Well, it's kinda weird now that all of the excitement is over. We had such a great holiday and now that we actually have to get back to "real life" it is pretty hard. Here is some pictures of what we've been up to...

New Year's Eve....I never thought that Carson would actually make it to midnight, but he hung in there and then crashed about a minute later.

Here are all of the kids (with Kelsey & Kayla) on Christmas Eve at Grandpa's house.

We also went to my Dad and Kathleen's house and had a special dinner with them earlier in the week. I forgot my camera, but we had a lot of fun. It was so nice spending time with them and the Lails. I forget how cute he is sometimes.

After Grandpa's on Christmas Eve, we went to the Grundy's for our traditional pajama opening and story reading. We are thankful that Justin and the kids were able to spend Christmas with us again this year. (& Grandpa too!)

I just love the whole matching pajama thing, they might hate me for it someday, and I am really not sure how much longer I am going to be able to find them, but I used to love that part of Christmas... even when the pajamas were totally lame!

Christmas morning was everything that you would expect. The kids were "in heaven" and I'm sure a little overwhelmed. Carson was ecstatic about his "real bird" that he asked for (which isn't really real), and Abby just kept saying that this was the Best Christmas Ever! She just couldn't help telling us how much she loved us ...all day long. (she wasn't really saying it to thanks us, since it was all Santa's doing, but she was just so happy that she loved everyone!)

We were even able to get Carson to dress up nice, but he refused to wear a tie.

We had a great couple of weeks, and even though it gets hectic at times, I absolutely love the Christmas season. It seems like I just love it more and more the older I get, and the more I understand (also the more kids I have). I love spending time with family and I love to see the excitement in my kids eyes as they experience the magic of Christmas. Some of this could be because it reminds me of how special Christmas was for me and my family growing up. Mom always made sure that it was perfect for everyone and the entire Christmas holiday was "magical". Of course,I think about her a lot at this time of year, but I miss her everyday!

It also amazes to me that one holiday can make you feel the spirit so much, and that it could force you to be thankful for all of the little things in life, even in the midst of all of the big things that are going on at this time of year. Well, I'm glad that it is all over, but I am going to miss the feelings that it creates and just pray that I can keep them going throughout the year.