A December to Remember! .............

Well, this past month has certainly lived up to my expectations and then some! Oh, what a wonderful month we've had.

We've been very busy with the usual birthday parties, holiday concerts and friend get togethers, but we've also managed to work in some very special events.

First up was our church Christmas Pageant, in which Kelsey was a Narrator, Mackenzie was an Angel and Ryan was one of the 3 wise Kings (he brought the Myrrh!)
Here's a shot of them before the pageant ~

and here's one during!

We then headed straight out to Brunch with Santa (and brought Grammy, Aunt Linda and Uncle Tim along with us!)



The kids were so excited to have their faces painted! Ryan and Mack opted for Candy Canes (Ryan actually asked for "The Grinch" but the face painter wasn't that experieced!) while Kelsey decided Rudolph was the look she wanted to go for! ;)

What a nice time we all had together!


Christmas Eve arrived and we decided to try something new this year.....going out to dinner BEFORE the Candlelight Service at church. So we headed out to one of our favorite restaurants and had an amazing meal!



The Candlelight service was truly beautiful, and we were all so moved by the music! I think Mark even sang along to Silent Night this year! ;)
We then did our usual yearly ritual of visiting the "BIG TREE" on the way home from church! (I'm pretty sure this year, our tree was bigger than the Rockefeller Center Tree)

We got home and decided to let the kids open up one gift - they were very excited!

and then they remembered what that gift most likely was going to be! That's right, new pajamas! ;) But cool, new, awesome PJs! :)

It was now time to go spread the reindeer food out on the front lawn, and sure "why not do it in our new pjs?!"


Christmas morning finally arrived and it looked like Santa had been very busy!

He brought the kids exactly what they each had asked for! Kelsey a new bike!

Mackenzie a DS!

and Ryan a Cars RaceTrack!

Here's a few more shots during the chaos of opening and then savoring the gifts of our Christmas morning before the extended families arrived! :)





By 3:00, the troops began arriving ~ and we were so happy to see them! What better way to spend Christmas Day then with those you love the most?!





Once everyone arrived, there was a bit of calm before the "Present Frenzy!"


Then of course, all hell broke loose as everyone opened up their presents at once! :)

I then decided it was time for pictures! First ~ all the girls, and then the boys! :) (minus a niece and nephew who had already had to leave!)


What a nice day! I seriously am lucky to have these peeps in my life, and truly love them all! :)

And now, for the big New Years Eve finish....it doesn't get much better than THIS! ;)

For years, we've been saying that we wanted to go see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, but have never gone. This year, knowing that Grandma would be in from Indiana, we decided to go for it! So Mark, the kids, my mom (Grammy) and Marks mom (Grandma) all headed into NYC! (on New Years Eve no less! WHAT was Mark thinking when he bought these tickets?! LOL)





The show was amazing! It was everything I've alway imagined it to be and more! And to share it with my kids and their Grandmothers was a dream come true - I think I may have even shed a tear or two! :)





Well, if we thought heading into NYC on NYE with 3 kids and 2 old ladies (no offense Mom!;) was dangerous, we truly felt reassured when we emerged from the theater and came upon THIS scene! Yes, NYPD at it's finest, in FULL FORCE! :)

We managed to get out of the city before they started closing off all the streets and decided to stop for a late lunch once we got back to LI.

But our awesome day wasn't quite over yet! We had Grammy and Grandma join us for our annual New Years Eve celebration to ring in the New Year! They even agreed to wear the party hats I had bought for the occasion! ;)



Midnight rolled around and Mark popped the cork! (while Mackie and I blew the horns!)

By 12:30, EVERYONE was out! Mark and I shared a snuggle and agreed that we are both so happy and thankful for this precious family we were given. We are truly blessed!


Happy New Year! :)