We spent our third year in a row in our home for Christmas rather than making the trek north at such a busy hectic time of year and once again, it was the right choice for our family! Year end is so busy from a business stand point, and add the holidays to that, school parties, gifts for everyone under the sun and our family just needs a few days to enjoy each other this time of year after the hooplah of Christmas! As always seems to be the case, about 2-3 days before the holiday both kids came down with a doozy of a cold, coughing, sneezing, snot fest, ugh!! Somehow miracle of God Jon and I are not sick and the kids were both feeling better by Christmas. A few days prior of fevers, chills and coughing and by Christmas day they were good to go.
We spent Christmas Eve mostly just resting at home after the worst of their sickness had passed and luckily we were all well enough to attend mass. In years past they were so sick we could not even go to church!! We spent Christmas Eve baking cookies for Santa and the kids each had a small plate to decorate their own for santa. We also made plates for the neighbors (just mommy who is healthy did these)!! We had many visits from our neighbors throughout the day with treats galore, fruits, spreads, cookies, cupcakes, and chocolates. We also had carolers again for the second year in a row come right to our house and sing on our front porch (I love our neighborhood SO MUCH)!!!! For the first time in 9 years of living in Florida we feel that we are truly HOME here in THIS home. We will stay here a long time and just love the little spot we found to call home on this wonderful barrier island, and in this wonderful little neighborhood of families!!Christmas Eve mass was a bit of a handful as it is always so crowded and Sissy was having NONE of that. Poor Jon spent half the mass in the back of the church and finally they ended up in the Escalade watching a "show". Jack was wiggly with excitement but he and I did make it through the mass...just barely. We snapped a few pictures of them in their dress clothes before mass together and with me, and after mass with daddy. Once we were back home Jon put out a great spread of tenderloin, shrimp, stone crab and Jackson's absolute favorite, Honeybaked ham with sweet Hawaiian rolls. The kids opened gifts that came in the mail as is our tradition for Christmas Eve. We had several boxes from th Sherman family (thank you for spoiling the kids so much) and presents from the Ehrmins and from my Aunt Erin and Uncle Mike. Thank you all for making this Christmas so special. It feels like we have been celebrating Christmas forever since we did Christmas at Thanksgiving a month ago already with Megan and Grandma and Grandpa and also with Mimi and Papa and the Burrow Family shortly thereafter.
Christmas day brought three hours of gift opening! Jackson was a warrior but SB wanted to stop and play and take breaks!! Jackson was up at 5:08 am the first time...we told him the night before NO opening or getting us up unless the clock said 7:00 but that did not of course stop him from coming to tell me at 5:08 am that Santa had indeed come...and then he woke up sissy at 5:30 am to which I was NOT happy. He got the message and thankfully went back to bed and by some miracle, I got SB back to sleep too by rocking her!! We were all up again at 7:15 for good and at that point we just said ok and three hours later, the living room that had been so beautiful the night before after "santa" arrived was a disaster zone:)
Top gifts this year for Jackson this year included:
a battery powered blue 4 wheeler and helmet and gloves
a swat team police giant toy set
hungry hippos game\(who does not love this game, seriously)
army men toy sets (about 8 of them)
anything that is NOT clothing, lol!!!
new soccer goal and cars 2 soccer ball
Top gifts for Sissy this year included:
her pink dolly house and all of the furniture and family to go with it
her art desk and all of the art accessories to go with it for her "homework"
American Girl Bitty Baby doll and clothing, diaper bag, accessories, bottle, book, and outfits
Disney princess themed lights and sounds tricycle and Dora helmet
Merry Christmas all!!!
It has been a restful three days which we all needed very much! I am off until MOnday 12.30 and then off again 12.31 and 1.1, working 1.2 and Jon and I are going to the Ohio State vs. Clemson bowl game down near Miami (this was Jon's big gift from me) on 1.3 and staying overnight
!!!!
