So blessed

This Christmas was a good one.

Having Benjamin with us and spending so much time with family and friends just made this Christmas feel so special to me.

We had family parties on Saturday and Sunday.

Christmas Eve was the children's mass at church where the kids had a special program and Taylor was an angel, then we spent the rest of the evening at Cheri and Jay's house with long-time friends and neighbors.

 

Christmas morning started at about 8am and was complete with stockings, screeches, goodies, giggles, coffee, toys galore, lots of playing and lots of hugs and thank you's.

 

 

It was a nice relaxing morning and early afternoon, and then we started getting things ready for my family to come over for more gift opening and Christmas dinner.

Grandma and Papa Claus certainly did not disappoint the kids this year, as usual.  I think they probably spoil the kids just as much as the real Santa Claus!  Our living room is always full of presents {for 7 kids!} and the kids can hardly stand to wait to open them.

It's so much fun to see them all open their gifts at once!  They're all yelling "mom, look!" and "thank you, Grandma!" and "oh my gosh, this is just what I wanted!" all at the same time and I love it.  The wrapping paper on the floor is something to behold with seven kids opening about 10 presents a piece...and then the boxes and packaging on top of that make for several trips to the recycling bin! We are extremely blessed to be able to spend our Christmas with family, and this year for some reason, I felt it more than ever. Maybe it was my recently relocated Hawaiian friends on my mind, or the emotions from my sweet baby boy's first Christmas, but the chaos and mess was just plain perfect.

Christmas dinner was delicious and the goodies afterwards, too.

The women talked, laughed and reminisced, while the kids played non-stop and the guys sat on the couch and watched hunting shows.

I ♥ Christmas.

 

Thank you, God, for sending your son to be born here on this Earth.

I pray that many more people will find you in their hearts this year and that the world will be a more loving and safer place for all of us.

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Now, let's ring in a fantastic new year! :)