May Your Days be Merry & Bright!

Taya & Chloe baking cookies for Santa

Waiting patiently for Daddy to get up so they can open Santa presents

So, Corey & I took a few pictures in front of the tree. I kept telling him to smile. "I'm smiling on the inside." he finally said.

Let the chaos begin...

I always suffer from a little post-Christmas depression. It seems like you spend so much time, money, and effort into getting ready for the big day and then in 10 minutes it's over, everyone has gone home and you are left sitting with too many garbage bags to get rid of all at once, dirty dishes, and a sneaking suspicion you really don't have room for all the new toys and gadgets the girls got.

But seriously, I love Christmas! It feels like such a magical time. And, even if some of the magic fades the older I get, if I can create magical feelings and memories for the girls, all the effort and money is worth it. What is most important is spending time with family. We had my dad, my sister, my aunt Barb, Corey's mom, and Corey's sister and her family over to our house on Christmas Day. It was snowing just a little in town. Barb commented that my mom would have loved this weather because she always wanted it to snow on Christmas, but not snow enough to make the weather miserable. It was beautiful watching the big, fat flakes floating down. My mom would have loved it! It's hard to believe it's been six years that she has been gone. We all miss and love you mom!

Things felt a lot different without Nanny Pearl around too. We always went to her house on Christmas Eve and enjoyed such fabulous food. Now all the cooking and baking falls to my generation and its tough. I'm not sure I can live up to Nanny's standards. Check that, I know that I can't! But, I will continue to try my best so we have some "real" food to eat for the holidays.

We ate, opened presents, enjoyed each other's company and then ate again!  The girls had so much fun spending time with and playing with their cousins and our 16-month old nephew kept us on our toes. I had forgotten what it is like to have a little one in the house.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas!!