The re-cap (part 2)

...okay. So now that brings us to the whole Thanksgiving through the holidays.

Thanksgiving was quiet, but nice as we were able to drive to my parents house for some turkey. (much better than the previous 14 hour road trip to FL).
We played, Eric and his beloved Aunt Sam hung out...



The girls got to enjoy their first snow! (well, not really their first, but they were so little when we last saw snow that they don't remember it)



Tom got re-aquainted with snow removal, while I supervised. A lot.


And in case we missed you on the Christmas Card List, this was the picture we used. (which I have to note was a fluke pic taken one day as the three were sitting in the kitchen waiting to be fed.)
Three kids, looking at the camera at the same time.
I think that is a first. Ever.

Once December rolled around, we were once again surprised to have our elf, Christopher come back to visit us.
I love that we started this tradition. I think Christopher watching over the girls may have even been more incentive on being good than the threat of Santa.
But this year, we turned it up a notch and Christopher played some naughty pranks as well.



Then there was Christmas.
I love this time of year.
I love the glow of the tree and the lights.



I love the anticipation of the kids.


This year was especially fun as the girls each went and got us real presents (well for $5 or less).
Oddly enough, the one gift that really pulled at my heartstrings and made me cry, was a simple book Bryn made called "My Mom and Me".
It was all things cute we do, but the last page was a doozy.
It said something like "I like to end the day with my Mom"...and that sentence alone was the sweetest one I ever read.
Sometimes the goods far, far outweigh the bads.
And the bonus lesson here: The best gifts are not from a store.
You are welcome! (no extra charge for the extra moral lesson).


I think the gifts were a hit.
They all seemed pretty happy with their loot. And we cut back quite a bit this year. Now I know to aim for less.




Poor Tom was feeling not so festive after working his wonky hours all through the holiday...but he managed to try and be there.


Our New Years was rather quiet too. Tom had to head into work, but managed to hold off until after a midnight smooch!
A couple of new friends were able to come over and eat and try to survive a gaggle of giggley kids that I thought would be a good idea to feed more sugar and make their own sundaes. (sorry about that)
It was crazy, it was chaos, it was nice.




Good bye 2010. You were a roller coaster of a year.
But I am grateful the have my loved ones healthy and near.
My glass is always full.