Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas! It has been so nice to have a break from work and just have family time. 

On Christmas Eve, we made cookies for Santa

And went to the Children's Nativity service at church - ready to go!

When we got home from church, we put the cookies out for Santa. Someone was VERY excited!

The next morning, Francie was excited to go downstairs to see what Santa brought

A game from Grandma and Pa - it is a new favorite!

I love the look on her face here....She is opening the pink cash register - the only thing that she asked for from Santa :) 

"It's just what I wanted!"

Nanny and Papa arrived on Christmas afternoon to spend a few days with us. Chef Tommy whipped up a Christmas feast that night!

Nanny and Papa brought Francie this cozy robe that she loves

We spent the next few days doing some shopping and spending time with Nanny and Papa

We went to the Rainforest Cafe one day which was a big hit with MFG

There were lots of board games with Nanny and Papa too. We mostly stayed inside while they were here - it has been COLD!

One last goodbye pic with Nanny and Papa - we loved having you here for Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

We have definitely been in the Christmas spirit lately! We flew to Alabama last weekend to have an early Christmas with my family.

Pro Traveler

Our flight down was eventful to say the least with several delays, but MFG was a trooper!

Someone was SO excited to see her cousins when we arrived - and tell them that she is going to be a big sister!

 

Chase, Stephanie and Jack arrived late that evening and voila! The whole family was in one place - A Christmas miracle :)

Papa, Nanny and their precious Grands! We are so blessed

The whole family

The girls were very excited to open presents and wanted to help Jack, of course

Nanny and Papa got the girls these very fancy Rapunzel bride outfits - they were a big hit!

After opening presents and lunch, we made some gingerbread houses

Such concentration!

I snapped a quick selfie with this precious little monkey :)

The girls had fun playing Twister

We took the girls to Zoo Lights at the Birmingham Zoo and they had a big time! 

Chilly selfie with Anna and Francie on the zoo train

Tommy walking with the big girls checking out the lights

A ride on the carousel

 Posing :)

 Sadly, we had to leave early on Sunday morning, so we missed church with the family. 

But Todd photoshopped Francie into this sweet pic of the cousins - ha ha!

We had another long day of travel home, but Tommy and Francie were totally entertained at the airport playground

Passed out on our 2nd flight

 We had such a great time - it is a rare occasion that we can ALL be together and we treasure our time when we can!

Since we have been back, it is definitely starting to feel like Christmas. We had a tiny bit of snow overnight and Francie really wanted to make a snowman before school

This morning, Tommy took Francie to our town's Breakfast with Santa (I was not feeling so hot, so I stayed home)

Our big girl was not scared of Santa this year and she went right up and sat in his lap!

She told him that she wanted a cash register and that I wanted a necklace

Enjoying breakfast and checking out the coloring book from Santa

After breakfast, she made some Christmas crafts

The countdown is on! 11 days until Christmas and someone is VERY excited. Seeing the wonder of Christmas in your child is truly magical :)

Thanksgiving

We have had a great Thanksgiving week! We are so thankful that Grandma and Pa came to visit to celebrate with us! I had to work the first few days this week, but MFG, Tommy, Grandma and Pa had a great time!

They went to the farm to pick up our Thanksgiving turkey

  

We all met up after I worked on Wednesday and went to see Frozen - Francie loved it! It was her first "real" movie in the theater.

So excited!

After the movie, Francie and Tommy took a ride on the mall train

Thanksgiving dinner by Chef Tommy was delicious! I am thankful for a husband who is a wonderful cook! After the meal, Tommy, Francie and Grandma went for a walk - it was COLD!

Grandma and Pa had to go home on Friday - we had a great time!

After taking them to the airport, we took MFG downtown to have tea at the Boston Public Library like we did last year.

Happy girl at Copley Plaza

A cold, cold, cold day in Boston!

Francie enjoyed having tea (lemonade) - so special! 

A Mommy/Francie pic after tea - I am looking rough! This is what 7 weeks pregnant looks like - exhausted and nauseous!

 Today, Francie and Tommy picked out our Christmas tree - we are getting in the Christmas spirit!