Bluegrass babies: January 2016

On Christmas eve morning we went to Martinsville to take this lovely lady to breakfast...

and spoiled her with some special treats...

Then we came home and went to mass at our new church Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. We were told the 4:00 mass would be crowded and to get there early, boy were they right. The church has 3 separate masses during the 4:00 hour because it is such a popular mass time. We arrived 30 minutes early and the church was already full. So was the school cafeteria mass, we were sent to the school gym where another service would be held. The priest said because all three rooms were completely full there were over 5,000 people in attendance just at the 4:00 mass. They boys were VERY patient...

If you know my boys at all - you know that they love their mama and they also love to fight over my lap. I had to find a spot for both of them on this night...

After mass the boys were VERY excited to give each other the gifts they bought for one another at the local toy store...

Then we ordered pizza and watched The Elf on the Shelf...

And of course we left out some cookies and milk for the big guy oh and a few carrots for the reindeer too...

Then we snuggled in bed to read "Twas the Night Before Christmas"...

When we woke up Santa had arrived...

The boys had so much fun opening presents and getting excited about each and every one of them. It is really great that Owen and Grayson are so close in age because all of their presents were really for the both of them to enjoy...

And of course there was fighting...

And some dress up time...

I was a little disappointed that we didn't have a white Christmas but we made the most out of the warm weather and went out for a ride. It was warm enough for light jackets. So many neighbors were out taking walks or bike rides and kids were out playing with their new toys. It didn't really feel much like Christmas but it was a beautiful day....

That night I made a non-traditional steak dinner...

And we drove around to look at some Christmas lights, yes this is someone's house...

We had such a nice Christmas but were definitely ready to celebrate with all of our families. The week before Christmas my mom flew in from Arizona for a quick visit. We took her to the Children's Museum and to the Cheesecake Factory for a little peppermint cheesecake...

Then the Drapp family came to spend the weekend with us. We had a nice cozy weekend with them and the boys loved every minute of the added attention they were receiving...