Mom and Dad's Christmas Village
Set up for Christmas Dinner
Opening their gift from "Bumpa's Toy Shop"
Table, chairs and cups for their dolls, hand carved by Dad!
Dad's gift to Mom...handmade, personalized cutting board!
Grapevines on top and "Nana's Kitchen" on the bottom
Our "studly" son :)
New truck from "Bumpa's Toy Shop!"
Signing "thank you" to Bumpa
Marcellus with his new bear
Cousin time
The day after Christmas, we gave him our gift at home...
....a metal cast John Deere Tractor!
This kid just LOVES tractors...he's such a boy. :P
Sunday, we decided to do something different and drove to the Bass Pro Shops in Foxborough MA. It's a pretty cool place with everything "outdoor" that you can imagine.
Just chillin'
We went just to walk around so William could see all the animals and ended up buying our summer vacation from the travel agency that partners with Bass Pro Shops and offers some pretty cool deals. They had a really cheap, two night stay up in the White Mountains, which we love visiting so we thought we'd go for it! We ended up getting $125 in gift cards to Bass Pro Shops for purchasing with them, which was more than we paid for the vacation, so it was a pretty good deal.
I've been trying to keep the Christmas spirit going around here since the rest of the world has already started to pack Christmas away. It's been a lot easier this year because I've decided to make a good effort to keep it going. It's been fun this year, with William being old enough to appreciate what's going on. I love having the Christmas lights on, music playing, and my Christmas scented candles going as I bake away (because what's the Christmas season without baking?!). Here's a little taste of our apartment at Christmas:
Tonight, we will carry on the celebration with a New Year's Eve Yankee Swap at my sister Kaite's house! We had a lot of fun with it last year and we're doing the same thing again. Kids are all getting tucked away into bed while the adults break out the drinks (mostly non-alcoholic this year due to dietary restrictions :P) and party on. ;) I'll be sure to update again with photos soon.
I can't believe we move into the new year tomorrow! Wow, what a year 2015 has been with its ups and downs, and many, many blessings. Sadly we lots two little ones, but with that cross came a better appreciation for life and by the grace of God, we learned to resign ourselves to His Will and were brought closer to Him. Then we were blessed by welcoming Marcellus into our little family in October. I can't even begin to express the relief of holding him in my arms after an anxious 9 months, and the overwhelming joy of watching him be received into the Catholic Church at his baptism.
It's been such fun watching William develop into a little boy and witness him transitioning into "big brother" mode. We love our new apartment and have been blessed with wonderful landlords. And although 2015 brought the diagnosis of Lyme to me (and Marcellus through me), I pray 2016 brings healing to us both, or at least the strength to take up this cross and carry it with patience and resignation.
A happy New Year's Eve to you all and many blessings to you all for the coming year!
~Lindsay
