A Visit from the North...

Yes, it could have been from the North Pole the way their "sleigh" came loaded with gifts,

but actually, Nana and PopPop came from New Jersey the day after Christmas

to celebrate the holidays with us!

MJ and Bern brought with them a whole pile of snow, so in between art projects, gifts and meals,

the big guys played outside with Daddy and PopPop, while Sully watched longingly from the window.

We had tons of playtime - Nanny and PopPop even played Firefighters!

Two mornings in a row, we went to a new restaurant for breakfast.

MJ loved and understood Patrick's eccentricities -

like not wanting to get his hands sticky while still enjoying syrup on his pancakes!

PopPop loved Finnegan's love of chocolate - like all the chips in his pancakes!!

It was a great, but too short, visit!

Christmas Day

On Christmas Morning, we went downstairs to see if Santa had come...

not only did he eat the cookies, but the reindeer ate their apples and oranges!

And, boy, did Santa bring some great gifts!

Patrick and Finnegan got Big Boy Bikes

and spent the first 30 minutes of Christmas Morning riding them through the house.

Sully was also cruisin with his big brothers - in his new red car!

All our lucky boys got wonderful gifts from Santa and family...

and Sully got his own Choo Choos from his Big Brothers!

Even Maggie was a good girl and got a stocking from Santa.

After a wild morning and yummy breakfast,

we cruised the neighborhood in the new rides

and had a relaxing Christmas Day as a family.

We hope your Christmas was just as wonderful.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Today, we spent a relatively quiet day at home, preparing for Christmas.

As we have done every morning in the month of December, we started the day opening our advent calendar. There was such excitement because it was the last "window" but a bit of disappointment that it was also the last piece of chocolate.

Later in the morning, I took the big boys up to their room so they could wrap their presents for Daddy and Baby Sully. They each got their own safety scissors and roll of tape and somehow managed to use both rolls wrapping 3 packages - it was hysterical.

They were so proud of their beautiful wrapping job and brought the presents downstairs to put under the tree. When they showed Gill they said "look daddy, we wrapped your planet present and Baby Sully's trains!" So much for a surprise.

Gill spent some special time making Christmas Cookies for Santa with Patrick and Finnegan.

We headed off to Christmas Eve Mass as a family. Even though we arrived an hour early, St. Matthew Church was already at capacity and they were turning people away. We ventured to Calvary, and enjoyed a beautiful service complete with a children's nativity and candlelight.

My favorite part of the service may have been Finnegan blowing out my candle during Silent Night. He did it 3 times, each time telling me he "made a wish". It was Baby Jesus' Birthday, after all!

After service, we had dinner in our PJ's and put out cookies for Santa and apples & oranges for his reindeer. Gill read the family The Polar Express and the boys all went to sleep.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

A Nighttime Light Show

Tonight, bedtime was postponed a bit.

After baths, Daddy read the Polor Express...

the boys were all curious as to why we were not tucking them into bed, but loading them in the car.

But, when we arrived at a house decked out in Christmas lights, they loved the adventure!

We grooved to the music, watched the house "dance",

and when we arrived home, they announced we needed more lights on our house!!

Check out this house, and if you live in Charlotte, it's definitely worth a visit!

http://www.c3inet.com

Hark! We hear the bells!

Today, we went to the Ballantyne Resort for a special concert by a handbell choir.

When Gill was in college, he was a member of a handbell choir,

so he was very excited to experience the concert with the boys.

The concert was amazing and really put us

in the Christmas Spirit with their beautiful holiday music.

Once the concert was over, we visited Gingerbread Lane,

a gingerbread house competition that the hotel presents.

Surprise, Surprise, Finn and Patrick found a display with trains and declared it to be their favorite.

It was a great visit to the Ballantyne,

the only thing that would have made it better is Room Service!!!

Flashback Friday

Today, Sullivan had his first picture taken with Santa.

In typical Sully fashion, he was quite calm about he whole thing.

He did not react the way Patrick and Finnegan did with

their first encounter with the Big Guy in 2007!

And, as a bonus,

I finally got a picture of Patrick and Finnegan with Santa this year!

Christmas Pageant

Today, Patrick and Finnegan had their Preschool Christmas Pageant.

I don't know who was more excited, the boys or their gushing parents!

I can't tell you how excited Gill and I were to sit in the front row and watch the kids perform.

It was fantastic!

Every minute of their singing and dancing brought us such joy!

Even baby brother, Sullivan, got in on the action and began to "sing" at all the right (quiet) moments.

After the pageant was over, there was a cookie reception for the families...

and the boys posed with Ginny and Lizzy.

I hope you'll take 6 (yes, six) minutes to watch their pageant, trust me, you'll love it!

Tony Awards, here we come!!