Christmas Fun {Part One}

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It was made very special by the presence of Patrick's sister, Michele, our brother-in-law John and niece, Lydia. They flew down from Connecticut, spent a few days at Disney and then headed over to the coast.

We had such a wonderful time, just hanging out and relaxing for a few days. One night we went down to the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach for a delicious meal on the water. The food and company were unsurpassed.

Caleb and Lydia

On Christmas Eve morning, we headed over to Disney's Vero Beach resort for breakfast with Donald and Goofy. Caleb and Lydia had a blast, while Madeline had a hard time looking at the characters (which we expected.)

John, Michele and Eva in the back row, with Patrick in front with all the kiddos

That afternoon, we all headed to church for Christmas Eve service. Our pastor gave a great message, and it was wonderful to sing praises to the Lord. That night, Patrick prepared a wonderful meal of crab legs and blueberry chicken, creamy brussel sprouts with bacon and roasted potatoes. It was so delicious! We finished off our meal with a birthday cake for our Savior. Then we had to get busy wrapping gifts. Since Patrick placed my gifts with the kids, I never got the chance to wrap any of theirs. So Michele was gracious enough to stay up and help me.

Christmas morning, Lydia was the first to awaken. So we scrambled Caleb and Madeline out of their beds quickly so all the kiddos could open their presents together. Madeline wasn't too thrilled at being woken up. Poor girl. Caleb and Lydia made quick work of opening their gifts. Madeline opened up some of her gifts while leaving others completely untouched under the tree.

Deb, Andy, and Leah made it over to the house late morning. So the unwrapping of presents continued.

Eventually we were all done with the presents and could relax and hang out a little bit. Then we were off to the Disney Vero resort again for an early dinner. The food was fabulous. I naturally helped myself to two servings of dessert! LOL. The kids had a blast running around on the lawn afterward, and we enjoyed chasing them with our cameras.

Although the focus is soft in this next photo, it is, by far, my favorite from the entire week. We finally were able to get all the cousins together, despite living so far away.....and despite all the silliness going on while attempting to capture the shot! LOL.

I love how Leah is hugging Lydia, Madeline is preparing for what her brother may do next, and Caleb is thoroughly enjoying himself, as evidenced by the huge smile on his face and all the sweat in his hair!

Michele, John, and Lydia were supposed to head back to Connecticut on Sunday. But the blizzard that kept planes grounded on the east coast kept them with us just a few days longer. Caleb and Lydia really enjoyed their extra time together. It was very hard for them to finally say good bye. We had such a wonderful Christmas week. Now, it's time to gear up for Caleb's birthday in just two short weeks! Having your child's birthday fall just after Christmas is crazy, insane. I'm not yet getting the hang of it. LOL. Anyway, I hope to post more photos from Christmas when I get the chance. And I promise to still post some photos from our trip to New York.