Scenes from a Christmas ♥

Hello Friends! 

 

Have you all survived the holidays?  Despite my mom being in the hospital we had a nice Christmas.

 

Christmas eve we spent with Rob's family at my brother in laws.  We celebrate the feast of the 7 fishes, which (as a seafood lover) I really enjoy!  The food is so delicious.

John had a wonderful time with all his cousins.  It was a fun night.

 

Christmas day we slept in a bit.  I made cinnamon rolls and the three of us opened presents.  My favorite gift was my very own electric kettle! Don't laugh...I've been wanting one for ages and let me tell you...it's amazing! ♥

 

I made a little Christmas dinner of roast chicken, stuffing, garlic bread, cranberry sauce, and veggies. We ate, watched A Christmas Story, and napped.  After dessert we visited my mom, who was in good spirits. My sister and Dad had dinner with her at the hospital earlier in the day.  To their surprise is was GOOD!  : )  We had a good little chuckle about that. 

 

Later Christmas night we went back to my brother in laws for coffee, more dessert, and Tombola, an Italian bingo game.  It's tradition to play it on Christmas night.  It's a lot of fun ♥

 

Friday night we celebrated my nephew Anthony's 12th birthday with pizza and cake!

 

And FINALLY yesterday afternoon we were off to my mother in laws for her annual Christmas lunch and gift exchange.  It's much more low key than Christmas eve and we all enjoy it very much. I made raspberry thumbprint cookies and everybody loved them. 

 

Rob's parent's house is so beautifully decorated.  This year my mother in law made snowman boxes to wrap the kids gifts in.  They looked adorable around her tree ♥

(She also made a really cool appetizer which I'm totally coping next year : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's a wrap on Christmas 2019.  I missed having my mother home, but we made the best of it.  And you want to know something else?  She's coming home in 10 days!!!!  We are welcoming 2020 with some great news.  She's been working so hard at her physical therapy and getting stronger everyday.  She cannot wait to get out of the hospital : )

 

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are enjoying this lovely week leading up to New Years.

 

XOXO

 

 

Merry Christmas! ♥

 

Merry Christmas Eve! ♥

 

 

It's finally here.  This past week has gone by so fast.  In some ways  I feel like because of everything that's been going on in my family I've missed the entire Christmas season.  I'm sad about that but I am looking forward to New Year's and starting fresh on January 1st.  We are making the best of things and grateful to be where we are.  Unfortunately my mom will not be home for Christmas, but hopefully soon afterwards.  She's being well taken care of at the rehab hospital and is doing very well! Every day she is getting stronger and we are so proud of her! 

 

 

 

So although our Christmas has been different this year, I have managed to squeeze in a few traditions.

Last night we went to our favorite Christmas place, Edaville Railroad.  We go every year with friends and this year was no exception. We saw Christmas lights, took a train ride, saw Santa, and had hot chocolate & warm chocolate chip cookies.

 It was freezing cold, but it felt good to feel some Christmas cheer ♥

John and his friends rode the Ferris wheel.

Too high and COLD for me, but he had a blast!

Friends!! 

I love this picture of John so much (on the right) taken at Edaville in 2017, I had him recreate it.  What a change in him in just 2 years! (it makes me happy and sad at the same time )

 

My favorite part! So good!

It was a beautiful clear night. 

 

We got to see a gorgeous sunset as we took a train ride around the lake. It was all lit up with light and looked magical!

 

 

Back at home I was able to watch my favorite Christmas movie, The Holiday.   I love this movie so much. There is just something about it...the setting, the music, and the story.  My heart melts for this movie.

Aaaand.......

 Iris's English cottage is the home of my dreams...: )

 

 

Swoon......!

 

 

 

 

Last week was also John's Christmas concert at school.

He and his friend Sean are the two senior drummers this year.  

They did such a great job! 

 I didn't have time to do much baking this year but I did manage to make this peppermint fudge.  It's John favorite and he asked me to PLEASE make some for Christmas eve.  How could I not?  It's so easy and YUMMY!  (It's a Pioneer Woman recipe with only 3 ingredients! Recipe HERE if you need a last minute dessert!)
 

And here we are.  Presents are wrapped and stockings are stuffed, all ready for tonight.  We will be spending a quiet day at home on Christmas Day.  I bought our favorite cinnamon rolls to have for breakfast while we open presents.  After dinner we'll head up to the rehab to visit my mom.  My Dad and sister will already be there, as they are offering a Christmas dinner for family members.  It's such a wonderful thing to do.  My heart goes out to all of the people in the hospital who can't be home with their families on Christmas. We'll have a late celebration once she gets home.  For now we are just grateful she's here ♥

Whatever your plans, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with the ones you love!  That's the most important thing, isn't it?! 

Merry Christmas, my friends! I hope Santa is good to you!

 I'll be thinking of you all! xoxo
 

Keeping it Simple ♥

Hello everyone and happy Monday!  ♥

I hope you all had a nice weekend! Hard to believe there is only one more weekend until Christmas.  I am doing my best to keep up with things without driving myself crazy. 

There was a moment last week where I took a deep breath and realized if things are not the same this year, well....that's OK.  We will survive!  And we are surviving : ) 

Thank you all so much for messaging me and checking in on us during this time.  My mother is doing better (prayers answered!).  She's been moved to a rehab hospital for physical and occupational therapy. Unfortunately she'll be there for a few more weeks, but the important part is she WILL come home.  Our Christmas will be slightly postponed....but again...that's OK! 

To be honest I'm getting used to the idea of a simpler holiday.  Once I allowed myself to do that, I felt better.  I'm focusing on John, friends, family, spending time with people, taking care of myself, and less time on running around, fighting crowds, and spending loads of money.   I saw this on Facebook the other day and it really spoke to me.... 

It's so true! ♥

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  I will be drinking lots of hot chocolate, wrapping a few gifts, enjoying the lights on my Christmas tree, and watching Christmas movies with my family... all with a heart full of gratitude.  

Love you all! xx 

PS. did you know that my mom has the prettiest window sill in the hospital? 

Well, she does ♥

It's December!

Hello Friends! 

I looked up today to breathe and discovered it was December.  

My family and I are in a much better place than we were in November.  My mom is steadily improving and within a few days she'll be moving from the hospital to a rehab where she'll have physical and occupational therapy.  From there she'll come home! We feel so blessed.  Oh how far she's come from the ICU unit at the hospital. She's still got a long way to go, but she is getting there.  We've learned to appreciate the little things.  We've learned the power of prayer.  We've learned that life is a beautiful precious gift <3

I feel like I've emerged from a dark room that I've been stuck in for 3 weeks.  I've come out of the room and all of a sudden it's Christmas time! It snowed! Christmas may be a little different for us this year, but that's OK.  Some things may have to be done on a smaller scale. I might not have time to decorate like I usually do, and I may have to stop at the bakery and pick up a dessert instead of baking one, and my Christmas cards might be a little late...but it's all OK. 

The important things will be there.  Family, friends, good food (yes that's important : ) a happy 12 year old boy, and my Christmas tree, which I managed to put up and decorate last weekend. 

This morning I went out early to catch up on some Christmas shopping and I actually found myself humming to a Christmas song.  I haven't hummed or even listened to any Christmas music in a while.  It felt good to feel happy again.  I treated myself to a cinnamon roll to celebrate the feeling.  Oh yes, things are definitely looking up!  : ) 

This is my mom's Christmas tree in her hospital room.  It was given to her by a friend and she loves it.  (it's boxwood branches, so pretty!).  She got some beautiful flowers and poinsettias also, but gave them to nurses who took such good care of her.  She's bringing her tree with her to the rehab.  I hope she won't be there for long.  We are all hoping she'll be home for Christmas! 

I hope you are all doing well.  I am happy to be back here and look forward to catching up with all of you!  Have a wonderful day!  XOXO