Christmas Day

I loved this one! Janie, Annarose and me

Check out Damien's new Batman raincoat!

Janie Mac and Annabanna

Dennis and his Robot, this was a big hit with Sam too.

Dinosaur has become a major player in the battle against the super villian Joker!

All the ladies ( a very difficult picture to get)

Chillin out with Mickey

Our Christmas Day was wonderful and magical with the children, this year Sam really got it... I mean he REALLY got it. So, it was pretty darn awesome to watch the magic through his eyes! It was wild and crazy to watch the three boys open gifts and set up their new toys, we didn't even exchange gifts with the adults till almost noon.

Damien and his family arrived in the afternoon. The boys opened more gifts and played, the girls rolled around on the floor and were adorable. Janie is so stinking cute, you just want to eat her cheeks!

As wonderful and magical, wild and crazy, busy and chaotic our day was... you couldn't miss the fact that the house felt just a little bit empty. We didn't have our Tristan. In fact, the kid is still stuck in Germany! The weather, the faulty airplane and the holiday kept our brave soldier away for the second Christmas in a row. But, unlike a lot of families we at least knew he was safe. God bless, Skype and facebook updates.

We didn't have Dad. I like to think he was part of a grand celebration up in heaven. Jesus' birthday must be huge up there, right? Dennis posted a poem on facebook about it, but even before I read it... that is exactly how I wanted to picture him. My dad loved the Christmas season, more than most people. He liked to stretch it out as long as possible, and would never let my mom take the tree down until after the 12th day of Christmas. Last year, instead of doing all their gifts on Christmas morning... he had the idea to exchange one gift a day for 12 days. Cute, huh? He was such a romantic. On the road to "healing and grieving", everyone says the first year is the hardest. Once you get past all the "firsts", it won't hurt as much. It will not be as hard. I can't imagine Christmas ever feeling the same without my Dad.