new year's eve tomorrow!  tree ornaments are all put away, the christmas tree is in the driveway and the exterior lights have been removed from the roof and boxed up.  we are ready for the new year!

christmas day finally came and went.  it has been a month long build-up of excitement for the boys with the daily searches for clyde, our elf who visits with us all month and who finds a new place to land every morning after being at the north pole over night.  max and finn have the best time trying to find clyde every morning and see what he left them in the advent calendar!  max and i attended mass yesterday and then brent went at midnight.

the boys are now in bed (although not yet asleep) and brent and i are just hanging out.  they had a great christmas.  max woke up early...6:15am...and confirmed that santa had been to our house!  we made him wait for a while in bed with us to see if finn would wake up on his own but we had to wake him up.  the boys were overjoyed with all the presents from family and loved their santa gifts - new bikes!!  max's bike is a 20" specialized bike in blue and white colors and finn's is a glider, also from specialized in the color red.  they were so happy.  it rained again today so we didn't have a chance to really try the bikes out but for a few minutes.  maybe tomorrow.

thank you santa for visiting our house and for the great presents!  thank you to our family for all the gifts.  love to all and merry christmas!

stockings are ready!

cookies and milk for santa and an apple for rudolph!

...it was the night before christmas...

santa gifts!!

christmas is almost here.  prepared?  not yet, but i am getting there.  the boys are so excited about christmas.  today ms. nicki (teacher at central nursery school) told me that finn was singing "jingle bells" in the lunch room while all the kids were eating lunch.  so cute!  the other night while he and max were laying in bed at night, he would call out "happy holidays" periodically.  he is such a nut!  i am looking forward to seeing the boys' faces on christmas morning after santa has paid a visit!  i simply can't wait!  

i have a difficult time reading and watching the daily news.  there is too much sadness, too much violence.  i want to protect our family from it all.  brent and i are very lucky.  we have two amazing and beautiful boys, we have jobs and we live in a fantastic place.  we have everything we need that matters.  we are very, very blessed.

These boys.  So smart and funny and handsome and so moody and stubborn and loud.  Such handfuls.  My boys that I love so much.

our blue-eyed boy taking his bath.

movie night!  picnic on the living room floor with grilled cheese sandwiches, hot chocolate with marshmallows and candy canes...what a life!