It was a really, really good Christmas this year. Maybe because the weeks leading up to it I was learning a few lessons. I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude.

{ There is no better feeling than walking through my parent’s front door.}

{All together again. My seven sisters and three brothers from 5 different states.}

{preparing the gifts and christmas cards. I used artifact uprising this year!}

 {Made Salted Caramel Gingerbread Cake for my dad’s birthday on Christmas Eve.}

{Merry Christmas to me.}

{Christmas program we put on with all of the little cousins. Rocco starred as baby Jesus.}

{Veronica decided to keep performing. Someone loves the mic…}

{Singing a song from Little Women.}

 

{before Christmas Eve Mass}

{Papa is a popular guy.}

{sleeping through Christmas Eve.}

 

{what Christmas Eve looks like with 30 people}

{angel in time out}

{waiting for St. Nicholas on Christmas morning}

   

{Santa came. Thank goodness.}

{first christmas}

{the best kind of chaos}

My big family waits all year long for time together. We come from near and far to all walk through the same door at Christmastime.
Each year I feel it a little deeper. I value this over everything else.

I wish I could bottle some of the happiness that came during these days to pull out during the tough ones. This may be our last christmas all under one roof so I paused a little more to take note of how lucky I was to have the chance to experience this.

We hope you had a blessed Christmas!