Christmastime 2011 (Yes, I know....)

Ok, I know it's the middle of March and spring is right around the corner (Hallelujah!), but I didn't want to miss blogging about Christmas. We flew home on December 21st and stayed until the 29th.  It was a nice visit altogether, just a shame that we were coming off the heels of the stomach bug (worrying that we wouldn't be able to travel out to NJ) and then my Mom getting sick and coming down with pneumonia put a damper on the trip. Although, the kids had fun with their cousins decorating the tree at my parents house and baking cookies. My brother John bought tickets for all of us to go a on train ride that was all decorated for Christmas. Even Santa and Mrs. Claus were aboard. It was a really fun ride and Ashley and Corey loved it. Although, Corey was a bit freaked out by Santa! and my poor niece, Riley, got motion sickness and tossed her cookies on the ride back. So that made it "interesting". :(  The following night was Christmas Eve, and John hosted it at his house. It was nice spending time with my sister-in law's family too. We had a delicious dinner of fish and pasta. Then my brother read Twas the Night before Christmas to all the kiddos in their new pajamas!  My Dad also read the Christmas story from the Bible. It was the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit.

Ashley decorating our tree

We took the kids to see Santa over Thanksgiving weekend

cousins (minus Johnny) snacking and watching Sprout

Baking Cookies with Nanny (Corey was napping)

Mom (Nanny) playing with Corey and Ashley at my brother's house
Christmas Eve

Santa Came!

On Christmas morning, my Mom started feeling sick, so after the kids opened their gifts, my Mom headed up to bed and pretty much stayed there for almost two whole days! Poor thing.  The kids LOVED their gifts (Corey wasn't too sure how to open gifts, but enjoyed being around all the commotion under the tree) Since we missed going to church Christmas Eve, Paul and I got the kids ready to go to church in the morning.  It was a beautiful mass and afterward we came back and relaxed as a family.

Playing on Christmas Morning

Kids dressed for Church on Christmas Day

Ash loved her Pillow Pet from Santa

Playing outside on Christmas Day

Since my Mom was so sick, we didn't wind up having my Mom's family over for dinner that night and I cooked the ham and made mashed potatoes and veggies. While the ham was cooking all day we spent time watching Christmas movies, rested and played with the new toys.  One of my favorite moments of Christmas day was sitting out on the back porch with Ashley and Paul drinking hot chocolate and listening to the Polar Express soundtrack while Corey was napping upstairs. The weather was crisp and sun was out and all was well with the world. Jesus Christ was born! :)

Paul and I with my cousins Meretta and Vince

The following day, we all went over my brother's house for our annual "Day after Christmas Party". This was usually hosted by my Aunt Claire where we all exchanged gifts with our Pollyana (aka Secret Santa) and  ate and ate....  We have been having these parties from as early as I can remember!  Just last Christmas my Aunt Claire "passed the candy cane" to my brother and said that since she was getting older that John and his family can host it at their home from now on. Just six months later, my Aunt Claire passed away. The party this year was fun, but also met with some sadness since this was the first Christmas without her.  Instead of giving gifts to each other this year, we decided to donate money to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Aunt Claire and Muffie's (my Aunt Terry's mother who also passed within the year) memory.  We plan to continue doing this each year so that their spirits are still alive with us each Christmas.

Aunt Terry and me

Uncle Harry, Uncle Steve and Dad

Me with Aunt Terri and my cousin Jen

Me and my Mom-Mom

The following day, Paul and I drove with the kids to York to spend the day with my college friend Deanna who had her first child, Brea, in May, and to visit with Paul's friend Matt and his family.  Deanna's baby girl is just an absolute DOLL and am so happy for her and husband Mike.  I just wish I could see her more. :(  We all got together at Matt's house for some snacks and let the kids play a bit. We just really miss seeing our East Coast friends so much.

Deanna,Brea,Corey,Me,Joella,Erica,Paul,Ashley,Matt

During our trip to York, we also were planning to meet Kristin and Rob and their baby girl, Ashleigh Paige. Yes, you read that right! Their daughter is named Ashleigh Paige just like our Ashley. (besides a slight difference in the spelling) Kristin and I connected through the York College Alumni website about a year and a half ago when she was about 3 months pregnant with her daughter. We have sooo many similarities it's crazy. So when I told her that we would be in York over the holidays we both really wanted to meet in person! You can read more about our visit on her website! She wrote about our visit perfectly! We really enjoyed meeting and having our Ashley's meet in person! She and her little family are wonderful!

Meeting Kristin,Rob and Ashleigh for the first time

We drove back to NJ that night (in the rain!! and got lost) and then had the next day home to relax and pack before getting up early the next day for our flight back to Texas.  My Aunt Terry and Uncle Steve along with John, Melisa and the kids came over to my parents' house that night for dinner and spend some time with us before flying back.  We all had a great time hanging out and playing the Just Dance 3 game that we got Ashley for Christmas.  It was so much fun. We also played the Michael Jackson dance game and the kids had a ball (and so did the adults).

All the cousins - Johnny, Riley, Ashley and Corey

Siblings and our families

Mom and Dad with their kids and grandkids

When got back to Texas, "Santa" had some more gifts for the kids under the tree and boy were they excited to open up those gifts! We spent some time with Paul's sister Cathy since she was in town from New York City.  Over the course of the next couple days Paul's Mom, me and his sisters made tons of homemade meatballs and sauce gearing up for New Years Eve. We hosted NYE at our house and had fun! Below is a little video of us counting down to 2012.

Opening gifts from Santa in Texas

Remmert Family on New Years' Day (out for lunch for Mom's birthday)

Paul, Cathy, and Paul's parents were over to countdown to 2012!
Sorry it's a bit dark.

Ok, now I feel better that I finally wrote about it. Ta ta!!! :)