We are Blessed

This year we stayed put.  No flights with the possibilities of weather cancellations or getting half way home and then hopping on a bus for a drive that would only get us four hours closer to our destination only to wait for my parents to drive those four hours to get us.  Yes, we stayed put.  It was hard.  It was weird. No, snow on Christmas.  Even Grace didn't understand that there wouldn't be snow.  It was her first without snow too.  

But,

We are blessed.  We had a truly wonderful Christmas.  Candlelight dinner with the "fancy plates and cups" as Grace puts it.  (Note:  We've been using the fancy cups daily now.)  I brought a little of home to Virginia - homemade gnoochi on Christmas Eve.  (With the amount of cooking I did, I felt like my mother.)  Mass at St. Marks's.  Getting our three year old up on Christmas morning.  (Yes, you read that right.  We heard her in the monitor for 20 minutes.  I finally just had to go in.  I couldn't take it any longer.  Her response as to why, "Mama, I was just resting.") Dinner with Matt's parents, Skype with my family, and lots and lots of playing dolls and Headbandz and watching Cinderella.