Not a "Normal" Christmas...........

....................but filled with many memorable and enjoyable moments! One that will not easily be forgotten is how I could describe our Christmas. 

Friday night I watched the news and knew an ice storm was coming. I didn't think too much about it but carried on with the busy house. We had a dollhouse to finish for a sweet little girl. Saturday the kids went to bed and I went about finishing the wallpaper and was hoping to complete final touches so I could relax the last few days before Christmas. Unfortunately that never happened minus the wallpaper getting put on. The power went out at around 9:30 I believe. We put it away, got some flashlights and climbed into bed knowing it was going to get a bit chilly. 

Sunday we woke up and the house was a balmy freezing 52 degrees. We would have been fine just Anthony and I, but there was no way 3 kids would just lay in bed and snuggle. So we went downstairs and got breakfast and I double layered them all with coats and hats. Then it was time to figure out a plan. Thankfully Anthony's Aunt and Uncle had power.

The night before we had enjoyed beginning to bake for Christmas and I took some fun pictures of the tree. 

After we secured what we could for branches and packed we left. I took pictures before we left. It was a mess. Limbs were still falling just from the weight of the ice. 

This was taken inside looking out the window. All the windows had a layer. 

It is so beautiful, but so destructive. 

We ended up being away from home for several days. We also got snow on top of the ice. It was really beautiful one morning with the sun coming up over their backyard. 

The kids enjoyed being at Aunt Tracy's house. They always do. The one night they took a bath in their bathtub and loved the jets, well everybody but Ari....nobody is surprised there. 

Mean while branches were still falling at our house. One also took out the gas meter. So that meant a longer delay for getting home. We brought all presents and food I was planning to bake and cook there and realized Christmas was going to be spent with family. It was good.

Christmas Eve we made frosted Sugar cookies. 

Then we opened the Christmas Eve presents that they always get to open. 

I read them their new books in their pajamas.............

We tucked them in and were ready for Christmas Morning...........

 

Christmas Morning arrived and I did something a little different for pictures. I set my camera on a timer for photos. It was so nice. They are not perfect by any means. Actually truth be told the color is off on editing as I need to calibrate my computer...whoops! Oh well, I was in them and I had fun opening gifts with the kids. Lilliana was content to pass everybody their presents rather than open hers. It was good practice and next year I will add more time and switch a few things, but we will continue doing it that way. 

We had a great Christmas day. I spent time cooking the kids played with their toys. We had a wonderful dinner with Grandma Terri, and we took things home. It was nice. It may have been different than any of my original plans, but it wall worked out and was worth it all. 

Eli even got his electric toothbrush....

Thursday we finally were able to go back home. Lilliana had an ear infection and the poor girl had a fever for a couple days. She would lay on the heat vent and play with her writing pad. 

I took some more pictures of our yard since more branches had fallen. 

Saturday we finished our family Christmas. I also took the kids shopping. Lilliana was mesmorized by the Movie Theater when I went to get a gift certificate. They also loved getting to look at the fish. 

Family Christmas was wonderful. These toys came from it and since we have been home they have been the most played with toys for all three.

What a great year this has been! I can't believe how big the kids are getting. I also succeeded in my goal of not being pregnant at all. I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us. Happy New Year!