CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas Day is another special day! Since Skyler and I were the only kids at my parents on Christmas morning, we decided to save some present exchanging until then. It was a highly unusual sight for the kids to sleep in later than the adults. That was NEVER the case when I was younger. My little sister and I would be up several hours before anyone else, and thought that everyone took much too long to get ready to open gifts. Now, we're trying to get all the sleep we can, knowing that in a few years we will have kids who think it wise to get up at the wee hours of the morning.

Here's Dad with the new DVDs from us to add to his collection.

Skyler with a new game for his PS3.

Me about to find out that Skyler is taking me to see WICKED in New York City! Behind me is a gorgeous fall floral arrangement my parents. It's going to look perfect in our dining room! Mom opened her gift from us the night before, since it was from the Moneypenny's and the Bradbury's.

After presents were opened, we packed up the car and drove over to Grandma Costabile's for a Christmas Day celebration. Grandma has been kind enough to host Christmas for as long as I've been around, and many more years before that. She is such a gracious host, and always makes everyone feel so at home. We love going to her house since we get to see extended family that we don't often see through the year. It's our chance to get caught up with everyone's exciting lives, and to show each other just how loved everyone is.

Here is the Costabile family enjoying a Christmas Day feast.

Jane and I couldn't resist the chance to take a picture with our "best buddy", Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim is the brother-in-law of our Grandpa Costabile. Grandpa's sister, Rose, was the last surviving sibling in Grandpa's family until just last month. We missed seeing our Aunt Rose this year, but we were so glad that our cousins, Jim and Pat, would come with Uncle Jim to celebrate Christmas with us. Being with family is such a huge part of what makes Christmas so special to me.

This was a special part of the day for the kids. Uncle Bob (my Dad's brother-in-law) came up with a special project for the little kids. They were going to make reindeer cupcakes. Uncle Bob put a cupcake inside of an ice cream cone, frosted it, stuck two mini pretzel rods on top, and then used M&Ms for eyes and a nose. They were adorable, and the kids loved making them. Here's Uncle Bob showing the kids how to make the special cupcakes.

Here are the kids hard at work, while Uncle Bob inspects their progress. Once all the cupcakes were decorated the kids passed them out to all of us. It was especially cute to see the little girls sweetly give their special reindeer cupcake to one of their cute boy cousins. :)