A visit from Jack Frost

Last year it snowed in Dallas on Christmas day but unfortunately we were not there. This year it snowed in Atlanta on Christmas day but unfortunately we were not there. At least yesterday we had a visit by Jack Frost. Yep, we even had to scrap the ice off our windshields.

Can you see Mason's breath?

Rocking around the Christmas Tree

Pour yourself a cup of hot coffee and grab a leftover holiday cookie to nibble on while you enjoy this long post about our Christmas. This year was another year of Christmas firsts for us. This was the first year since Mason was born that we didn't either go out of town for the holiday or have someone visit us. We spend every other Christmas in Dallas with the Morgan side of the family. This was our year to travel to Texas however, Darin's brother Brent recently purchased a lake house in East Texas. We felt we would enjoy the new lake house more during the summer months rather than the dead of winter. As sad as we were to miss spending the holiday with family, we look forward to fishing, water skiing and camping at the lake house the summer.



We attempted to attend the children's mass at St. Agnes at 4:00 pm on Christmas Eve. I say "attempted" because we arrived 25 minutes early only to find the church completely full. One of the things I love about spending Christmas in Dallas is the fact that you can walk into church minutes before mass and find a seat right in the front pew. Apparently, not the case in Naples.



Luckily, St. Agnes is the newest catholic church in Naples and has the most cutting-edge technology. We were able to participate in mass by sitting on folding chairs in the Narthex and watching the mass on closed-circuit television. St. Agnes is always beautifully decorated for Christmas. As we waited for the traffic to clear, we seized the opportunity to take a few photos.





After mass, we headed home for our own Christmas Eve celebration. We exchanged our gifts to each other and opened gifts that arrived from extended family members.







Last but not least forgotten, Wagner. He really enjoyed his gift. I know of everyone, he was the only one happy that we had not gone to Dallas. For him, it was one less visit to the kennel.



After exchanging presents, we were able to skype with all the relatives in Dallas. They were all together at Granny and Grandpa's house for their own Christmas Eve celebration. We were able to speak individually with each family member. It was almost like we were there in person, you gotta love technology!



By the time we finished skyping, everyone was ready to hit the hay before Santa's arrival. Thankfully, Mason slept in until 7:00 am and waited patiently for his sister to awake before rushing to the Christmas tree. The big gifts this year included a PSP for Mason and a keyboard (with stand and stool) for Mackenzie.





I was concerned that the kids might be disheartened that we were alone on Christmas day. By chance, I was able to score four tickets to the sold out noon performance of a Holly Jolly Christmas at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. The show consisted of 3o holiday songs along with singing and dancing. The best news was that it included a lunch buffet, no need for me to spend time in the kitchen on Christmas day.





A few days before Christmas we received an unexpected invitation from a neighbor to join her and her family for dinner at her parents house in the exclusive community of Bonita Bay. Mackenzie was rather reluctant. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spend such an important holiday with a friend's grandparents that she didn't know that well. As I explained to her, those grandparents needed us as much as we needed them on Christmas. They have nine children of their own and only one child (my neighbor) lives in Naples. All of their other eight children are spread across multiple states and weren't able to make it home for Christmas. By joining them for dinner, we were able to spend time with friends and they felt as though they had a household of children and grandchildren enjoying the holiday.

Needless to say, Mackenzie and Mason had a great time. They decorated their own gingerbread houses, played bocce ball on the covered lanai, ate a delicious Italian meal, played cards, soaked in the spa and ended the evening watching professional football.









I want to conclude this extremely long post with a future Christmas wish for Mackenzie and Mason. Don't be afraid to be adventurous, try something new. Christmas isn't always about where you are or who you are with, it is about making the most of your holiday. Don't be afraid to change a holiday tradition, be flexible.

A special toast to my sister and brother-in-law who are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in St. Lucia. Talk about being adventurous! Kudos to their children who were flexible enough to still enjoy Christmas without having their parents in town.

Lastly, can anyone guess what present Darin gave me??

Trains, Trucks and Holiday Lights

We have been enjoying holiday light displays for the last two nights. We spent one evening in Fort Myers and rode the miniature train through Lakes Park to view the Christmas light display. Last night, Mackenzie invited some girlfriends over to view a local community's holiday display. We lucked out this year and were able to borrow a neighbor's pickup truck. We picked the perfect night as we joined by hundreds of others who were enjoying the evening. We were even followed by the Naples trolley and a few flatbed trailers.

However, the best holiday display can be found in our neighborhood. Our home, of course. Go Darin, Go Darin!

Giant Gingerbread House

We have a friend who lives just steps away from the Ritz Carlton in Naples. So, I suggested that we walk over to the Ritz to check out the two-story gingerbread house that was open to the public. It was amazing, complete with furniture and a fireplace inside.




We found Mackenzie's name written on one of the gingerbread stones on the walkway leading to the house.

Santa just happened to be staying a the Ritz and he scolded Mason regarding his shirt which said "Jingle Bells, All Girls Smell."
Luckily, the Santa confrontation ended with a hug and a big candy cane.

G.G.'s Nativity Scene

For the past week, Mackenzie has been asking daily to help set up my grandmother's nativity scene. Of the 4 children and 11 grandchildren, I am the lucky recipient of the nativity which sits beautifully on top of my great grandmother's antique upright piano. After looking at the photos below, I can tell who will be the next recipient!

Our Holiday Happenings around Naples

It has been a busy three weeks in December for us with a huge number of holiday happenings around Naples ...

Dec 5th: Lighting Up 5th Ave

Dec 7th: Holiday Parade

Dec 11th: A 16th birthday party for a special friend

Dec 11th: Bonita Boat Parade

Dec 14th: Cookies with Santa at Poinciana Elementary

Dec 16th: a chorus concert at North Naples Middle

Dec 17th: Our annual Texas Christmas "fix" arrived from my sister-in-law, Angie

Dec 17th: Two separate cookie exchanges

Mackenzie contemplating what Santa will bring her this year.

Come back again, even more holiday love to follow ...

A Night in Bethlehem

At church tonight, we went back in time to tour the City of David during the time of Jesus' birth. By the order of the Emperor Augustus Caesar, we had to sign in a the Census Table and travel around the many shops of the city. Each shop had a hands-on activity for the kids.

Painting Shop
Spice Shop
Leather Shop

You can tell that Darin really enjoyed the bakery!

The evening ended with a living nativity that included the three wise men and the little drummer boy. Santa even stopped by to show his respect to the baby Jesus. The young girl portraying Mary became very emotional and wept as Santa knelt next to her. In Mackenzie's words "it was very touching."

Lastly, I think Mason whispered in Santa's ear that he wants a PSP for Christmas. I guess we will know two weeks from tomorrow whether or not his wish came true.