Merry Christmas!

Or "Buon Natale" as we say in our neck of the woods. This is our second Christmas in Italy and well, that just seems crazy! I can't believe we've been here that long. Last year we celebrated Christmas living in a hotel and then headed to Venice the next day. I was seriously considering making it a tradition and going back to Venice on the 26th this year but B has to work. And now the forecast calls for rain so it's a no go. The kids and I will probably have a pajama day and just play with new toys.

We had a very nice, quiet Christmas at home this year. We went to our good friends house yesterday for "Christmas Dinner'' and it was really nice. Getting a few families together (most with 3 or 4 kids each) it was loud but in a good way. Today we woke up and signed into Skype so that Nanaw and Papa could virtually join us. The kids opened stockings and presents, we set up toys and Leappad's, we ate a late breakfast and napped. We played with toys, watched Christmas movies and just lounged around...all day. We never left the house.

This is our third Christmas without family (yes, I'm counting) and it's hard. I'm not gonna lie. At first it was ''Hey this is nice...no stress, no rush, no hurry" but now it's just kinda...boring. I miss the chaos. The disagreements. The squealing over who was gonna pass out presents or who was sitting where. All ''us woman'' in grandma's kitchen arguing about where the good gravy boat is. The homesickness is hitting hard this year. I think it's even harder because the kids are older and expressing that they miss opening presents with their cousin Isabelle (Bubba). Or they say things like ''I want to move back to America''. (Pooks' words). My brother and my sister in law had a baby in October...I'm an Aunt to the CUTEST little guy and I haven't even met him. It's hard...really hard. I'm quite literally, a small town Kansas girl who never lived more than 2 hours away from my family and now I'm 1/2 way around the world. Italy is amazing, and the things that I've been able to do/see/eat/drink/visit and people I have met have been more than amazing, but I really did want to be ''home for the holidays''.

But, we did make the best of it. Like I said we spent Christmas Eve with our nearest and dearest friends. We woke up this morning and the kids were VERY excited to see that Santa found us!

 

It was a morning well spent and the kids loved their gifts. So thank you to everyone who sent them here, I know it isn't easy nor cheap, but we appreciate it. Pooks said it best before bed ''It's not about the getting...it's about the people'' and this year, we were really missing some important ones. ♥