Where do I Begin?

Facebook is a blog thief. I am such a slacker since joining Facebook, but I would like to get better. So much has happened over the past 2 months, but I just now, amidst the Christmas wreckage, have TAKEN the time to download my photos, so I will try to catch you up.....in no particular order. If I went in order, I would blog about Christmas in February, so I will start there and randomly post other happenings. We traveled to NY for Christmas. 3 sick kids and 1 sick Mommy and all. It was quite interesting. We had a great time anyway.
If you have never celebrated Christmas Italian style, you can't even begin to imagine the amount of eating that takes place. Just when you think you can't eat another bite, you do. And then another and another and another. If this was my mom's blog she would give a detailed list of the menu from beginning to end. Because that is what an Italian celebration is all about. Well, there's lots of love along with the food. Actually, I think food and love are synonymous.

Here are the cousins on Christmas morn.
We traditionally take a photo of them dressed up and give a copy to each of our aunts and our grandmother, but since the kids were sick it was impossible. At the time we planned to do it, Sadie was covered in snot, feverish and ready to go down for a nap.

Thea opening her "MerMer Hair" doll. The story behind this one is funny. This was the only toy she asked for, pretty much every day since Thanksgiving and she didn't even know what it was. See, Aunt Jenny had seen it in the Disney store, thought Thea would like it, and told me about it over Thanksgiving and Thea heard. Ever since then, she has talked about it incessantly. She even told Santa at Sammy's preschool party (but that's another post). A few weeks before Christmas, my cousin Jodi asked what Thea wanted. I told her the story and that was that...or so I thought. You see, my cousin Jodi loves the Christmas Hunt of finding that perfect toy/gift that will make someone's Christmas complete. Kinda like the movie Jingle All the Way. Next thing I know I have 4 emails and a voicemail from said cousin telling me she found the doll and how much it cost (since I hadn't even started looking for it yet). Before I knew it, the doll was purchased and being shipped to my cousin. She had already figured out when she would drop it off at my sister's house so that Thea would have her "MerMer Hair" doll on Christmas morn. The funniest part is that when she opened it, we had to tell her what it was. But be assured, once we told her, she was THRILLED.
Thanks "Best Cousin". This was a fun Christmas memory.

Grandma Vennera with 5 of her great grandkids!

Grandpa and his grandkids!

The Vennera Ladies!

I will post more pictures soon. Thanks to all my family who worked very hard to make this Christmas very delicious..... I mean blessed!