Catch Up from Christmas

I have not blogged for awhile as it has been so busy but we love this time of year as the weather in AZ is perfect! (This week is a little cold but it is usually in the 70's) We live in extreme heat during the summer so this is our chance to get outside and enjoy the nice weather!

We hosted Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house with family from both sides! We had lots of fun celebrating with everyone. My husband is an amazing host and cook and he rigged the ping pong table so we could all eat around one big table... that's right... we ate Christmas dinner on our ping pong table as you can see in the picture below!

Tommy got a special visit from Santa on Christmas Eve and we sang Christmas carols, exchanged gifts, and blessed the Christmas tree. Tommy loved seeing Santa and still talks about the tennis shoes that Santa brought for him as an early Santa gift. Lily cried and did not really enjoy Santa this year but hopefully, she will like him more next year.

I love the picture below as it showcases Christmas in Arizona..... I miss having a white Christmas but I also love the sun and palm trees!

We love our kids! Tommy and Lily are the joys of our life and it is so fun to see them grow and play together! We want more kids someday but for now we are enjoying our family of four!


We were able to sneak away after Christmas for three days and two nights to Texas as my cousin Michelle got married! Joe and I had a great time and Michelle and Garrett's wedding was beautiful! I was so worried about leaving Lily as she refuses to take a bottle but she did great with Nana and Auntie JoJo and it was so nice that Joe and I were able to get away without the kids so we could celebrate Michelle's wedding without distractions! Below is a picture of all my cousins at the wedding.

We celebrated New Years with some of our close couple friends and their families! I feel so blessed as we have made some great friends in AZ. Joe and I are part of a group called TOOL (Teams of Our Lady) where we meet once a month without kids and have dinner and wine together and then we discuss God and pray together! It is a great group for Joe and I and we look forward to it every month. We also like getting together with all of them with our kids like we did in the picture below on New Years!


Like I said earlier, we are enjoying the nice weather in AZ and we try and go hiking once every couple of weeks with the kids. We like to go to Usery Park as you can hike and then let the kids play on the playground and have a picnic!


I am also thankful for the mom friends I have made in AZ. I am involved in a couple different playgroups and bible studies. Not only do we go to play dates but it is also fun to go out with friends without the kids. Below is a picture of all of us Mom's out for dinner right before Christmas! I am so thankful for all of the friendships I have made in AZ!