The Last Week of December 2023!

There were so many grateful moments of my life this year but I have to say that this past week was the best and a great ending to 2023! 

I had all my kids home together and not only did they all catch up on sleep but we also had fun playing lots of games and just spending quality time together. We did manage to eat at canes, play chess, take a lot of BeReals, and Noah played his new guitar for us. He's getting better and better. He's been wanting a new one since he started lessons three years ago and I'm so happy that his big sis Sierra & Sawyer gifted it to him. There are a few more moments that I captured as you read and I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year ahead! May 2024 bring you nothing but joy and happiness! 

"What Will NY152 Say Today, I Wonder"

 

One thing for sure is that I'm really going to miss fall. Winter has arrived and I'm enjoying the temperatures because it hasn't been too cold...yet. It's been a great December so far and can't believe we have two days left in the month. I hear that we are going to be blanketed with a ton of snow this year. Last year we got zilch so maybe we will get hit hard this winter. I hope not but I honestly have kind of grown out of the snow phase. As my kids have gotten older along with me I just can't deal with too much cold. And because I'm going through menopause right now I get extremely hot so maybe winter this year won't be too bad for me. LOL! It's been a great December so far and can't believe we have two days left in the month. I do appreciate all the seasons especially when that first snow hits and grateful to live in an area where we get all four but it's nice to go outside with just a sweater on with no coat, and sit on the steps of Kathleen Kelly's brownstone and watch the city as people walk by! 

Christmas Morning.

 

I’ve never been so at ease than today knowing that these kids are all here at home with us happy and safe! That we can all be less stressed and sleep soundly for at least 10 days without any worry. And that is the best gift ever! Hearing the laughter and joy from them. Having my girls especially my youngest run towards me as I opened the door only to receive the biggest hug mixed in with immediate tears. And I cried too. I love, love this times of year and appreciate all their hard work that they do while they are away at college. And that makes me one heck of a proud mom. I wish they can all go to school close to me and not on the other side of the country, but I'm grateful that they have opportunities to experience life out of their comfort zone. I am extremely grateful that they all arrived safe and that they are all for the rest of the holiday season. Truly one of the best Christmases ever.

Christmas Eve Sunday.

Christmas this year has indeed felt a little different. Bittersweet different. This past Sunday we had one kid with us at church. Our girls flew in on a redeye Sunday evening and arrived early on Christmas morning. It was a beautiful time in spite of missing our three girls but we still kept this tradition of going to the Washington D.C. temple to see the Christmas lights. And they were beautiful as always. I love that we have temples close by so that we can have opportunities like this. They are constant reminders of the Savior and a wonderful refresher as to how we can start out the new year. Going to the temple truly renews the soul and helps me to live my life a bit easier. The spirit is wonderful and I'm so grateful to Him that plays the main role during the holiday season. Jesus is the reason for the season! Here's hoping y'all had a wonderful Christmas with those you love.

An Afternoon In The West Village.

Last weekend we celebrated our 29th anniversary and it was the simplest one yet. I'm not one to brag or post about every little thing we did or place we ate. I just love the fact that our son was with us for a couple of hours to take our pictures for free! Noah loves the west village and so we went ahead and walked around and Noah just captured us so well. For a moment I felt like we were in a scene from "When Harry Met Sally". It was so much fun. He's got a good eye and there were a couple of moments where I told Noah to just keep clicking that camera no matter what we were doing. He's learning and loves photography. I even captured a few shots of him as well. I love this kid and I think he did a pretty good job!

Meeting John Stamos!

When my sister came to visit me earlier in the fall we had the opportunity to meet John Stamos! This was a surprise for my sister as he was one of her high school crushes from the 80's. I loved him in Full House and he played a perfect Andrew Kissel brother on the lifetime film The Two Mr. Kissel's. He is an amazing character and as we met he was very engaging in conversation and extremely kind. There were at least 1200 people at this particular book signing and if his assistant wasn't so quickly to rush us out we probably could have conversed for longer than two minutes. I loved his book and his authenticity when it came to when he first took the job to star in Full House. Such a gentle soul and I am so glad that I met him and that I made my sisters dream come true! 

53.

 

Another year, another birthday and this tall drink of water turns 53! He continues to shine and smile no matter what. I love how jovial he always is no matter what situation we are in. He deserves all the goodness and love especially this time of year because he is literally Santa Claus. He delivers packages all day long for the entire month of December except for Sundays but luckily we have him home early on Saturdays and we always make up for the days we aren't spending time as a family another time. He loves making people happy when he delivers packages to his clients and those tips he gets this time of year are worth his hard work all year long! So proud of my blue collar worker and that he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Even at the age of 53! Happy birthday babe!

And The Adventure Began 29 Years Ago....

So yesterday was our 29th wedding anniversary and I honestly can't believe how fast this past year is already flying by. I look back at last years photos when I still had a little bit of brown hair and now we are both completely grey. Okay, he's pretty much bald but I have gone completely grey! And it all honesty feels good to me. I love how we both embrace our age and don't give any mind to it. We love it and it is liberating to just grow old and let go! Sure we feel our age physically but not mentally. We have young hearts and we love adventure! We love to goof around and dance like it's 1989! So here's to 29 years of youthful living. With the same boy. Still surviving. Still living and loving on each other. May we live to see the fullest as we age. Cheers to 29 years with the sweetest boy I've ever known! 

Meeting Fran!!!

Ever since I saw "Pretend it's a city" on Netflix last year and just knowing that Fran has lived in New York city her whole life (now that's a true New Yorker) I just had to meet her. So when I heard she was coming to the city to have a conversation with Martin Scorsese I had to get tickets! And so I did! Jon and I had an amazing time meeting her and because she's in her 70's was wearing a mask. I don't blame her. She's a petite little thing and I wouldn't want her to catch covid. I absolutely love her! She was so cordial and we engaged in conversation. She is as funny in real life as she is in the documentary. So if you like sarcasm, someone who tells it like it is all while giving weird looks Fran is the one to "hang" with. And if she ever comes to your town go and meet her and buy her book too! She's a real pal! 

Oh The Things We See In New York City!

Ahhh! You never know what you're going to see in the city! A couple of years ago we stumbled upon the coolest, most unique installation in the city. We were just walking around union square when we spotted a REAL taxi cab that was halfway into the ground. I mean, I've seen some crazy stuff but this was absolutely unreal! I loved the creation and the fact that it had a chess board on one of the tables with yellow stacked chairs was a plus. Noah loves chess and sat down to check it out. The installation was only up for that day so we were lucky to have been at the right place at the right time! 

A Little NYC Guide For The Holidays!

It's been a while since I've done an update of things to do while in New York city and although I'm not a native new Yorker I can say that I feel confident enough to know of what fun events are going on such as places to go to as a family, fun places to go for a family photo, places to have some yummy hot chocolate and overall doing the touristy thing that all tourists love to see when they come to the Big Apple. 

Miles Has Returned & Probably For The Last Time!

December has arrived and so has Miles our little elf. I still can't believe he continues to return ,every Christmas season, but I have a strong feeling that this will be his last year here. I will always remember the first time he arrived at our little house in Blackwood. And again when we moved to Windsor. It was so fun watching Noah and Chelseas reaction every morning in a different spot doing the funniest things. But I have a feeling that this will be Miles last year visiting us. 

Noah has been sending me Tik Tok videos in regards to "elf on the shelf" and how he sees moms giving ideas as to what to do with the elf. Noah even asked me last year if he was real and flying back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa how good he's been. Whether or not Noah still believes in him or not is fine with me. He may also be pretending to believe in Miles to make me feel better and if he is bless his heart. 

He did wake up this morning looking for him and when I told him he was on the garland on the staircase his eyes lit up. It'll be bittersweet once he goes home for good. Like forever, and when he does I will miss that twinkle in Noah's eye when he sees Miles in a different spot. Noah will be 15 next Christmas and yeah, I think this will be Miles final year with us so we better make it count this month!