Today is my husband’s first day back to work following his vacation, I have some Chicken Tikka Masala simmering in the crock pot for today’s traditional feast of Epiphany, and we are easing back into a partial school week following our much needed two-week break.
I don’t even know where to start with all the blog posts that I’d love to write but I think I’ll just ease back into blogging with another Instagram Recap from our Twelve Days of Christmas!
January 5th – On the 12th Day of Christmas:
Twelve Days of Christmas Appetizers, Desserts, and Family Game Night!
We are still celebrating Christmas and just added another ornament to our tree! I’m headed to the kitchen now to start preparing this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party… Happy Twelfth Night!
January 4th – On the 11th Day of Christmas:
“Mommy! I the KING!”
January 3rd – On the 10th Day of Christmas:
Ignoring my to-do list, starting another beautiful puzzle, and enjoying every moment of these last few days of our Christmas break!
January 2nd – On the 9th Day of Christmas:
I don’t believe in coincidences and always love noticing the little reminders of God’s love and presence in my life. Many times in my past He has used special dates and feast dates to remind me that He has a plan and that “all things work for good for those who love God.” It brought tears to my eyes (but I wasn’t at all surprised) when the Saint Name Generator created by @jenniferfulwiler gave me St. John Neumann as my personal patron saint for 2015. His feast day is coming up on January 5th, my original due date for our last baby, Anthony, who I miscarried this past June 13th. God is good! I’m looking forward to this new year and seeing what He has in store for our family.#stjohnneumann #orapronobis
January 1st – On the 8th Day of Christmas:
Yesterday we took our children sledding for New Year’s Eve! 2014 was such a challenging year for our family, from start to finish, and this was such a nice way to end the year. {additional pictures here}
Love this guy! #soblessed {and, yes, I’m totally trying to hide my braces… has it been six months yet?!}
Following Father’s advice at Mass this morning, Sean and I spent some time together this afternoon enjoying the sunshine… It was so nice to walk the greenway and discuss our family resolutions. Happy New Year!
December 31st – On the 7th Day of Christmas:
Last sunset of the year… Goodbye 2014!
December 30th – On the 6th Day of Christmas:
We came home to some very happy kiddos and a darling gingerbread house! Thanks for babysitting, Julianna!
Floor seating at a local Japanese restaurant… It’s such a treat to have one of my little sisters babysit tonight so Sean and I could take our oldest two out to dinner and a movie!
December 29th – On the 5th Day of Christmas:
I ❤ puzzles
Baking a Orange Rum Zum Cake in a Cathedral bundt pan for today’s feast of St. Thomas Becket {and resisting the urge to drink the rest of that bottle of rum, or at least a few shots!}
It turned out SO good! I haven’t posted the recipe yet, but I found it in The Cake Mix Doctor.
December 26th-28th – On 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Day of Christmas:
I didn’t post on Instagram and only picked up my camera once during these three days of Christmas… Not like me at all, but they were some very emotionally difficult days for me which included the memorial of an old friend at a local Christian church and conversations with people I hadn’t seen or even spoken with in nearly 18 years. Thank you all for the prayers, they were such a blessing!
December 27th – Building his Christmas gift, the Lego Creator Pet Shop!
December 25th – On the 1st Day of Christmas:
I can’t remember the last time I’ve had nine of my siblings over at the same time! (Just 2 of the 12 of us missing – wish you were here too Sean and Jamie!) My kids are in heaven visiting with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and a couple cousins! Merry Christmas!
Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!
You can follow me on Instagram here.
If you’d like to share your own Instagram Recap from the 12 Days of Christmas (or just a photo recap if you are not on Instagram!) I’d love to see your pictures! You can add the direct link to your post below and please include a link back to this post.
I got St Martha for the year to help me with something in particular. 🙂
2015-01-07 12:00:15
Thank you for updating. Your church is so beautiful, comppared to our, and the nativity there is a dream. Praying for you. Lego's a great hit in our house as well. Sorry for the rambling and merry Christmas.
2015-01-07 14:26:29
Where is the beautiful shell ornament from?
2015-01-07 15:59:13
It's the 2014 Always Remembered A Celebration of Life Ornament. We purchased ours at a local Hallmark on Sunday now that all their ornaments are on clearance/50% off.
2015-01-07 16:12:15
Looks like you had great fun as a family! I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas. We used multiple of them this Christmas. I linked to your blogs in my 12 Days and Epiphany posts. Thanks for your generosity, and God bless!
2015-01-07 18:59:08
What a beautiful Christmas and 12 Days of Christmas you had with your family Jessica! The 2014 sunset picture is so frame worthy! And our family got St. Veronica whose feast day is on July 12th, my wedding anniversary! May you have a blessed new year!
2015-01-10 00:51:40