My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

While my family was visiting, we decided to venture into NYC and brave the cold and the holiday shoppers in search of the American Girl dolls we had promised Becky and Susie months ago as a reward (for stopping their thumb-sucking habits).  The kids had no idea what to expect, since they’d never been in a big city before, and we were all so excited to see their reactions!  They did not disappoint. 

We took the train into the city, which is the part of the day the boys had been looking forward to, and it was smooth sailing.  The boys were ecstatic they didn’t have to wear seat belts!  They asked at nearly every stop if we were there yet. 😉 Once we exited Grand Central Station (one of my favorite places), the kids did great in the chilly air since we had bundled them up head to toe.  It helped that we had an abundance of adults to watch over all the kids – not only were my mom and sister and mother-in-law there, but Jim took the time off work, and our niece Alli had flown out to surprise the kids, so we had plenty of hands on deck.      And especially toward the later afternoon when the crush of pedestrians increased around Rockefeller Center, we needed every one of us to keep track of the little people!  In a matter of a few hours, we managed to see Time Square, visit the Toys R Us there (where the kids were VERY impressed with the huge dinosaur as well as the selection of electric ride-on toys), see the Rockefeller Center tree and skating rink, and go to the American Girl store.  It was all so wonderful!  The girls were thrilled with their new dolls and outfits that their Bubba and Grammie bought them (Becky chose Rebecca and Susie chose Kit – they had picked out these specific dolls months in advance), and we all loved seeing the city decorated for Christmas.  And believe it or not, we even had enough energy to go to the mall later that night and see Santa and knock out some more shopping.  It was a perfect day! 

We had an early Christmas with my family!  More pictures to come!

Guess who’s coming tonight, bearing gifts?  No, Santa’s not coming early!  It’s even better – Grammie and Grandpa and Aunt Angie are arriving!  We have some very excited little kiddos here (and one excited Mom)!