Benscoter Family: December 2015

Our sweet Sophia turned 5 on December 1st. I made a pancake breakfast to start our day and then she and Tyler helped me make her chocolate birthday cake. She went to school that afternoon and Tyler and I were lucky enough to visit her class and bring a special birthday treat for Sophia and all of her classmates. Once we got back from school, we decorated her cake, opened presents, and had dinner. That evening Joe took Tyler to physical therapy while I took Sophia to church to practice the children's nativity play--Sophia chose to be a sheep :)

We decorated the inside of the house for Christmas on December 2nd On December 3rd Nana came to visit! On December 5th we hosted a pottery painting party to celebrate Sophia's birthday. All of the kids had fun painting and then we served Chick Fil A nuggets, sandwiches, and fruit for lunch. We finished the party with present opening...it was a hectic couple of hours but it was very fun! That night Joe and I went on a date night (thanks to Nana for watching the kids!). We went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping, had dinner at Cheesecake Factory, then we went to see Hunger Games. I love spending time with my handsome hubby!

December 6th was another special day...we got our Christmas tree! We went to a cool place where the kids got to ride horses, pet bunnies and a baby pig, and got a horse-drawn carriage ride. On December 10th the kids and I made 3 dozen cookies for Operation: Cookie Drop which is a program where homemade cookies are donated for young airmen that can't go home for Christmas. On our walk over to the drop off point the kids were playing around with our bags of cookies and they managed to turn several of them into crumbs...with my pregnancy hormones flowing I was practically in tears I was so upset! Oh well, hopefully some of the Cookies were still intact for someone to enjoy.

I went to work on December 11th. That morning I got a message on my work phone that my supervisor wanted to talk to all of the therapists at 12:30. When I walked into the conference room I realized that it wasn't a meeting but that my co-workers were throwing me a surprise baby shower! The room was decorated beautifully and we ate grilled cheese sandwiches followed by several delicious desserts! Baby #3 also got showered with all kinds of gifts to include toys, books, clothes, diapers, and wipes. I was incredibly shocked and honored by their thoughtfulness and generosity. That evening was a blast, too! Joe and I went to his squadron Christmas party which was held at a beautiful venue that had an abundance of delicious food. There were raffles, a DJ, a full plated meal, and lots of dancing.

December 19th was an awesome day because Nana, Papa, and Aunt Julie came to town! Shortly after they arrived we went to church for mass, nativity play practice, and a potluck dinner. The church hall was hectic (to say the least) and it got even more crazy when Santa appeared! The kids enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap and they even got several presents!

On December 20th we stayed busy with a trip to Panera for lunch, shopping at Target and Wegmans, followed by some pampering just for me! I had a prenatal massage that afternoon followed by a nice, long pedicure. It felt so amazing!

Joe and I went on another date night when we saw Star Wars in 3D on December 21st. The movie was really entertaining and I was glad that Joe had me watch all 6 previous Star Wars movies so that I was a little more familiar with some of the characters.

On December 22nd I got into the Christmas spirit by wrapping gifts for shoppers at the BX. It was part of a fundraiser that we did for the squadron spouse group. On December 23rd I got even more into the Christmas spirit by going to Sophia's class to help out with her school party. I got to bring Sophia and four of her friends around to different stations around the classroom where they played a variety of Christmas games. The kids were so cute and I really had a lot of fun. That night we went out to dinner at a restaurant in Medford called Braddock's. It was such a wonderful experience! The restaurant is in an old home and we were in a private room. The food was absolutely amazing, the services was awesome, AND we got serenaded by three women singing Christmas carols. It was an absolute blast! Late that evening Joe and Papa went to pick Melissa and David up from the airport.

Karen, Matt, and Abbey came to visit us on December 24th. It was certainly a wonderful way to start our Christmas Eve! We had lunch at the house and enjoyed their company for a few hours before we went to church. We all watched Sophia in the pageant play just prior to mass. The kids were well behaved throughout the couple of hours we spent at church so that was a huge blessing! After mass we came home and enjoyed a lasagna dinner and opened a few gifts. Once cookies, milk, and carrots were left out for Santa and his reindeer, we were all off to bed!

Christmas started around 8 in the morning and we opened gifts for a little while. We took a short break to eat before finishing up with presents. We had a calm afternoon followed by a wonderful beef tenderloin meal cooked by Nana. After the kids went to bed that night the adults played Apples to Apples which was a ton of fun!

We had another relaxing day on December 26th. We enjoyed lunch at Chick Fil A and watched the movie Frozen that afternoon (since Aunt Julie had never seen it!). We ordered pizza for dinner and then the adults played Apples to Apples again once the kids were asleep.

Nana, Papa, and Aunt Julie left for the airport early in the morning on December 27th. We got to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon with Aunt Melissa and Uncle David until they left for their flight in the evening. We really didn't do much except play games, relax, and watch TV but it was just what we all needed after a hectic Christmas!

We went to Men's Warehouse on December 31st so Joe could use his Christmas gift card. While we were there Joe picked out two new suits and also got a couple other things tailored. He looked so handsome and he will definitely be all set with fancy suits for a while! That night our friend Brusle came to visit! He made it in time for dinner and once the kids went to bed we watched some football. Of course, we all stayed up to watch the ball drop over New York City and we toasted the new year with sparkling cider. It was a great way to begin 2016!