Well I had a great and difficult Christmas. It was my Grandpa Whip’s last Christmas with us, and I was blessed to have time to hold his hand and hear his stories. I regret not taking more time to do that before. Very bittersweet!

Sorry for the post last night, I had written a long post and then Ecto ate it all up! I guess I made it hungry? I just needed a break to enjoy some final Christmas moments with my family. I’m sure you all understand.

Here are some pictures from the last few days, I will recap today’s eats in the next post.

This Christmas included plenty of cookies of course.

Watching “A Christmas Story” (not all the way through though) may have to watch it all the way through soon!

Meeting my stepdad Dave’s family for the first time. This was their traditional spread..

I had just eaten breakfast but I had to give credit for the awesome food!

P.S., for those of you not from Florida, this is what you may find in your backyard in Ft. Lauderdale.

Yep, that’s normal. He was huge.

This is my cousin Krista and I(sorry the picture is so dark). I had to take a picture because every year my Grandpa Tony has spiked eggnog. You just knew, as a kid, to stay away from the eggnog with nutmeg shaved on top. Last year I was legal to drink, but we weren’t here. This was my year!

Krista- What’d you think?

Katy- It tasted like eggnog..it just..burns on the way down.

A picture I took in my Grandma Joan’s greenhouse of one of her gorgeous orchids.

The Italian side of my family and their spread! Pasta, sausage, meats and cheeses, salads. Yum!

I made sure to get lots of green on my plate along with a little pasta and a little eggplant parmesan bread. Yum!

I had leftover pasta when I got home.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas and I am so unbelievably blessed!! It was also very difficult with my Grandpa being close to the end of his life. I just hope I can see him one more time. There were a lot of tears but I got enjoy a few cherished moments with him. Never waste time with family, cherish every moment you have!!

I hope I didn’t bum you all out. I really had a great Christmas. I miss my family already!

How was your Christmas?

Katy