Merry Christmas 2008!

I hope that your day was as wonderful and blessed as mine! The girls slept in a bit and when they woke up, they had completely forgotten about stockings (aka buckets). We made a visit to the American Girl store last Saturday and that was their main present, so all we did this morning was stockings. I have to admit that I like it that way. They loved all the stuff they got and had time to enjoy all their little gifts without being too overwhelmed. Mr. at Home opened his gifts, which was dominated by a black wool coat that looks fabulous on him. *I* got a new camera - woohoo!! A new point and shoot and it's RED!

After stockings, the girls decorated a little birthday cake for Jesus, completely coating the thing with a thick layer of sprinkles. We sang and had birthday cake and sausage balls for breakfast - yummy!

We got dressed, Mom bustled around the kitchen with last minute cooking details, and then we loaded up 2 cars to head over to my grandmother's house. The family meets there every Christmas Day for a big buffet lunch and gift exchange. We stuffed ourselves silly on turkey, ham, Mom's dressing (using the family recipe), Aunt Shirley's baked beans, Grandmother's chocolate pudding cake, Aunt Kelly's brownie pie - really, there were too many to name.

The children bounced around anxiously waiting for the adults to finish eating, because they knew they couldn't open gifts until then. It's fun to watch the youngest generation do what we ourselves were doing not so many years ago. Nowadays we're comparing who has the most gray hair :-)

The adults had a "chinese" gift exchange where we drew numbers, picked gifts, and stole the best ones from each other. I stole a gift card, then an awesome bird feeder (which my mother stole from me, but then she got it stolen from her), then the gift card again. It, at least, won't take up too much room in the car on the way back. The bird feeder was really too big to carry home.

Speaking of room in the car, we're pretty well packed and ready for an early departure tomorrow. It's been a good trip with lots of friends, family, and food. I must admit, however, that I'm ready to go home and sleep all weekend. May your weekend be as restful.

Merry Christmas!