Well it happened fast...but another wonderful Christmas has come and gone. Life seems to be speeding up to me but I can't understand why.... I was so not prepared for Christmas this year but it comes whether we are ready or not....lol I had all my gifts purchased for the kids...but not for other family or friends. Those presents were definately a work in progress.



Here is our beautiful real Christmas tree with all the presents under it. We snuck down just after Santa left and got a photo !!

So we got to bed around 2am....Christmas morning and the kids woke up around 8am. I got plenty of sleep and was well rested. I ran down first to get the video camera going and then they came a runnin' and boy did their faces light up when they saw the sight !! I love this moment more than anything. That excitement. It is short lived however and then the mess begins. I struggle with the mess but have gotten way better over the years at relaxing and knowing that the trash can all be picked up and it will not stay that way forever. LET IT GO. They had lots of fun opening gifts and then Kyle opened his ONE gift. A laptop. First time in my life I only had ONE package for him to open. It kills me but at the price of his laptop it just had to be that way. He was so happy to have a nice NEW laptop. His father had bought him a used or remade one years ago but it broke. He really needed this for college so it was practical.

Here is Kyle checking out his new laptop......and Brianna and Christian playing with the new Batman Cave .....daddy is in the background playing his new game...it's a handheld game. He got two. He loves them. He also got some new pajamas and work pants. I got new underwear, slippers and a heating blanket. That is my greatest gift since we have no heat in the room that I sleep. That keeps me so cozy and warm.

Here is a nice baby doll that Brianna got. She loves her. She makes very realistic sounds and drinks and goes potty too !! Makes her feel like a real mommy. She LOVES to play mommy. We call it playing neighbor cuz she is always my next door neighbor and comes to visit carrying her little ones. I love her imagination.

The gifts were nice.....everyone had a nice relaxing day at HOME !! I baked a ham which for some odd reason came out PERFECT. It was so delicious that Jimmy commented several times about it. I made that with mashed potatoes and corn and some bisquits. A great day for us. I LOVE BEING AT HOME. We got sleet and freezing rain so it was nice to stay in and watch kids play with toys all day. The following day we drove to Baltimore to spend time with Jimmy's family. A two hour drive. The fog was extremely thick. Thank God we made it there and home safely. We ate a great meal and spent a full day there laughing, talking and then watching little ones open presents. We left around 10 or 11 I guess so thats why I was really tired this morning in Sunday School at 9am after getting home after midnight, but God woke me up so I went!!! Glad I did. I came home from church......we had leftover ham and watched the Steelers beat the Ravens.....and then I took a two hour nap.....that I really needed badly. Then I got up and put the finishing touches on some gifts that I still need to hand out. Now the family is watching a really strange movie called G Force. It is really weird. So I used this time wisely to blog. Time to go to bed....off to the Landmann's tomorrow for lunch, some sewing and possibly and fried chicken cooking lesson !!! LIFE IS GOOD.

Be blessed !!