Merry Christmas!

Hope the day is/was a special one for you. We enjoyed a nice leisurely morning waking up a little after 8am, the 4 of us eating breakfast together, and then turning on Mannheim Steamroller and opening presents around the tree. As of 12:50pm, we were all still in our pajamas - but that didn't last for long. Believe it or not, the guys are going to the 24 hour health club to run in a little while. Darn....too bad Jazzercise class was canceled this morning and this evening! You KNOW I'd be there!

So...what did I get for Christmas? At the risk of not listing EVERYTHING, I'll list some!

• a wonderfully leisurely morning with my family. We don't get much one-on-one (four-on-four) time like this any more
• a Jan Karon Book called "Home to Holly Springs" (from David)
• a new wallet (from Susan)
• a 2008 Poster calendar from Mom (I hang 3 months at a time over my desk)
• 2 books, a dish towel, a nice picture frame with a photo of Mike's Mom & Insta-Dad Jess, and a small handwritten "note"
• a Plum colored sweater (as close to a Virginia Tech color as Mike could find)
• a cream colored sweater
• tan jeans
• Kitchen stuff -- garlic press, stainless steel soap, new measuring cups, a new oven mit
• some socks ...aka "Boston" (several items for some of us were bought on our anniversary trip to Boston last month...Socks, Shirts, more socks...but none that SAY Boston but have been labeled "Boston")
• Solar Lights! Yes...I have been wanting new sidewalk lights to line the path of our sidewalk that goes from the driveway to the front door in front of the house - and as un-romantic as Mike thought that was, he got them for me (did I mention though, he's attempting to install them right now?). Our "old" lights weren't working too well - we kept replacing bulbs, but bulbs weren't the problem. The light set was probably installed by the original builder, and it was just time for them to go as roots from bushes I think messed with some of the electrical wires.
• Jackie Chan's Extra Green Tea - Raspberry flavored! I've been helping our local GNC pay their mall rent all year!
• Canvas grocery bags, and a cute little bamboo cutting board (from the Houghton family - Mike's oldest sister)
• Scone Mix and Jam (from the O'Loughlin family - Mike's youngest sister)
• A pottery dish maid for heating brie cheese in (thank you Steve & Lina)...okay - we'll confess - we dove into that one earlier in the week and have already enjoyed some brie with Mango Chutney! YUM! (who knew I liked something with the name "chutney"?)

Susan has plans to bake us a cherry apple pie for dinner -- she's already made the crust and it's in the fridge; sweet potato casserole; green beans; and baked macaroni. All this to be served with our Honey Baked ham. Her good friend Kara is already over to help cook (and eat!).

Merry Christmas! Hope your day is a special one!

(I have no quote of my own for today - but here's one I found thanks to Google.)

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The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:
the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
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