At her insistence...

Because Amy is insistent, here is my holiday blogging contribution.
A laundry list, of sorts.

Thursday morning, I went to a Christmas tea at my friend Randi's house. She's such a wonderful hostess, and I had a great time visiting with all the ladies. From there, I went to the school where the kids were having their parties. They gave their teachers gift cards for coffee and ice cream, as well as pink shredders that they each customized with paint and stickers.

Friday was the first day of Christmas break, so the kids and I did some housework, some baking, and broke in a new Tumbling Towers game.








Saturday, my family began arriving and we're having a great time. My brothers arrived around lunchtime, and we visited before the boys played football in the yard.

My sister and her family arrived in the evening, and we siblings went to dinner alone while all the spouses and children stayed home and played party games on the XBox. We went to Texas Roadhouse and waited in the warmth of the bar instead of outside in the freezing cold. Doesn't that make for a lovely family photo? I got carded for my beverage, which absolutely made my night. Probably because I'm dressed like a college student trying to not look like a college student.



Somewhere during this time, my laptop died -- two days after my one year warranty expired. James tried some things with the RAM, but thinks the motherboard needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, neither of us know a thing about computers, so part of my Christmas break will be spent with the Geek Squad. After dinner, we came home for a night of board game fun, playing Apples to Apples and the new Cranium Wow. We stayed up way too late and had way too much fun!



This morning, we went to a candlelight service at the church we now call home. The children were in service with us, which was quite a lovely experience.




We came home to more family time and dinner preparation with a turkey and a ham on the menu. Uncle Russell distributed new bicycles for the kids to ride while we were cooking. No wonder they love Unco Wuss-O!



The little ones are now being readied for bed, and cards are being shuffled for the next round of games. We are all having such a great time, and I couldn't be more pleased by all the air mattresses on the floor and the shoes strewn about. Unfortunately, part of the plans have changed, sending my brothers and their families home tomorrow. As a result, we're opening presents in the morning, and taking Christmas as a day off. We'll likely sleep in, see a movie, play with new toys, and catch up on rest for the remainder of the week.

Be safe in your travels,
Be grateful in your gatherings,
Be blessed as you celebrate this Chrismas season...