HO HO HO

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We have had a good, very lazy day.

I didn't get any great pictures. Guess I'm not the best photographer when I'm working within 15 minutes of waking up. But trust us, we had fun. Doug took a lot of video, but we don't have the right cord to upload it. I'm going to try to find one sometime so we can do that.

Our Christmas was not the biggest nor the smallest that we've ever had - but it was just right. Everyone got at least one thing that they really wanted (Morgan a big stuffed dog, Elise an ipod, Ashlyn a pink pony) and several things that they will love as well. We got a couple of new games that we've been playing today - Sorry Sliders and Apples to Apples Jr., and a couple of movies that we've watched as well - Tinkerbell and Dumb and Dumber (that was kind of a joke for Doug, but it was still fun to watch it again). We also got Mamma Mia but will probably wait until the kids are in bed to watch it.

Doug, Morgan and Elise are still in their jammies. Since it's almost 6:30, I'm guessing that is how they'll stay!

Ashlyn has changed clothes enough for all of them though - at least twice.

I'm the lone family member who actually took a shower and got dressed today, although that didn't happen until around 2:30 p.m.!

Most of our big celebration was last night. We had the missionaries over (all 4 elders who serve in our ward) for dinner - ham, Doug's yummy Swiss potatoes with Gruyere cheese, raspberry/orange jello, green beans with almonds and bacon, plain old boring corn for the kids. Our big venture was making homemade bread! I don't do that very often, but I wanted to try it this year and it was delicious, especially right out of the oven!

We had a little program, read the Nativity story, and did our Santa "gag" gifts.

For those who don't know our gag gift tradition, the kid who has most recently become a fluent reader gets to be Santa. They dress up as Santa and the other sisters get to be an elf and a reindeer. Mom writes poems that go with our funny gifts, and Santa and his helpers come out and read the poems and hand out the gifts (this is where Doug got "Dumb and Dumber"). Of course we make a big deal when Santa and his friends come in the room - hollering for the kids to come see to no avail.

I have to say that Elise was super cute this year. After the missionaries left and I was doing dishes, she came up to me and said, "mom, do you think they figured out it was really me? I tried to disguise my voice really good!". Lol!

After our little program, we ate the treats that everyone had brought over through the week, and had hot cocoa - which is kind of crazy because it was near 80 degrees yesterday and today!! After the missionaries left, we opened our pj's and went to bed.

We have another tradition of giving a new book on Christmas Eve that we read before going to bed that night. I distinctly remember wrapping that book, and yet I cannot find it!! Anywhere! I even remember seeing it under the tree once. Did the gift bandit get to it? I have no idea! I'm sure it will turn up at some point.

I also have to apologize to my Louisiana friends who might read this blog. I really had good intentions about getting neighbor and friend gifts out this year - but I just didn't get it done. I love you all and thank you for your friendship. Instead of a Christmas gift from us, maybe we'll have a big game night or something in a few weeks? It wasn't that I wasn't thinking of you, I just put too much on my plate. In more ways than one, lol!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!