I Got What I Wanted.

Really my wish for this Christmas was to have fun, be happy, relax, and enjoy Christmas instead of being let down from all the build up. I have to say this was the most relaxed Christmas season we have had since the kids were born. We agreed that each of us would get each other person one gift. That meant that we would each get four gifts total. (Besides whatever aunts, uncles and grandparents gave us). That took a lot of pressure off of our shopping. And there was a lot less chaos Christmas morning - but the kids were JUST as excited! If not MORE excited because they got the chance to GIVE gifts this year instead of just receiving them, as in years past. On top of that, my mother-in-law went down to her other son's house for Christmas, leaving only one relative in town for us to share the day with. We woke up at a leisurely 8:00 am, opened presents slowly and then had french toast before heading over to my sister's house to see the family. Once we were there, we just hunkered down. We relaxed. We lounged. Okay, we cooked and cleaned the kitchen and cleaned the kitchen again and cooked some more. But I didn't have that added concern of watching the clock to make sure we divided up the time evenly between Dane's family and my family. We were just there and that was it. So relaxing.

Plus, it was my birthday and Dane and the kids surprised me with birthday cards and gifts, and candles on top of the delicious blackberry cobbler. We watched movies and gabbed and laughed and watched Alex play his new Guitar Praise video game. We played board games and worked puzzles and wore new slippers and drank wine-a-ritas. It was such a good day!

Here are some of the terrific presents I got this year:

a Sonicare toothbrush

Kate Moss perfume

my dad's driftwood art

The Devil's Bonbons made by my genius sister in law

a book of essays about the works of Randall Jarrell

spa products galore

family photos

a gift card for Barnes and Noble

a new camera

a complete set of bare minerals cosmetics

a bracelet beaded by my 7 year old daughter

and here are some of the gifts I had the delight of giving this year:

to my husband: Fossil sunglasses

to my kids: educational gadgets [microscope, telescope, smart globe]

to my best friend: PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren

to my relatives: homemade Lapbooks about each of them - their home, their activities, their special interests, etc.