A quiet Christmas and thinking about the new year ~

The Christmas tree at my Mom and Dad’s house

Christmas Eve found us traveling down to my Mom and Dad’s house for a family celebration.  The day didn’t quite go the way we anticipated since so many of us were still under the weather.  Once we got there, we found out that my Grandma and Uncle Red were also sick and not able to come.  It was a small gathering but we still  had fun. 

(And I don’t know about where you live but there is a cold virus spreading like crazy down here.  So many people are sick with this stuff right now.  It makes me ready for the spring. {smile})

One thing I remember of Christmases from my teenager years was that my Dad always tried to trick me as to what was in my presents.  You see, I could often pick up a box, shake it, and guess the contents.  I mean, how hard is it to guess “clothes” or “gift card” which were my typical requests.  So my Dad would wrap my gifts but include bricks or tools.  Sometimes he would wrap a lot of boxes and the last little box would hold my actual present.  He and I had fun with the Christmas presents!

This year, he decided to shake it up a bit for my kids.  The older kids were receiving a joint gift.  You can imagine their surprise when they unwrapped the box and found that they had a memory foam mattress pad for the four of them!  (Of course, there was not actually a mattress pad in the box.)

And then as they opened the box, they found some pillows!  I wish I had pictures of their faces!

But then they dug to the bottom of the box to find their new gift which was something they have been wanting for a long time.  It made me laugh to see my kiddos go through what I went through as a kid.  My Dad loves to make everyone smile. 

At the end of the day, we headed home and played with their new gift.  Everyone climbed into bed and awoke early the next morning to open their gifts. 

Now, you might have noticed that I don’t have many pictures posted here.  (Which is very odd for my blog posts.)  I was feeling really badly during Christmas and I hardly snapped one shot.  I only had 25 pictures on my camera of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  And about half of them were taken by one of the kids who got the camera.  (See, I told you I was feeling badly!)

However, I did get this shot from Christmas morning.  I figured that I’d better take one or I’d regret it.  This is after the presents were opened and I’d all ready started to pick up.  Otherwise, it would have been a lot messier!

And that is our very quiet Christmas!

Now, if you’re still hanging with me after that boring post…

Every new year, I like to set new goals to keep me focused over the new year.  I’ve been thinking on these over these past few days and I hope to be sharing more with you soon.  I’m also planning a little garden talk too.  So on that note, I’ll see you all soon.  Have a blessed day!