Ho, Ho, Ho!

Christmas was so nice!

Nathan did wonderfully with all of the relatives. Even with all of the late hours, hectic schedules, and extra visitors, he really pulled through great!

I was out shopping on the 23rd, since I couldn't get much done on the 22nd. I made it out the door at the crack of dawn, literally. I had a lot of luck in the first store I went to, so I was able to wind up my huge shopping list before 10 am! Yay! Fortunately for me, dh was able to watch Nathan for me, so I could shop at my own (lightening) pace. Thank goodness.

I had most of the food prepared for Saturday and Sunday, so that all we had to do was pop it in the oven for a reheat, and we were set to go. With some determination, I was able to make it possible for my in laws not to have to cook at all, or go out to a restaurant, the entire weekend! I even had a breakfast casserole for everybody for breakfast. (It was a brand new recipe for me, but I thought it turned out really yummy!) For Monday, all I had to worry about was the turkey, and that's not a lot of work. There was plenty of leftovers for lunches and snacks, too.

I had all of the gifts wrapped before running out the door to my sister's Blue Jean Christmas (which was a relief). That was a lot of fun. We arrived just in time for Nathan to jump out of the car and hop on the horse-drawn wagon ride. Cool. He did so well with it!! This is the first year he really enjoyed it! We dressed him warmly enough (we made that mistake one year, and he was a miserable, crying popsicle). But he got off that wagon all smiles! It was good to see.

He was good with his cousins, too, but the noise level was having its effect. By the time we were getting ready to head out, he was getting really wound up. The timing was good.

He calmed down quite a bit on the way to Grandma & Grandpa's house. He did pretty well with all of the Christmas Eve gift giving. Even though it ran past his bedtime. I was very proud of him!

Christmas morning was nice. He didn't get everything he wanted from Santa, but he didn't seem to mind. (Yikes, he didn't have a single thing on his wish list for under $100! He even asked for the Playstation 3 AND the Wii!! Since he got a lot of smaller things, he didn't even miss those. Poor Santa didn't have room on his sleigh, or in his wallet, for those goodies.) He was a pretty happy camper with what he did get, and never once mentioned the things that didn't wind up under the tree. I think he's just glad that he didn't get socks or underwear like mommy and daddy get, heh heh heh.

The entire holiday was very nice. It was peaceful, and pleasant, and full of family. I'm looking forward to ringing in the New Year tonight. 2006 was not a very good year for me, for our family. I'm very optimistic that 2007 will be better.

Happy New Year to you all! May 2007 be full of family, friends and joy. May your health be good, and your successes be many. God Bless!