Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! ;) We had a wonderful time...well, minus a crabby D.J. Christmas Eve we spent the night at my mom's and had a fun time. My mom and Keith have a fireplace in their back yard so we roasted marshmellows that night and had a great time. Mom and Keith cooked an awesome dinner, complete with ham and mashed potatoes and yams and my favorite Pink Stuff (it's an old family receipe handed down from my great Gramma), a ton of other stuff. We had a feast that night and it reminded me of being a kid again! ;) Poor DJ, however, hadn't had his usual nap so he was cranky and moody and downright miserable to deal with! I had to work a half day so I missed out on the best of him....I came home and he was already in full blown crankiness, LOL. But we had a good time. Nessa was up bright and early a little after 6 and the poor thing had to wait until the rest of us woke up. Even DJ was up early...which, unfortunately, is NOT a good thing. He was difficult to deal with, screamed at everything that got in his way, hit Nessa and Nathan when they crossed paths with him, bit whoever he could get his teeth on (I won't even go into Nathan's huge bruised wound on his inner thigh thanks to his little bro!), and he was just a plain mess that day. We opened our gifts; Nathan got his long desired for Ripstick and a (pre-paid) cell phone. I think he might have even passed out when he opened it, HAHA. The only condition he has with it, is he gets a certain amount of monthly minutes and he has to EARN them with good grades (A's and B's), chores being done WITHOUT being asked or reminded, and good behavior. At any time if he starts slacking, the phone is ours. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous, right? A FIFTH grader with a cell phone!? Believe it or not.....nearly everyone in his class has one, along with kids all over the country! Hmph...I remember when PAGERS were the "in" thing and what the heck was a cell phone? ~LOL~

Anyways, so he was ecstatic. Then Nessa got the one thing she kept telling Santa she wanted; a Hannah Montana guitar with headphones and mic. You should see her rock out, it's hilarious! She also got a Hannah Montana scooter and a few other things. Since the kids wanted "expensive" things, we opted out of getting them a bunch of needless small things. They were pretty happy with what they got.

Scary News...Kirsten (my brother's wife), who is about 7 months pregnant, was in a minor car accident at Arrowhead Mall. Some IDIOT made a left hand turn in a right lane in front of her and hit her. Thankfully, she was driving slow and the damage was minor. Still, she went to the ER and they kept her overnight to monitor her and the baby. Then they put her on bedrest for the weekend, since she was still having the Braxton Hicks contractions. The Dr. said she and the baby looked fine but "Just in Case"....They are having a scheduled C-section on Feb. 10th.

So after Mom's, we headed home about around 11 and unloaded our stuff, attempted to clean up a bit and finally gave up after DJ's tyrancy. He finally relented and took a nap for about an hour while the rest of us got ready and loaded up the rest of our gifts to head off to Demetrius's mom's. DJ woke up early so we left. DJ without his full 2 or 2 1/2 hr nap is like DJ on a rampage. It's no good....so he was still even more cranky and pissy. We got to Ofelia's around 1:30, helped out, unloaded, & opened more gifts. Not only did DJ get this cute drum set, he got a Talking Live Elmo (which is kinda creepy, lol), an AquaDoodle, more blocks, and a really super cool basketball hoop to match the TBall set he already has. He LOVED that thing! Nathan got the Guitar Hero he has been dying for and that completed his C-Mas wish list for at least a couple years, LOL. Nessa got a ton of HM stuff, as well as HM dolls, and some cute other stuff. Demetrius and I got a computer...finally! YAY! All we need is to hook it up and get internet and we'll be set! (Then I can finally get serious about my writing! ;) We also got a beautiful 32 piece plate set so we can finally get rid of our old, mismatched stuff! Woo hoo!

So after gifts, we ate and napped and headed home around 6. The kids fell asleep on the way home and DJ actually slept until about 7...(and, of course, that resulted in him staying up til nearly midnight til he went to bed!) Then we finally cleaned up a bit, attempted to put our stuff away and relaxed on the couch to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, my all time fave C-Mas movie. I sat on my new chair massager feeling the blissful relief of an electric Shiatsu massage and drifted into a peaceful slight doze...until those darn drums shook me fully awake. (Thanks, Donovan! ~LOL~)

We had a great time and it was a wonderful C-Mas, despite DJ's impossible attitude and frustration. ;)

Unfortunately I have to work today, so that's a bummer (especially since Donovan was up so late! Thank goodness for Starbucks and thier caffeine! ~LOL~ On the plus side, I have a 1/2 day on the 31st and then I'm off Jan. 1-5. Woo hoo!!

So, hope everyone had a great Christmas and remember....it's not about the gifts or even the giving....it's about family and spending time with your loved ones and most of all, remembering the One who loved the world so much, He gave us His only Begotten son.

Merry Christmas again!!

Love you all,

Rach