Christmas Memories 2008

Well, I'm just about caught up after our return from South Carolina yesterday afternoon, so I thought I'd go ahead and post about our Christmas while I have a little free time. We're about to head out to the mall to exchange a few items that didn't work for one reason or another. I really hope the lines aren't too bad, so we'll see!

My sweet blogging friend, Lindsay, from The Cross-Stitch House, sent me these Christmas crackers. She'd seen a comment I'd made on my friend, Lorrie's, blog about my not knowing what they were. Lindsay lives in England and put these together herself. Traditionally, they're to be opened on Christmas Day, but since we had so much going on, we opted to open them on Christmas Eve, instead. Two people grab onto each end of the crackers and pull. They make a popping noise and out falls some wrapped goodies and a joke that's to be read aloud. Abby got a London double decker bus keychain. Brittany got a pen with the British flag. Chris got a keychain that resembles a lantern that was carried by miners long ago, and I got a Yorkshire thimble. Thank you, Lindsay, so much for sharing with us this wonderful Christmas tradition!!! We had so much fun!

Here's the girls with their goodies and the paper crowns that were, also, inside. On Christmas Eve, we attended services at our church and hardly an empty seat was found in our worship center. The music and sermon were awesome!Chris took this one...turned out a little too dark...thanks, hon! :)Christmas morning, around 8 AM, Abby bounded into our bedroom proclaiming, "It's Christmas!!!" So, Chris and I hopped out of bed, got Brittany, and downstairs we all went.

Here's the girls opening their Santa gift...Guitar Hero World Tour. Came with an extra guitar, so now they can battle each other...and ME! I can rock out like no tomorrow! Hee hee!!! Brittany opening her gift from her boyfriend, Steven. It's a Build-A-Bear that had a star and diamond necklace around it's neck. She thought it was SOOO cute!!! Not a smidgen of makeup is adorning my face! Sorry for the scare! Brittany gave me a very pretty necklace that I just love...it goes with anything!Abby was thrilled with her "puffy" coat! Brittany FINALLY got the first "Twilight" book...a gift from Abby. She was ecstatic!She's giving Abby a hug...something I don't see often enough. Chris opening the Dallas cowboys blanket I made for him...a huge hit!I made one for Brittany...And Abby, too...she's showing off her new lime green digital camera (her blanket is on her lap). Yes, Brittany got the same camera! Here's a vanity plate I designed for Brittany's car with her nickname on it.My mother-in-law the day after Christmas. My brother-in-law is a die hard Steelers fan, so he gave her a jersey to watch all the games in.
My mother-in-law gave me another beautiful necklace.
Brittany got a nice scarf and gloves set from my mother-in-law, among several other things.
Bella was excited, too!!!
Chris got a Blu-Ray DVD player from my mother-in-law and brother-in-law. He was one happy camper!!!
Here's my brother-in-law, who harasses me constantly!!! :)

Sitting down for our day-after-Christmas dinner. The guy on the right is a close family friend, Russel.
Now, the big thing that happened on Christmas Day is after the girls, Chris, and I opened all our gifts, Chris told us to sit tight that he had one more thing for us. So, he ran down to the basement and came back with an envelope that he handed to me. It stated that he knows how much making memories as a family means to me...so, he's taking us on a four day ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado during Spring Break in early April!!! I mean, the tears started pouring! I was completely blown away! FINALLY, we'll get to see some snow! Then, he ran off, again, and came back with three boxes, one for me and one for each of the girls. We opened them up to find ski jackets that he'd picked out all on his own! We love them!

Now, the only problem with this scenario is that the girls and I have never EVER snow skied!!! Chris has snow skied, off and on, for many years. He's skied the Alps when he lived in Italy. So, he's not going to have a problem, at all. The girls and I...now that's a different story! Oh, I don't care, I'll try anything once...even if I break my leg trying!!! I REALLY hope that doesn't happen! All I know is that I can hardly wait till our trip and to be able to make some more lasting memories with my girls and Chris. That is definitely one of the most thoughtful things he's ever done for me. I think I'll keep him!!! :)

I'm off to the mall...have a super day, my friends!!!