Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. Yeah, for those who were expecting them, Christmas Cards were a luxury this year, and this didn't go out....actually it wasn't the Christmas Cards, but the stamps that were the luxury. I did miss getting the Christmas poem together this year, had 3 or 4 of them, but none sounded good enough to post.....the one I really wanted to send out was really mean, and thought it might make ya'll wonder if I was in the right frame of mind, but then again, those who know me, know I'm not always in my right mind!

Christmas starts here the day after Thanksgiving when Amber and I start looking for the "right" tree....which just happens to be a nice, full, bushy one, that isn't too expensive, usually found at Home Depot, usually on a day that is foggy, rainy, and downright cold, except for this year...We didn't have the fog and and rain, but we had the downright cold and the wind, which made it colder. Got the tree, brought it home, and then dreaded putting it up. A lot of ya'll are probably shaking your head, saying, "Yeah, we dread that too...the lights, decorations, icicles, garland, getting the angel on right, (or whatever ya'll use as a tree topper." That's not what I dread....mine is getting the tree into the base and having it straight....so here went my effort.

First, I realized I got a 7-8 ft. Christmas Tree, and it should have been a 6-7 foot tree, when I put it in the base and it was bent over at the ceiling...hmmmm, no room for the angel! So Brian went and got some loppers from Danny's shed and proceeded to chop off the top and some of the branches leading down the sides to make it more even looking. Put the angel on top, just to make sure it would fit, then took it back down again. Second, made Amber hold the tree while I screwed in those godawful long screws until they wouldn't screw anymore, then told her to let the tree go....seemed okay...didn't move...FINALLY! We put the lights, decorations, and tons of icicles on the tree, topped it with the angel, plugged her in and it was very pretty...very proud of myself...for once the tree wasn't leaning drunkenly to the side or threatening to fall over. We unplugged the tree and went to bed. The next morning comes, I come outside my door and shake my head in despair....tree was leaning up against the windows, so topheavy that it was falling over, so we made easy work of fixing it....turning it and putting it in the corner...FIXED!

Christmas Eve I put up the stockings and finished wrapping last minute gifts, put a gift in each of the kids' beds, a custom I started a long time ago, and then put in the candy...didn't know how much candy I had until I had them filled up...thought they were going to pull the pins out of the mantle, it was so heavy....put a gift in each stocking and then went off to bed at a little after 3:30...and then came morning and I woke to Brian and Amber waking me up....I hid my head...wanted to stay warm and stay asleep for a little while longer...but you know kids, even the 20 and 19 year olds gets excited for when "Santa" comes.

Then Danny opened the gifts that my best friend, Kim, sent him...he loves his Harley stuff....like the outfit? He does!

After everything was done, cleaned up, Christmas supper demolished, and everyone had their fill, Brian left to spend the night with a friend and Patrick and Amber were left home with me, so we decided to take some pics....aren't they pretty????

Yes!....I have candy!

My Christmas outfit, and my candy!