HO HOS AND BLACK EYES.....

well it's over....Christmas has come and gone another year! what a wonderful Christmas it was though! the best so far!!

i know it's been a while because i have been SUPER busy but finally some time to do mommy stuff!! first we started the 20th of Dec. with my dad's family in alabama...we ate lots of good food and played dirty santa. monkey enjoyed opening presents but unlike last year he actually enjoyed the gift instead of just the paper! then we had a few days off before it started all over again! wednesday morning we got up while daddy went to work and started cleaning like crazy!! my house smelled like lavender pine sol all day long!!! around three o'clock i started my adventure of cooking christmas eve dinner for the second year in a row (my new tradition as a housewife!) shortly after that i hear the pitter patter of little feet running through the living room..I say "monkey stop running and pick up your books before you fall"...as usual he ignores me and makes another lap around the kitchen and starts into the living room (he was hopped up on candy and other christmas goodies) the next sound i hear is that of a screaming 2 year old...i put the kitchen towel down and slowly walk around the corner bracing myself for what was laying in the floor! possibly a bloody forehead. to my surprise there was blood but very little...all he needed was a little love and he was fine. at 4:00 my parents and grandparents arrived and i finished my big meal while everyone sat around listening to christmas music and watching football. at 6:00 we sat down to a meal of ham, tenderloin, green bean casserole and potato casserole. the meal was delicious and everyone was stuffed!! next all the adults gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. gavin and i got our new rug from my parents as well as a great new set of knives and a new crock pot....stuff that we NEEDED and enjoy getting once you are married and old. gavin and i got my mom a new cell phone and my dad a fire pit for the back deck. next gavin and i exchanged our gifts from each other...i was SHOCKED to open my new camera!!! i asked for a new SLR digital camera last year so gavin would have a whole year to save but i had pretty much decided this year wouldn't be the year either since the cameras are about $600 and gavin kept saying "money is tight". he of course as usual being the MOST wonderful husband that he is surprised me and I GOT MY NEW CAMERA AND I LOVE IT!!! he wanted all new hunting stuff so that's what he got from me and was happy with every bit of it! BORING!!! anyway after all the commotion we put my monkey to bed and "helped" santa put together all of monkey's toys for the next morning....everyone was up by 7 am and monkey was surprised and thrilled to see that santa brought him a HOME DEPOT TOOL BENCH....plus a lot of other stuff that he was not interested in!!! you can never really appreciate Christmas until you experience Christmas morning with your own child! it gets better every year!!! I hope everyone's Christmas was as joyful as ours....

below are some pictures taken on my mom's camera of Christmas eve night and Santa...

Pictures