Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

And Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day. I just threw that in there since the odds are that I will be slacking then, too. Ha. Seriously, here I've been feeling like such putz for not posting any warm holiday greetings and then I check and none of you have, either! We are all a bunch of putzes! But at least we are in good company. :o)

Since I am here, let me recap the events:
Our Christmas was pretty wonderful. Maybe even the best ever. Yeah, I know. That is saying a lot, but I sure do mean it. We were extra blessed this year to have my sister Tammy and her family with us from Tennessee - hubby John, son Danny and daughters Caitlin and Marissa. Bunch of dolls, all them! It was so nice to have family close and made us feel not so alone and isolated. (And all that extra help with the boys - woo-hoo!) Then there was the fact that we were (amazingly) prepared and were able to get the boys lots of fun things, which was of course, doubly better because they are both at the age to really enjoy this type of thing. Dylan enjoyed the ripping of the paper a bit more than what was actually inside, but he eventually came around and started playing with the toys just as much. Gabe got more Star Wars toys than I knew existed and was overjoyed at that fact. Me, not so much, but hey - maybe Santa can branch out next year. **fingers crossed**

This Christmas was wonderful for me, because I just thrilled to see my sweet hubby so excited and happy - the old twinkle back in his eye. He has just come off a particularly rough semester at school and could not wait for the break and the fun of the holidays. He sure earned it and I am so proud. **sniff** Okay, and I will admit that I was just as excited about my gifts as the kids were about theirs! I am now the proud owner of a beautiful new Mac Book. A gift so cool and hip and sleek, that I never even imagined I would possess one. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I opened the box, which made Aaron grin all the more, as he was probably just as shocked as I was that he managed to keep it a total surprise. Good job on that one, Santa!

Christmas is all good things. Love, joy, the birth of Hope and togetherness. And this year I experienced all of them. It was so lovely. Oh yeah, and we went to the beach on Christmas Eve and that didn't suck! Truly, I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you the very best New Year.