christmas!

talk about your untraditional celebrations!

em and i decided to celebrate on christmas eve (day) being that she was spending christmas eve and day with her dad.

she's so cute- she woke up early on c-eve morning thinking that we'd open gifts WAY early. i only slowed her down a tiny bit- made her wait while i finished putting bows on her gifts. i also wanted to deliver our neighbor gifts with her before we got started...

she helped me put them together and off we went...to our elderly widow next door who is just CUTE. she had full make-up on (em says it must be a goal to get the make-up in the vacinity of where she would like it to be) and was dressed up head to toe in christmas green...with matching eye shadow. so CUTE. i complimented her on how festive she looked and she confided, "well, you know, i have so many christmas outfits that i changed three times yesterday to get to wear them!" so CUTE. :)

our other two stops were to neighbors that in their small way are good to us through the year... watching out for us while we're out of town, bringing the garbage cans in, edging my yard... just nice. and this year, one of those neighbors and i began talking again after years of strain. it's a beginning. i'd like to think one that added straw to Christ's manger.

when we finished, em opened her stocking and gifts. she was so excited to get her new rant phone and digital camera...amongst other fun things.



i did a couple of things for myself- a new dress and boots, along with buying a copy of the book that i made and gave to mom and dad, along with both sets of grandparents. as a teacher i receive so many fun things to treat myself- and gift cards to share as a family, too. mom and dad gave me my first digital frame- a large one that i absolutely LOVE. i'm putting together a wall grouping with it. :)...me and my photos!



darlene had em and i over to dinner after i got em's phone all set up. we helped with the dinner and then off em went.

my christmas day was spent, off and on, with Lori- another single mom spending the day alone.

we went walking first thing in the morning and then i hurried home and did a few things waiting for my elder to call. when he did it was so exciting to hear his voice again. makes me get emotional just remembering our convo. he's such a good boy. one wonderful thing that happened- i got to talk a minute with the mom of the family that has the missionaries living with them. she seemed to be so warm and sweet and yet i could tell she was lively and fun. she was so gracious with me- i had sent their family a christmas card and she said it made her cry, and then she went on to compliment me for how young i looked. blessings come in ways you never expect! first i get to learn first hand how wonderful the family is that tay gets to stay with- sister gardner was so kind regarding what she had to say about our boy...and i even get to hear a compliment about how young i look. it was a good exchange. :)

anyway- i'm posting that convo on tay's blog sometime this evening... i would love for you to leave a comment for him. he LOVED the last comments that were left!

lori and i then spent the day in a movie and at dinner. we were very lucky to find a place to eat- i mean, the news said many places would be open on christmas day- but we only found one: the golden corral. lol. it worked. :)

and finally, the day ended with phone calls to and from family. i love you guys! i'm so blessed!

below- tonight em and i finally got around to cooking a holiday meal...even if it wasn't on a holiday! it was fun and super yummy- we made a turkey with all the trimmings, homemade bread and a new traditional salad: field greens and spinach, fresh pear and slivered almonds with a homemade dressing to die for. fun!