A Holly Jolly Christmas Indeed!

As the end of 2008 comes to an end, so does Christmas! I'm one of those weird people that is actually sad the day after Christmas! I hate getting in my car and realizing that Christmas is officially over. This is when your radio is suddenly blaring nail salon classic rock music in place of Burl Ives, Brenda Lee, Bing Crosby, and Sinatra singing songs about the most wonderful time of the year! That's when it hits me every year. I don't understand, if we can play Christmas music two and a half months early, can't they just finish out the weekend? I did hear one station that did that, but of course it was all static!

It has been a busy few weeks! We had our company party a couple of weeks ago and I was able to find a great dress for a real steal! It was at the Hope Valley Country Club here in Durham.

Keri and me! Someone who loves Christmas time just like me!

Garrett and I didn't match too well, but that was alright! He discovered that he didn't have the pants to his suit he was going to wear five minutes before the party started! :-)

Some more of the JWTH Gang! Garrett, Me, Abbey, Laura & Mazo!

Part two of that weekend was Inez's Annual Ham Breakfast! It was delicious! Of course I got a picture of Mary & Inez being crazy!

Inez popped in some old family videos while we were there! That was crazy! Mary Elizabeth had us singing the Star Spangled Banner before we started the Easter Egg Hunt and Grandma's in one video! The videos had everyone around the TV! John was sporting the Top Gun haircut with his Swatch Watch, Mary was modeling her wonderful silk shirts with colored jeans, while Dad wore a brown shirt in every video we saw! I had on a matching sweat suit in one!!! I can't believe Mom dressed me in a sweat suit! She said "It matched!" This picture is just funny...I'm not sure what we were doing...

Shawn & Garrett stayed busy watching cartoons!

While Victoria was taking a bath, I decided to give her a mohawk! Pictures don't do it justice!



Christmas Eve at last! Christmas Eve is so much better than Christmas! That is the day when all of the family gets together at Mom & Dad's! Everyone has Christmas spirit! I track Santa fifty times with my nephews on the internet! We checked to see if he had gotten to John yet, I don't think he had the last time we checked! After we get done cleaning up from the party I always enjoy sitting around the tree and talking and waiting to go to sleep knowing that Santa is out and about!

Grandma was helping Victoria open her first Christmas present ever! Of course, it was a set of Christmas PJ's. A new set every year is a must for the children in our family to go to sleep in on Christmas Eve! Victoria didn't seem to care!

John, Shawn & Mike all looked so handsome! They were dying to open presents!!

Of course, once we got some Sinatra playing, Dad danced with every girl there! Dad & Mom love dancing! Dad danced with Mary Elizabeth, Mom, Mary, me, Meredith & Victoria! I asked Marty if he wanted to go up and dance but he looked at me like I was crazy and said absolutely not!

Christmas morning was quiet at Mom & Dad's. It was just me and them. Santa did bring Hank & Butch a few surprises though! I had to get some pictures of Hank with his Santa pile. It was his first Christmas as well! They eagerly watched me open their gifts! They ate some and destroyed some others! Santa was good to me this year! Surprise! I got my own Kitchenaid mixer! Total suprise! It is so pretty sitting in my kitchen!

After Santa, Mom, Dad & I went to John & Meredith's for Christmas Breakfast! She made a fantastic breakfast! Mike & John had gotten so many things, I couldn't even tell what was what! It was a great time! Afterwards, we all headed to the farm for Christmas Dinner! That was great too! We had a big beef tenderloin! Victoria didn't open all her presents...she didn't seem to notice them at all actually! Her best present! A tu tu from Santa! It is the cutest thing ever! So fun to have a girl to play dress up with! After dinner, the boys were dying to open family presents! We got Scarlett on Skype so she could watch while we did the family stuff. I got John Sam a T-Rex skeleton to put together and he loves it. He said it was his second favorite present after his dinosaur robot that he got! Mike & John were such good cousins and made sure they helped Victoria play with her things!



The day after Christmas I headed to Ellerbe to spend time with Garrett & his family! It was a very relaxing weekend! We got up Sunday and headed back to Durham and spent the rest of the Christmas break relaxing and getting organized again! It was a great break! I am sad that it is over, but it will be here again before I know it. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas! I'm worn out!