Christmas came and went!

Christmas seems to linger for weeks in anticipation of it's arrival and all the joy it brings, then suddenly it's over! I think having our daughter here for the week made it pass by so quickly too. We have really enjoyed having her here and I can't believe she leaves tomorrow. :(

Our 3 little poodles have been attached to her since she arrived... :)
here they are keeping her warm and of course giving her tons of kisses.

We all were richly blessed with many gifts and me, Patrick and the kids made a total mess of the living room opening gifts and throwing wrapping paper and bows everywhere. My hubbie gave me this pretty pair of diamond earrings and many more gifts. Too much to list as he really spoils me every Christmas, no matter how much I tell him not too. Justin really spent too much too. He gave me 10 new towels, a vinegar and oil dispenser and these nice metal measuring cups. Jennifer really surprised me with the entire set of Knit Pick's Harmony Knitting Needles along with some body wash from Bath and Body.


Zoe with my Harmony knitting needle set!

Patrick and Justin enjoyed all their gifts and Jennifer had much to open as well and
here she is Christmas Eve wearing the wrap I made for her.


click photo for Ravelry info...

She was elated with it and has wore it to keep warm while here. Once back home in St. Petersburg, Florida she will most likely only need it in the office where she stays chilly most of the time, so I know it will get some good use. They also have some chilly nights, so she may get to wear it out some evenings as well.

My mom also loved her wrap. It was going to be a mobius one and I finally decided (after seeing it on my friend Diane) that it may not be large enough, so I took the seaming out and added to both ends and made it into a wrap.


Here is the before:


Here is the after:

We also gave moma a digital frame which she just loved!

We had my husband's brother Mike and his wife Cathy over on Christmas Eve along with their daughter Christa and their son Winston and his new wife Jessica. Patrick's mom and sister also came. Cathy brought us a beautiful Christmas Plate Set, which included this one and another Santa one, which I forgot to take a photo of... but here they both are the next day at my sister's Jan's home. We had a great time together eating and sharing conversation and we also had a blast playing a game of Catch Phrase!

Then after they left and around midnight on Christmas Eve we had our exchanging of gifts with just us and our children, Jennifer and Justin.

Then on Christmas morning we headed to my sister's Jan's home for Christmas dinner and exchanging gifts with my family. When we first arrived our niece Alexis had just drove in showing off her new red bug she got for Christmas. Jan had set a beautiful table for us to eat together and she had little marshmallow candies at each place setting. We had a great meal and great conversation and then headed home after a full day of family fun.

Overall it has been a hectic and also relaxing Christmas spent with our families.
Patrick, myself, Jennifer and Justin are going to have supper tomorrow at Olive Garden before taking Jennifer to the airport. That is always the hardest part of all, when I have to kiss her goodbye. It has been such fun having her here this week, shopping with her, seeing her in her pj's, having breakfast with her, seeing her sleeping in our home again, watching her open her gifts, teaching her how to purl... finally... and most of all just being with her sitting around talking and watching movies.

I hope that your Christmas with your family was as enjoyable as mine was!