Christmas

I can't believe how fast the Christmas season seemed to pass. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Christmas!
Our Christmas was nice and mostly relaxing. We decided this year to scale back, mainly because the kids really don't need much and we wanted to express the true meaning of Christmas. Also, I had been going through some health issues that caused John to really pick up the slack (which believe me there was a lot) while I lazily watched and felt guilty for not feeling good enough to do much. I am on the mend and finally done with antibiotics and pain killers, though at times I still don't feel 100% at least I can do more than what I could a few weeks back.
I really think the kids enjoyed their Christmas. We had our annual family Christmas party at my parents. It was SO nice to get together and even nicer that everyone showed up (it has been about 4-5 years since everyone has came). Everyone put their differences aside and got along really well. It was wonderful and hope it will continue.
For Christmas Ethan got a DSi that he had been itching for for along time. Katie got a new bike that is better fit for her as well as a new mp3 player. Taylor got a doll house, though not the the one she wanted (the barbie dream house) but one that we had to keep telling her it was a better quality (try to explain that to a 7 yr old who wants the other doll house because it is all pink). Ben finally got his Spike the Dinosaur (he has been wanting one since the previous year and was very disappointed when he didn't get it last year). Of course they got other little things as well like books, DVD's, music CD's and some games too. Santa also always fills their stockings with little treats and goodies. This year was no different but instead of toys he gave them personal care items like mini bubble bath, shower gel, lotion and chap stick, etc.
John and I also kept it simple with us. We mainly kept it as needs like socks, jammies etc. I did get him a music cd as well as wasabi flavored nuts and I am always on the hunt for good hot sauce for him. The man loves HOT and I found a gift pack with different levels of hot for him.
The day after Christmas we had our other annual Christmas party, this time with Johns family. We always do breakfast and this year was no different, other than we did breakfast for dinner. It was really yummy and very nice. My favorite part,besides the food, is that we have a ornament exchange every year. It is always so fun to see what ornaments everyone has chosen to share.
That was our Christmas in a nut shell. I really wanted to post pictures too, but for some reason my card reader isn't working and won't let me download my pictures, so if I/ when I get that fixed I will try and get them on.
For New Years, we stayed at home and watched movies, ate lots of junk, and stayed up late. Taylor was the only kid who made it to midnight, everyone else was out cold by 11. It was really nice spending a laid back evening at home with each other!
Now we are back to the grindstone, kids back in school (yip yip hooray!) and we start working on our New Years resolutions (though it make take all year for them to become habit, we will try to accomplish what we have set out to do). Happy New Year all, and hope this year will be all that we want it to be!