Christmas Gifts

How can I proceed to posting about our after-Christmas trip before I finish Christmas? We received so many nice gifts for Christmas! The girls got adorable Christmas pajamas from my mom. Last summer, she and I had also picked out some cute animal t-shirts and they wore them layered with long-sleeved shirts underneath. The girls get as excited about clothes as toys. I must clear my conscience and say that one year my Granny called my mom around Christmas time. I picked up the phone to answer and they had already begun discussing our 'sizes' for clothing. Before I thought, I blurted out, "No! Toys!" Sometimes I think of the things I did as a kid and am horrified! Ross' parents got the girls Webkinz (see the photo above...Esther allowed Phaselis to hold her new toy). Webkinz are a package deal...you get a cute stuffed animal along with a code that gives you access to the website. There they can buy and decorate rooms for the pet, play games, do jobs to earn money (ok, they beg and I do the jobs for them because they are so hard!). Kathleen (Ross' sister) and Cassie (my brother Tim's wife) sent them art supplies...personalized pencils, fat pens with fun pen toppers, squeeze paint, etc. My kids were thrilled. If they have free time, I most often see them doing art work. Our Sunday School class bought and mailed us a Wii. We feel a 'wii' bit spoiled. When I told a friend what they sent us, her mouth dropped open and said, "You are kidding! A Wii?" We are anxiously awaiting Ross to get the electricity converter and get us going on it! This year the girls bought for each other. We ended up with some, what I call, "sweet little tackies". I have only myself to blame, for they were all items I made to sell in the craft fair. Yes, I was preying on little children with coins to buy my little tackies and raise money for the school. What I didn't realize is that I'd end up with about 12 of them (since they all bought for each other and themselves!) But the most important thing is that they are learning to give! Esther bought one little tacky for me...3 inch long bejeweled dangle earrings. Yes, I will wear them. I'll be sure to get a photo for you. Esther and Annika also secretly collected used light bulbs, hid one afternoon in their rooms, and made me the wintry scene you see above. The light bulbs are snowmen and the candy tube is a log. They are warming by a fire, they told me. Hmmm. Snowmen warming by the fire. Perhaps next year I'll get Scene 2...Snowmen Melted By the Fire. We did get a beautiful snow that day, enough to make this jolly snowman. His nose is a green bean, as I had purged the fridge in order to go out of town. Now I feel I have sufficiently informed you of our Christmas and I'll soon move on!