I can't say I'm sad, exactly, to have the holiday behind us...but I am always a little let down. There is so much preparation, so much work, so much of my heart, so much worry...so much of ME in all of it, that when it's all over, it's kind of like feeling like a deflated balloon. On the other hand, it's nice to get things back in order, to move the bags of Christmas wrap out of the obvious place, to get the decorations back in their boxes and out of sight for another year. That job won't be too hard for me this year, there just wasn't space to put all the usual cheery objects in this apartment. So, I'll leave the tree up until the new year, but to put it ALL away will take me about an hour...and that's okay with me.

If you read my last post, then you already know that I got the best gift of all time this year. My Christmas Eve was the most special, the best I can remember in years. There is no way to wrap that kind of gift up, but it's the kind that never leaves you, it can't break, or wear out, or be lost. I am grateful for that. Yesterday, although a good day, it was not the most ideal Christmas day ever...the bulk of it was spent in the car, the rest of it was spent with my sisters, first I stopped and said "Merry Christmas" to Trav and Jim, and then we went on to see my youngest sister, Shell and family. My stepdad was there, also, and I was happy to be with them. The visit had to be too short and my little niece Carli, was quite enthralled with her Christmas gifts, I told her she must have been a VERY good girl this year, and she readily agreed. :) There just wasn't time to get to really see her, she was just too busy with her toys and I certainly understood that. We nearly had to eat and run, as we have a very crazy dog waiting for us here, one who just can't hold-it like she used to. So, it was way better than sitting here, staring at Mark all day, but next year, we will need to rethink the plans. I can say this - I am all the way worn out, and I'm not totally sure why, other than plain old hard work, cooking-cleaning-Christmas is hard on the body. I haven't felt this poorly in months, and I plan to spend the weekend just feeling better.

Here are some of the pics, from preparation, to party-

These are jordy and his bestest bud, actually doing my Christmas baking and candy making, and they did an awesome job---see?

And here is Craig with his artistic cheeseball contribution---oh how these kids of mine make me laugh----

He couldn't find an appropriate hat, so he suddenly became la French snowman cheeseball, with a cracker beret...

The best part --- the presents!

Nice beer shot - Jordy...at least you could have been holding the "good" beer...

Now that's a "glowing" pregnant lady, if I've ever seen one...

Mason though the whole thing was pretty boring, at least until Santa arrived with his kitty treats....

A snowy CrazyDog

Good pic of the gift in front of the face.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

And to all....a good night.

:)