Christmas was great this year! My sister and fam were in Okc...and it's been years since we've been together for the holidays. My brother-in-law came in on a later flight and was supposed to fly in on Christmas Eve, but due to some technical difficulties with the airplane, had to take a later flight and came home Christmas morning just in time for breakfast! It was definitely a Christmas miracle....because we were all PRAYING he'd make it in time.

Mom, sister, aunt and cuzzies...

the guys...

a sibling pic...I usually insist on being in the middle, but this time I thought we should be in birth order...and I thought I'd let my sister have the honors of sitting with my brother. =) I think the last time we took a sibling picture was back in 1979...we were all a lot cuter back then!

I thought we'd do things a little different this year and play Dirty Santa instead of Secret Santa. I thought the family could use a little fun-filled game. The whole concept was a little foreign to them and it didn't go over very well...at. all. Next time, we'll stick to the same ol' tradition.

This year I really didn't reflect on presents...I mean, I love giving presents...so I did pick things out carefully and enjoyed doing so. But, I didn't think about what I was getting or care about what I was getting. I tried to mentally put Christ back into Christmas and think about His gift as the ultimate gift! Although I enforced the "don't care" attitude...I got awesome gifts!! My sister got me an electronic book reader, which totally blew my gasket! I didn't see that one coming at all!! My brother got me a digital frame (courtesy my wonderful niece Marissa who picked it out for me), which I've been wanting forever! And then....let me tell you what my BF did for me!!

A few weeks ago, I had her look at the Vera Bradley website. For those of you who don't know what that is...It's a brand of quilted bags, purses, totes, wallets, etc. I absolutely love quilts... (can't help it...it's the country girl in me!) and fell in love with these quilted bags when I saw them. Of course the pattern I loved the most was out of stock and so I thought I'd seek Sonia's opinion on the second best. I wasn't in love with the second best...but still asked Matt if I could get one for myself. He thought I was absolutely nuts... he thought they were way too country...and he just bought me a really nice bag for our anniversary...not to mention, he thought someone in India could make it for 2 bucks. So I put aside my dream of having a Vera Bradley....

When I picked my sister up from the airport, she opened her suitcase to get her coat out. And I saw this familiar pattern. My eyes bulged out of my head! "You got a Vera Bradley bag?!?" I exclaimed! She told me to calm down because it was mine... and that my BF & Sheryl got it for me and sent it with her from Florida! I was ecstatic and haven't put it down since I've gotten it. It's a little big to carry as a purse but I don't care. I've gotten lots of complements on it too...sure the women who complement me are in their 60's...one actually told me to keep my eye on it cuz she wanted to steal it!!! Sometimes I wonder if the fact that 60 year olds want my bag should tell me a lil' somethin' about my sense of style...but I don't care!