Christmas day- the family gathering
These are from our family Christmas at my mom's. Members of my family and my husband's family all get together. We have the kids exchange gifts/open presents from the "grands:, and then the adults do a Chinese gift exchange, where everyone brings a gift worth about $20 and we draw numbers, pick a gift or steal from someone else, and all go home with something. We started doing this a few years ago, and it makes it MUCH easier, since we are never really sure who is coming and there is a lot of variety in finances, so this levels the playing field. I've learned the key is to bring a gift you wouldn't mind going home with yourself. That was handy this year especially as I did just that. I brought a yummy, big fleece blanket, and blankets are a hot commodity in our house, so I figured of all the gifts that were open by my number (half way through), it was the one we could use most. In the end, no one else stole it, so I got to keep it. My mom, my m-i-l, and my s-i-l also went home went home with a gift they brought too, so I wasn't the only one. But to be honest, I'm glad my m-i-l went home with the rusty TIN, pig shaped watering can and NOT me. Give me a comfy blanket any day!
All the pictures below are from my NEW camera. I'm very pleased at how well it handled the back-lighting with the sliding door behind everyone.
All the pictures below are from my NEW camera. I'm very pleased at how well it handled the back-lighting with the sliding door behind everyone.
My step father. He's dying of cancer, but doing great. Actually, he's a walking miracle, because he has a host of medical issues-any one of which could take a person out of this world.
Finally! Sari got a Leapster. It's been hard on her with the other kids using their movie extra money to buy handheld gaming things-DSi's for Mimi and TJ, and an iPod Touch for Scott. She was feeling left out. I knew she was getting this from Gram (I got an amazing deal on it when Target decided to price-match Walmart's ad on Black Friday), but she didn't. She played with it almost all day today.
My mom picked out this shirt for Scott. It makes his eyes look amazing.
Aunt Karen got TJ the game he really wanted-New Super Mario Bros. He was very excited.
The Hubs. He can't pass up the chance to make a funny face.
Cousin B got a DSiXL for Christmas because, as my sister-in-law announced to everyone in the kitchen, they are wealthy and can afford stuff like that. He also had a 4 foot tall stocking stuffed to the brim. Anyway, he actually enjoyed watching Sari play it more than playing it himself. He would say, "You play. I watch." if she asked him if he wanted a turn.
Mimi with her new earrings and new fleece jacket. As much as I hate Wally-world, it saved our Christmas.
Aunt Karen bought Sari the Disney Princess collection from Target. She was thrilled, as you can tell.
Cousins.
B, who has made some great progress. There is something "not right" about him. They swear it's not autism, but that would be my guess. Socially he struggles, he doesn't make great eye contact, and pretty much does what he wants regardless of what everyone else is doing. But now he is reading. Really reading. He just turned 5 and he can read words like "snow" and "New York". That's not typical 5 year old reading. I'm glad he's making progress at his new school!
My mom picked out this shirt for Scott. It makes his eyes look amazing.
Aunt Karen got TJ the game he really wanted-New Super Mario Bros. He was very excited.
The Hubs. He can't pass up the chance to make a funny face.
Cousin B got a DSiXL for Christmas because, as my sister-in-law announced to everyone in the kitchen, they are wealthy and can afford stuff like that. He also had a 4 foot tall stocking stuffed to the brim. Anyway, he actually enjoyed watching Sari play it more than playing it himself. He would say, "You play. I watch." if she asked him if he wanted a turn.
Mimi with her new earrings and new fleece jacket. As much as I hate Wally-world, it saved our Christmas.
Aunt Karen bought Sari the Disney Princess collection from Target. She was thrilled, as you can tell.
Cousins.
B, who has made some great progress. There is something "not right" about him. They swear it's not autism, but that would be my guess. Socially he struggles, he doesn't make great eye contact, and pretty much does what he wants regardless of what everyone else is doing. But now he is reading. Really reading. He just turned 5 and he can read words like "snow" and "New York". That's not typical 5 year old reading. I'm glad he's making progress at his new school!
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