Merry Christmas...late...

     I have not been posting lately, but it's been a very busy last few days!  Of course you all know why, as you all were very busy yourselves.  I had all these last minute buys to make, as I kept forgetting things, or thought that I had already gotten somebody's gift.  Our little family had our own Christmas on Christmas Eve day and I made my fist real ham and I also made all the fixings.  I gotta tell ya, I was a little stressed.  I have made nice meals before for us, but I struggled with the ham.  It just would not cook and I had everything else done like 45 minutes before the ham was finally done.  But it was worth the wait, and I'm glad that I could bless my family with a nice Christmas meal.  We also had Christmas with both sides of our family, and our children made off with some really great toys.  They are at this minute playing with as many of them at once as they can.  We got our little princess a big dollhouse, and she got some of the pieces to it from different people.  She also got a couple dolls, a walking kitty and a pillow pet.  She tries to hold them all at once.  Our little man got a tool bench, some trucks, balls and little thing he can ride or push.  The funny thing is that the little man has been wanting to play with the doll house and the little princess wants to play with the trucks and tools.  Maybe we should switch!
     Overall, I would say it was a nice and fun Christmas, although we are SUPER tired.  We also ate way too much.  I thought about walking home from my husband's grandparents, but I think that would have only burned off maybe Christmas eve lunch.  Besides it would take me days, and I had to be at church this morning to teach Sunday school.  ; ) 
      I even got to spend a few hours with a couple friends that I had not seen or had a real conversation with in years.  We went to high school and college together, but had lost touch with one another.  At first I felt very awkward, and felt like since I was just a house mom that I had nothing to offer my friends who have had a lot of successes and joys to tell of.  But as the time went on I relaxed and realized that it was ok, that who I am and what I do is meaningful.  I love being a mom and I love my kids.  I am proud of my kids, and I love being part of their lives.  The little princess and the little man are a couple of the cutest, funniest and funnest (I don't know if this is a word) people I know.  When I finally realized this while I sat there, I was able to truly enjoy my friends.  We were able to laugh at past times and encourage one another too.  I am so glad that I was able to reconnect with them, and be able to express how much I care for them even if we don't see one another very often. 
     A very special gift that I got was a runner that my mom made for me and my sister.  She did a really good job on them and they came complete with napkins and napkin rings.  It made our little Christmas Eve lunch nice and fancy and I really love my runner. One of the gifts that I was surprised and pleased by, will surprise you.  Although I did get some wonderful things, last night I was given like 6 jars of jelly and syrups.  All different kinds that were made by my husband's family.  We really like our toast with jelly in the mornings and they just kept handing me more and more.  That is a very special treat to me.  It was also really relaxing for me to sit at my parent's home with the Christmas lights on, drink tea and talk and laugh till late in the night on Christmas Eve.