Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas Revisited


Wow -- am I slow or what with updating the old blog?!? Hey, I was still decorating the house on Dec. 22!! Well anyway, we had a lovely holiday with the family! On Christmas Eve day, we put out luminaries and lit them before leaving for mass at 4:30 PM. One of our wonderful neighbors provides the bags and sand every year, so all you need to do is provide the candles for your walkway and on the boulevard in front of your house and light them up. Our street has quite the reputation for decorating (not us really, but everybody else!), and there is a steady stream of traffic all evening long. Other years, we've waited until getting home from church in the cold and dark to light the candles. Finally [duh], this year we figured out that we should light the candles before we left! And it worked perfectly! The street has an incredibly lovely warm glow from the luminaries -- very magical indeed.

Maddy getting ready to go to church and wondering if she can take Santa Bear along too -- doesn't everyone take a stuffed animal to church on Christmas Eve??


And on Christmas morning, Santa really came through!! I'm calling this the year of the Wi*i and Wi*i Fit and the year of the dog. I've heard that Wi*i is loads of fun. We still have one Wi*i left and I'm thinking of keeping it. Mr. Tennis thinks I should just return it, but I may be able to finally improve my tennis game by practicing with a Wi*i. Anybody else get one? Let me know if you like it and if it's difficult to figure out. Mr. Tennis and I are not the most technologically proficient!! :)



Guess what Maddy got?? A pet --no, not just one, but two dogs!! Electronic dogs, that is! I love them! No vet bills, no messes to clean up and when they get annoying, you can just turn them off. Santa brought her Biscuit (a big, sweet Golden Retriever) and she received Lucky, the wonder pup, from her aunt and uncle. She loves her doggies!! I think one of her favorite gifts is an ATM bank! Oh no -- where'd she figure out how to use an ATM so well, I wonder???



Of course, we should have spent a lot of our free time cleaning the house, etc. but we didn't. We slept late, shopped, put money into the bank ATM, took money out of both the toy and real ATM and dinked around a lot -- a perfect break!! I didn't take as many photos as I should have.


Maybe I'll get more of our rockin New Year's Eve celebration!




17 comments:

Kate said...

Looks lovely...and perfectly well spent!!! The luminaries sound heanvenly!

I just got Jim a Wii for Christmas, but was unable to find a Wii fit...your really scored on that! Yeah...we had a very geeky time enjoying Wii bowling on Christmas day...and bowling...even Lia got into it!!! Fun (and...well at least at our house...very geek like!). I did try the tennis...a sport I am terrible at...and really, I feel like I developed a bit of a backhand by the end...not sure how it measures up to "real"...but I was getting better on my short trial run!

Happy New Year!!!

Kate

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

Your staircase looks beautiful Jan....and I love luminaries...I am sure your neighborhood looked lovely!!

You got lucky with the Wii Fit....Nick wanted one for Christmas and we could not find one anywhere....luckily his bday is in Jan...I am sure we will find one by then!!

It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday....Maddy must see her Mommy using that ATM...LOL!! The kids in our house were playing a game of Credit Card Monopoly....Sarah was quite the pro!!

Happy Holidays!!

Lisa

Jodee said...

It looks like you had a great Christmas! Maddy looks sooo cute with her new e-puppy!

I can't believe we completely forgot to drive by on Christmas Eve. I knew I should have written myself a note! Maybe next year!

See you tomorrow for some more work fun!

Rachel said...

Sounds like a wonderful Christmas. Why clean up when you can relax and have fun with your family!

I love Maddie's skirt for church! She looks adorable as usual.

As you've read on my blog, we got the Wii for the kids and love it. Even if it doesn't help your tennis game, its REALLY fun. Not just the tennis either. I also tried to get the Wii fit, but couldn't find it anywhere! Keep it! :)

Happy New Year.
Rachel

Missy said...

Hey Jan!

Your Christmas looks and sounds just perfect! Maddy is always so cute in all of your photos...her little smile lights up the screen.

We have a Wii, too, and we LOVE it! This year, Santa brought Paige Mariocart and RockBand. We enjoy it a lot. I LOVE tennis on the Wii.

Hope you have a great New Year!!!

paige said...

i think we are the only family left without a wii...maybe we'll snag one soon
happy new year
xo

Lisa said...

I love your staircase, so beautiful. We got a Wii Fit too, it is so much fun. They are scarse to find...I stumbled on one way back in October and snatched it up FAST. The kids were so excited.

Maddy looks so happy with her two new "pets"! I agree, those are the best...no vet bills, messes, etc.! : ) Happy Holiday's! Lisa

Sharon said...

Since I have been spending too much time blogging this holiday, I have to respect how disaplined you were to stay off and have a lovely Christmas with your beautiful family! haha

Hope your New years IS Rocking!!!!

Pixel Fairy Princess said...

What a wonderful Christmas -
WE love the Wii fit! We got it as soon as it came out and with all that we ate over the holiday - I know that I should be using it more. To afraid to step on it and find out how much I gained!!!
Ladybug hugs,
;D

Donna said...

Glad you had such a great Christmas!

Shell in your Pocket said...

What fun pictures...your staircase is beautiful!!!

Do you like your Wii Fit? I have thought about it...it seems fun!
-sandy toes

Michelle R Photography said...

Your street sounds wonderful. Santa brought us a Wii and we LOVE it!! I can't wait to get my hands on the Wii Fit, because I am definitely going to be needing it after all the fudge, cookies, etc. We couldn't find any for the two months before Christmas. My favorite game is tennis, so at least I'm getting a little exercise. he he

Happy New Year!!

Rhonda said...

I LOVE luminaries...sounds magical...Your garland is beautiful and sounds like you had a great Christmas!

~Rhonda

Super Mommy said...

Sounds like a lovely Christmas! You slid by this year getting Maddie stuffed dogs, but just you wait . . . . I bet next year a little puppy will be under that tree!

Deb said...

I think we are going to have to get a Wii at this house too! I want the Wii fit also! Sounds like you all had a great Christmas.....and oh how I love it when an entire block does luminaries! Beautiful!

Heather said...

Looks like a perfect Christmas!

We too were lost in Wiiland after my parents surprised us with our fill of Wii-orama. I LOVE bowling! Em is really good at it:)

I am always a bit behind in posting, just means you have lots going on, can't beat that!

Happy New Year!
Heather

Jennifer said...

Your staircase looks beautiful. Sounds like a great Christmas.

Jen