Christmas vacation

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We most certainly did...only a few tinges of meltdown here and there, and basically no 'drama' of any kind, and everyone liked their gifts and for the most part remembered their manners. I consider that successful! :)

But seriously...I have felt truly and abundantly blessed these last few days. From the pure thrill I got from seeing my kids over-the-top excited about the gifts they got (and especially because they weren't 'big ticket' items like I know their friends are getting) to the satisfaction of just getting to spend relaxing time with family, I would say this just may be one of my best Christmases. I don't know if I say that every year (maybe I do) but I am just really, really happy. I'm doubly blessed that Todd has off this week, and we are getting to spend lots of fun family time together. I love when we can hang out and I don't have to nag anyone to do homework or chores or projects (and believe me, that one's hard for me....to me, everyone home just screams "project time!!"). This week my mindset is just putting all the normal 'stuff' on hold and just have fun and be together. We got a few new games, and already we've played all of them at least once. We got a new season of 'The Waltons' and we've already watched several episodes. AND we got snow...enough that the kids were out twice yesterday, and anxiously awaiting Dad returning (from breakfast with a friend) this morning to hit their sledding trail again. Imagine...the kids ALL playing together! Who woulda thunk it?!?! It does a heart good! ;)

And last night we did our annual 'Clemmer-family-sleep-around-the-tree' night. Yep, we all drag out sleeping bags and blankets and pillows and stuffed animals and sprawl all over the living room floor (we don't actually fit around the tree anymore). We played 'Apples to Apples', then Kate made some fresh baked sugar cookies and we watched The Waltons. Together. Snuggled up on the floor...Maggie and all. We've done this every year, actually since before the kids were born. Todd and I started it when we were young newlyweds and I thought the glow from the tree lights was soooo romantic. I wouldn't exactly say it's romantic anymore, but it's a firm family tradition that the kids all look forward to with great anticipation. And I love that...even if my back doesn't after waking up from a full night on the floor.

So, if I don't get around to posting any more this week, it's probably because I'm eating peppermint bark and sipping Dunkin' Donuts coffee and losing myself in the new Dekker novel I'm reading, or playing Mario Kart or watching a movie or playing Blokus or something like that. Or having a much overdue date with my hubby. I know my happy little Christmas bubble will be bursting all too soon, so I'm gonna soak it all up while I can!

Happy rest of the holidays to you all! (Don't get bent out of shape because I said 'happy holidays'...Christmas is over, so at this point, I think it simply makes more sense!) :)