Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had at least as wonderful a Christmas as I did this year.  :D  Over the past week our house has be bursting at the seams with relatives.  We had my grandmother, both of my dad's sisters and their husbands, and my cousin with his wife and 3 teenage kids all staying in our house.  Not to mention my nieces and nephew who were here for most of the week as well.  It's a good thing we all get along!

I don't know what Christmas morning is like in your home, but in mine it is quite the ordeal.  We had to wait for for my sister and family to show up to begin the real festivities, but we started early with breakfast and just hanging out.  Once the entire clan was together we read the Christmas story, Grandma led us all in a time of prayer, and then we got down to the business of opening presents.  Every year we make rules and decide we aren't going to go crazy, but no one really follows the rules, and inevitably the gift opening takes us a least a couple hours.  This year I had crocheted and knitted gifts for each member of my extended family (you can see my cousins sporting their Lauren-Made Winter Wear in the pictures), and I really think all my hard work paid off.  Everyone really seemed to love their gifts (and if they didn't, they should get Oscars for their performances on Christmas morning!)  

As for me, I had some awesome gifts this year.  One of them really shocked me.  I'd been dropping hints about wanting a Kitchenaid mixer for a long time, but I knew mom hated the idea of having another appliance in the kitchen, so I really wasn't expecting one.  I think I half gasped and half screamed when I opened one up.  I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I'm really looking forward to trying it out.   I also got a Wii this year and some games to go with it as well as DVDs, gift cards, jewelry, and knitting needles.  Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled.

All the family has gone home now.  I'm a little sad, but there is something nice about having your home to yourself again.  It's also nice to still have a long weekend ahead of me.

So again, to all my friends who read this, I hope you had a very merry Christmas this year.  Also, if you have a moment, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite gift was this year.