I'm glad it's over!

I'm a Scrooge... I know this, and I accept this. Well, I'm not a Scrooge about my own immediate family and our celebrating... I'm Scroogish about all the other nonsense we put ourselves through for our extended family's sake... only to be spat on once again.

Okay, Scrooge aside, we had a nice Christmas just the 5 of us. We got up at a reasonable time, attended the 8:00am Mass (which for our church was practically empty), and came home for breakfast and a few gifts! We tried to take some pictures (which didn't go well), but after a hearty meal it was time for the annual shredding of wrapping paper. As usual we had a very modest gift exchange... but the delight was very apparent with the boys... who enjoyed a new set of PJ's (including a homemade fleece robe) and slippers, and LEGO's (their first real set). Also a relative sent them each a horse (which was a huge hit). Nothing needed batteries, nothing had flashing lights or made any noise on their own, and all needed imagination!

Sidenote: I had no idea that the robe would be immediately transformed into a Jedi Robe!

After all was picked up and the boys headed to their rooms for some intense Jedi Lego barn yard antics, Daddio and I headed into the kitchen for several hours of cooking.

On the menu: roasted duck, homemade cornbread dressing, mashed sweet potatoes, dinner biscuits, and spice cake (we always do a birthday cake for Jesus).

That evening we were to have family guests, and were quite excited to try out all these lovely dishes. Unfortunately our guests decided not to show up... and we enjoyed the meal on our own. It was delicious! We have a second duck waiting for another lovely opportunity to enjoy such a tasty meal!

While our time was lovely, dealing with our relations really turned out poorly. I'm glad that portion of our Christmas season is over. Now we get to enjoy our children, our home, and our food in peace.