Christmas 09

Christmas Eve:

We had a really great time. We sat at the dining room table, a rare occurrence, and enjoyed my Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup and french rolls. So good! Then we all scurried around getting our Secret Santa gifts and Gifts from the Heart. I don't really have pics at this point. It was busy, you know, exchanging gifts! LOL! My parents loved the 2 pillows I had made for them, one with them on it, one with my sisters and I on it. And my sisters loved their screened t-shirts I had made. I created a character after myself and named her Woe. Actually Woe Isme...get it? Okay anyway, I ended creating one for Sam and one for Kat too. I named them the Isme Sisters. So I created images they had never seen before and had Zazzle.com silk-screen them on. And I gave them their names on Christmas Eve. Katie's is Gloomie Isme, and Sandy's is Sorrow Isme. They loved them, yay! The first official Isme Sisters Merchandise! I had my Mom to shop Secret Santa for and got her Christmas in CT, Trapped in Paradise and a box full of almost 50 Nestle DeMet's Pecan turtles. She was so excited with the turtles especially! :)

My Mom had me for Secret Santa and she got me 2 things. One was fishing wire. A bit ago, I told her I didn't have the strength to hold on anymore, and she told me she and my Dad were holding on to me and with strong fishing wire, so it was symbolic. She also got me a Nintendo DS game I have been drooling over, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box:

Then it was my Mom's turn for Gifts From the Heart (which I will now abbreviate as GFTH, because typing it is tiresome). She got us girls a box to keep our special personal ornaments in, and got us all, including my Dad, a new special ornament. Katie has an angel who is busy talking on the phone, Sandy got the two main characters from Corpse Bride, my Dad got a motorcycle and Mom got me Winnie the Pooh with Piglet:

She also got us girls each a new charm. Here is mine a green (one of my 2 fave colors) dragonfly (I like them a lot):

Sandy got my Dad this cool calendar she personalized with pictures as her GFTH for him. For my mom, she got this crystal heart necklace. You see, on my Mom's wedding day, she was given one by her father. And it was always there growing up. Katie borrowed it a few years ago and it has been missing since. So until (hopefully) we find it, Sandy got her a "twin". Such a wonderful idea. And for me and Katie, she us and herself, each a mini charm bracelet sized one, so we always remember that story:

She sent to the Mid-West an Applebee's certificate and her Secret Santa ended up the same person and she sent Sandy a Target gift card.

Katie, well she is a procrastinator, so she ended up, in one envelope my Dad opened, telling us she was taking us all to Taco Bell and a movie soon. Sure, a little more from the heart would have been sweet, but it is kind of Katie though. LOL. Katie sent the Mid-West person she got a Amazon.com gift card. Dad had her and gave her a gift card to Trader Joe's. She was so happy.

My Dad had the Mid-West guy send him a gift card to Home Depot, which he liked very much. For GFTH, my Dad gave us each a letter, which is private. For me he gave me the soundtrack to an LDS play we apparently saw when we were young. But he got it for me, it is called My Time on Earth, to remind me I am supposed to BE here, that it is my time:

He got Kate this beautiful painting picture from Deseret which has a story attached, and he got my Mom this Christmas Glenn Beck book, The Christmas Stocking I think. And he got Sandy the LDS Pride & Prejudice. (Poor Dad had no idea she knew about that version too and owned it. She has every movie version of it made. So they are going to exchange it for another LDS movie). The letters were the best part though.

Then we went and watched a Christmas movie. Kate and the parents had never seen Fred Claus so we watched that, and I think it is one of those rare times when my parents LIKE Vince Vaughn. It is a good movie.

And then it was showers and night nights.

Christmas Day:

Well, there were some rough spots. I have a hard time with Holidays and feeling insecure and stuff. But let us not dwell on those spots, lets go to the Christmas day.

Katie and Sandy woke us all up by bringing Max into our rooms, with his Christmas shirt and antlers on. I do not have pics yet, but will be having a "photo session", much to Max's dismay probably, but he was too cute!

We had egg sandwiches, much like McMuffins, but we substitute our last name. They are way better and we use regular bacon. Well regular BACON bacon for Mom and I. Turkey bacon for Dad, Kat and Sam. I think it is like paper but they love it. Strange people!

Then we all washed up and went and opened presents. Katie was ecstatic the most with 2 veils she got and a new mini trampoline. She has had like 3, but she uses them so much, she ends up breaking them. So she was thrilled. Sandy got movies and some faery statues, etc. My Mom loved the earrings and Christmas pins and nightgown I picked out and the books and other things Sandy had picked out...Dad so owes us, lol! Dad loved his new clothes he had wanted and hats and gloves and even a new portable tv, he LOVED that. I am over the moon with my stuff. I got the movies and 2 tv shows I really wanted.

A Skelanimal (sure he is damaged so we need an exchange...bah!)named Jack♥, 2 rings I love, a soft sweater they got huge so I can wear it around the house. A replacement Ipod battery (so happy with that, it gets less than an hour on FULL charge!), noise cancelling headphones, a portable dvd player and a few other things, some of which are personal.

And as is tradition, new Christmas pajamas!! Sam washed them all in time to wear Christmas night!!

We then cleaned up and stuff. I was so tired though, exhausted from not enough sleep and from...my worrying. So I got cold so my Mom had me lay down and covered me up. They brought in cheeses and crackers and we munched. My Mom put in the shells we had made and we all lay down and they put in my new movie, Star Trek. I was a bit perturbed, only because I could feel myself falling asleep. And I was right, before the first scene, I was gone until it was just ending. Darn it! So I am the only family member yet to have seen MY movie! LOL! Crazy!!

Then we ate shells and garlic bread, very good, Mom and I did fabulous! Then Mom picked out Christmas in Connecticut. I was awake for this one, so I was upset my dad wanted to go to his room to "lay down and die", but gave in when everyone was like Let him go! Boo! But us girls watched it, and it was even better than I remembered. It had a short too attached, which was SO sweet. Can' remember the name, but it was like the night Christ was born, but took place in like the 1900's, cowboys and such.

Then we all took our turns at showers or baths and most went to bed for the night. I, however, stayed up and proceeded to get OCD about entering my new movies in the "List" I created, alphabetized, etc, of movies I own. Over 700 now. LOL!! Love me some movies indeed!! Then I took my medicine because Dad wanted to continue Christmas on Saturday.