Merry Christmas!

This is normally a really lovely time of year, but we're having family issues, so it's kinda sad But on the good side, I finally, FINALLY got smart, and kept a piece of paper in my wallet with "gift ideas" on it, and whenever I thought of something or saw something that I thought someone would like, I actually WROTE IT DOWN then and there! And I ended up with a really lovely and fun list and a lot less stress! My daughter loves wrapping presents, and this is a fun activity that we do together. We love to make them really pretty. This year, I found some really pretty black-and-white wrapping paper, and they're turning out really nice with some bright colored ribbons (love the wired type) and decorations.

I can't wait to go back to California to visit my family and spend time with them at Christmas. I found a very unique present for my parents - I bought (sharing the cost with my two sisters) one of those slide conversion machines (you can get them for under $100 so sharing it 3 ways isn't bad) and we will convert all of their vacation slides to digital images, and then load them on their laptops (yes, Grandma and Grandpa have laptops! they're so cute sitting in their two little rocking chairs together with their laptops) and have them slideshow in the background. And doing the conversions will be a team effort, and will be such a nice time together as we talk and remember our lovely vacations. I think they'll really like it!