I had a very nice Christmas--one of the nicest in the past few years. I received some nice gifts, like a new robe, a pretty new dress, several DVD's and a couple of CD's. One of my daughters gave me "Fiddler on the Roof" on DVD. It is one of my favorite musicals, partly because I performed in it in college. This daughter recently tried out for a role in it in a local production, and, although she didn't make it, it was a fun and bonding experience. Anyway, I thought it was a thoughtful gift. My other daughter gave me the new CD by Josh Groban. Josh is one of my current favorite singers, and I think it is pretty neat that my six year old notices things like that. My friend in Texas, Denise, sent me the DVD and CD of "Oklahoma". It is a great production and I have really enjoyed them.

I had a fun time picking out gifts this year. Most everything was well received. My kids enjoyed the things that we gave them and especially liked their gifts from Santa. But, by far, by favorite gift that I gave was the one I gave my dad. He has an old photo of his grandfather and aunt that was just sitting in a drawer. I sneaked it out one day and had it framed. He was so surprised when he saw it! He is always so hard to shop for, but I think that this was the perfect gift. Now he can hang the picture and see it every day.

We had kind of a different Christmas this year. We usually stay home and host the get-together at our house. But this year we went out of town. We spent several days at a resort in Oklahoma, along with my brother and his family and my dad. Each family had their own cabin, but we spent our mealtimes and other times together. We arrived at Lake Murray on Christmas Eve, around 1:30 in the afternoon. After getting settled in our cabin, we visited for awhile. Later we went up to the lodge where the kids got to decorate stockings. After eating a delicious supper of beef stew, we went on a hayride and sang Christmas carols. Then it was back to the lodge for hot cocoa and more singing, karaoke style this time. The kids were mostly the only ones participating in this, although my brother sang one song. Emily loved it and had a great time singing for everyone. Anna got in on the act, too, but my niece and nephews were a bit more shy. Oh well. Afterward, we went back to our cabins and tried to get the kids settled down for the night so Santa could come. All the kids slept at my brother's cabin, on an air mattress in front of the fire.

Christmas morning came and the kids were the first ones up, of course. After a quick breakfast, they checked out the contents of their stockings, and then everyone gathered to exchange gifts. For lunch, the lodge offered a Christmas buffet, which was pretty good. They had 4 kinds of meat dishes (but no turkey!), plus several vegetables and lots of salads. There were also a lot of desserts to choose from. We just relaxed the rest of the day and let the kids play with their new stuff. I went on a hike with the girls in the afternoon. That evening we went to my cabin and had chili.

On Friday, my dad and Barbara (his lady friend) headed home, while the rest of us stayed. We went and investigated Tucker Tower, which turned into quite a little hike. My brother and I went into town to get a few groceries, then played volleyball with the girls and Brian. Karl, Jon and Chris went into town to see the latest "Lord of the Rings" flick. That evening we roasted hot dogs over the fire and used the leftover chili to make chili dogs. We also made S'mores and hot chocolate. Yum!

On Saturday it was time to pack up to go home. There sure were some long faces on the kids when they had to separate. Those cousins love each other so much! It was a great way to spend Christmas. It was the first time in about 7 years that I got to spend it with my brother, so it was especially meaningful. We all had a wonderful time.