My Christmas was really good. I hope yours was too. I think I did okay with my gifting and I know I got great gifts….
Here’s a few pictures from our day. The Friedmans and Karl were here…oh, and Georgia too.
Kelli had to work the day shift at the hospital and Jason offered to do chores so the other people at his farm could spend time with family.
Christmas isn’t a big day our house…and it’s WAY simple. In fact, after looking the pictures, I realized I forgot to comb my hair. I came downstairs right away in the morning to get Rosie outside to try to go potty and then got busy doing things without even realizing I didn’t comb it. AHHH…and Kalissa never said anything.
Every year for my birthday Kalissa takes Carver to the dollar store and lets him pick out whatever he wants to give me. It’s so cute. The first time he went, he picked out red paper plates. I oh and awe over them all the time. If we eat pizza here I often use paper plates and I make a production over me getting to use my special red paper plates.
He gave me some again….
He is so cute and teases me about them. He keeps a secret…then he tells me what’s in the package. I typically get red plates for Mother’s Day and my birthday or Christmas.
I love it.
Kalissa’s family got me this shirt…I love it.
They also got me this present….
It’s a squirrel house…like a bird house only for squirrels. They did a bunch of research on them and Craig built it. They had one of my former childcare kids (all grown up) do the wood burning on it. I was also told that this comes with a free installation.  They are going to put it on my tree where the squirrel feeder is.
I have to say my best present though was probably this… It was from Craig. 1 hour of manual labor…1 hour of yard work….1 hour of landscaping.
I couldn’t help but getting all teary eyed when he gave me the last one. “Good for anything and everything you’d even need help with”. Notice it never expires.
Oh my. If you are on your own like I am, you would know how much that means. I need help but am so bad at asking.
Rosie had a great time hanging with us. It’s hard to believe she’s part of the family already.
After packages were opened…I read Carver his Papa Moo book. I made it through without crying a tear. I was so impressed with myself.
Carver was so full of questions.
After that Craig started in on a project for me….see??
Carver joined in…Karl too.
I’ll tell you more about that another day.
Then Carver tried out my Grandma’s pump organ.
…and Kalissa and Karl tried out the pickled herring. What can I say? It’s the Swede in us. We LOVE it. My dad always had us try as a kid…we did the same with our kids. If there was ever a buffet with pickled herring and we took the kids, well, lets just say they had to restock after we went through the line.
One of my childcare families came over. They are friends of the family and they weren’t doing anything so the more the merrier. We love extras…
…and that gave us enough people to play cards. YAHOO!!
We still haven’t convinced Kalissa to learn to play yet.
Anyway…I had a great Christmas. Thanks so much to the many who sent cards my way. I got more cards and surprise boxes than I have even gotten from blog readers. Seriously, your thoughtfulness helped me have a really good Christmas. Thanks so much…and a huge shout out to the family. We made it through our first Christmas and I think we did okay.
I grew up playing cards and really enjoy it. My kids, however, not so much. We do play board games or electronic games that we can all play together. We did both this year – lots of laughs.
Glad you had a good time. Your gifts are fun. Most precious would be those coupons. I need someone who could do those kinds of things. Thank God for Craig and his willingness.
I will always chuckle when I see red paper plates from now on. How sweet. I loved seeing Karl’s expression when Carver gave you his present. That was sweet too. I got terry eyed over Craig’s gifts too. And Rosie just fits right in. I think she’s a Kramer already!
I love to see how other families celebrate Christmas – thank you for sharing yours!
We also play cards at Christmas – we play Tripoley. If you ever get a chance, check it out. We laugh so much while playing this game – especially when there are newbies playing it. It’s a tradition we’ve passed down to the kids.
Love and prayers
What a wonderful day for all and I love seeing Carver with his firemen pants and oh those red plates are special indeed! We always played cards or games on Christmas, nice to see that others did also. Craig gifts are very special indeed, and no expiration! The squirrel feeder is going to bring lots of hours of watching for you and the childcare kids, what a neat gift. Merry Christmas to you all
I gave my dad coupons for a pie a month one time.
Mom and Dad enjoyed that gift! Thanks for the show!
I love it! It looks like you had a GREAT DAY! We’re you playing Pitch? I hope to get those kind of hands! I’m so glad you have Rosie! I love her name! Have a wonderful new year! I look forward to all your adventures and stories!
Bittersweet, I’m sure, but you guys look like you had a great day. And Craig’s gift? What a sweetie!!
I had to laugh at Carver’s gift. The first Christmas with my step grandson, his dad let him pick out a gift for me. It reminded me of a muff for your hands, except it was supposed to be worn around your neck. real furry!! His dad tried to convince him to pick something else, but it had to be that one!! It’s in my cupboard as a memento.
Hi Jo!
I LOVE Pickled Herring and I am not even Scandanavian! LOL
Glad you had a good Christmas!
Happy New Year!
The red plates are just the cutest gift!!! Love Craig’s gift!!! He is such a sweetheart!!! Glad you had a wonderful Christmas!
Love Rosie Kramer. Your gifts had a lot of thought behind them. Carver is so thoughtful and Georgia is a cutie. Glad you had a good holiday. I have a red squirrel in a tree by my deck that my cats watch. I would gladly mail it to you if I could Catch it.
Oh the joy of family and Christmas. Thanks for sharing. Your Craig is a gift in himself.
Love your Christmas gifts from Craig especially. They remind of my Mom. After Dad died, she would save up little repairs/replacements. When we would visit, these would be my hubby’s “honey do list”. He loved it. So Jo, don’t feel at all bad-I totally believe Craig means it from the heart!
I love how much of your Christmas day you’ve shared with us here. Such fun and love can be seen in everyone’s smiles. And oh my, that little Carver is a hoot! What a treasure his time with you must be.
Happy New Year Jo. Much love to you.
Pingback: Eat in or go out | Jo's Country Junction