Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Just wishing you a Merry Christmas at this time of the year, and may your family be blessed, and be safe this Holiday season. 

CHristmas Tag... What can I say...I'm a sucker for these.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? WRAPPING PAPER all the way!!! Unless the item isn't a good one to wrap, and then we improvise.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I love the smell of real trees, but couldn't hack spending the same amount of money on a tree ever year, so we have an artificial tree that won't die!! Bonus!!

3. When do you put up the tree? We try to set it up the weekend after Thanksgiving!! Always a fun time for our family.

4. When do you take the tree down? Well Usually by the 1st of the new year. (But this year it will have to wait until ... well I can't say it's a surprise....shhhhh)

5. Do you like eggnog? <<<<<>>>>

6. Favorite gift? Well I really enjoyed what Chris did for me last year. He supplied me with some cash to purchase tickets to go see Twilight, because I hadn't seen it yet. And there was enough money to grab a bite to eat before hand too. This was a girls night out with my sister in laws. Awesome ladies. Plus he had a nice bracelet waiting for me in the tree. I LOVE IT!!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? Chris. Yeah, sure he says he doesn't want anything, but if I have some money I can use on him, I try to use it. But everything he wants/needs are usually clothes, and he likes he stuff a "CERTAIN" way, so it's hard to surprise him with it.

8. Easiest person to buy for? The youngest kid. They are always so easy to please. (But it might be the age factor)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Maybe the question to ask is how many do I own?? I have 12 right now, and I love to collect them. So every few years, I try and acquire a new nativity. I love them.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Well, of course, I mail them. But sometimes I forget a few people, or get surprised by someone sending me a card I wasn't expecting, and then if I can I send them a scanned version of what we sent out. And then add them to the list the next year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? They have all been pretty practical, although there was a white elephant one time that consisted of one hot pad. Not really a big deal but this thing was half grey and BRIGHT orange. It was rather obnoxious. but like I said it was practical. But I don't think I have it anymore, I think I passed it on.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Oh my, I can't even narrow it down. That's what I want to do next week, is watch lots of Christmas Movies. I do really enjoy A Christmas Story.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I have the money. So usually end of NOvember or December. This year we started the day after Thanksgiving.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Call me lame but I love DEVILED EGGS!!! And the pies afterward!! Yummy stuff....this is making me slightly hungry.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, and we switch off from colored to white. Chris prefers white, and I like multi. This year we have white lights. Because we hung the colored strand around the girls bedroom.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Angels we have hear on high. And Oh Holy Night.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We usually stay home for Christmas, and just visit with close family later in the day, but still return home to our beds.

19.Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Well if they are all named in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer than HECK YEAH I know them.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? STAR. IT changes every year. Next year will be interesting to see what we put on the tree. Since we are going to do a HOME MADE Christmas Tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning.

22.Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Everyone is TOO busy, to just hang out and spend time together.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My ornament theme at the moment... anything that is Shatterproof. I have kids. And next year, we're going to do something a lot different. It'll be exciting getting everything ready for next year.

24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner? Usually it's a tukey. But one turkey memory blends into another turkey memory, and soon all is forgotten, but one year, we didn't have money to buy the turkey so we just had lasagne and the kids LOVED it. And so did I!!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? For my family to be HAPPY! And to spend time with those that mean a lot to me!! ALthough a LAZY BOY would be a great addition!! But that will have to wait for now. A new computer would be nice, a DSLR camera, A bigger house.... I could go on and on. But I know that these things won't happen this year, but it's always good to have goals to work towards. Right.

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I don't usually write a letter to you, or at least I haven't for several years now. But I decided that I wanted to change that this year and just let you know how the year has gone.

As you know we've got 5 rambunctious, full of ideas, who won't be quiet when I want them to, but will come and give random hugs, and say I love you, --kids that live here and call us Mom and Dad. They are really working hard these days, and have really been good at doing dishes lately. It's so nice, less that I have to do!! So feel free to indulge in their favorite wishes, but only if you have time, because I know you are quite busy.

I also have a few wishlist items right now too!! For one I would like to have a BIGGER HOUSE!! Of course, there aren't too many bigger houses that we could afford the payment on so that's why we still LIVE here in our little house. But that's okay, because at least we can be cozy!!

So if I can't have the bigger house, I would settle for a new computer!! But even with that, we can't afford it outright either! So maybe I could go for a DSLR Camera, please!!?? Oh yeah, that one will cost a lot of $$ too!!! (Maybe in a few years, I'll have enough saved up) So if I can't have any of these things, because you have a "tight" budget too, then maybe we can go for a LAZY BOY rocker/recliner!! We have room for one in the living room now!! Well, seriously if that's still too much, I could settle for CHOCOLATE!!! Especially Reece's Peanut Butter cups -- the miniatures, and then I wouldn't mind getting boxes of peanut butter TWIX's. I love those things!!

And if I haven't been good enough to get even that, well then I'd be happy if I can spend Christmas with my family, and share in the laughter and love that we have for one another. I would also like "WORLD PEACE" ---**( can you tell me where that line is from?)

My husband has been a huge help the last few weeks, yeah, I know it took a while, but he's doing great and he works hard and amazingly enough we survived this year living on reduced pay. We had just enough to pay the bills, and somehow managed to get some food. Not our favorites but we did have food!! So for Christmas I'd like for you to supply him with some new clothes for work seeing how he spends most of his time there, and it's been a couple years since we've gotten him shirts. He'd also like to get a membership to the rec center. (I'd like that too!!) And could you please make sure that we have some grubbin food ready to eat so that I don't have to stress over it all day. (stress and I really don't go well together!)

My children have actually expressed some interest in some kind of gaming system!! They feel so left out that we don't have anything like that and all their cousins do. (Well mostly all of them do). But I'd just settle for a MIRACLE of having them clean their room!! See what you could do about that one!! I could use some help in that area.

I have lots of friends across the country and even the world, and if you could please make sure that they are watched over and have a good Christmas too that would be great!!

I'd also like an extra helping of ENERGY!! Some days... well it's all I can do to just stay awake!!

And if you could seriously work another miracle and get the 2 year old to sleep through the night and not run to my room, I'd seriously like that!! And while you are at it, a new mattress in the bedroom would be great too!!

Well, you know all the specs, on the kids being good or not, but they really are good kids!! See if you can help them out.

And as always, be sure to stop and get your snack, and there'll be snacks for the reindeer too. So if you have a request, now's the time to put it in!! You got my digits.

Make sure to rest up, because Christmas is coming up fast. And be sure to use the "hidden" key we told you about, so that you can still get in the house, seeing how we don't have fireplace for easier access. I'll do my best to make sure the kids are in bed EARLY that night, and for some reason it seems to be the only night that they ever do EXACTLY what I say. Why is that??

Well, take care Santa and tell the Mrs. I said Hi, and

wish you both a Merry Christmas too!!

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If you want to play along visit MamaKat's blog, there were a few writing prompts to choose from.