Nice and squally.

Well, Christmas came and went and nobody in my household shot their eye out. I'd say that's a big victory.

Although there was a close call when one of my brothers got his four-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter each their own set of bow and arrows. Where was the fatherly wisdom in that purchase? Scary... I never thought I'd have to use the sentence, "Don't shoot the arrow in the house!" But when directed at Ty, I shouldn't be too surprised.

Anyway, we started the day with an advent reading about when love came down in the form of an innocent and helpless baby, and then I played the song "Love Came Down at Christmas" by Jars of Clay. I have never been an huge fan of theirs, but the Christmas album is absolutely amazing (thank you William). It was a great way to give our minds the proper focus on the day. And of course, all of this was done with tea and Pillsbury Cinnamon Buns. Every year, without fail.

I had some interesting sentiments throughout the day that I was quite content with - I'm growing up. As you get older, the number of presents gets smaller; it's just inevitable. But what I experienced was that I absolutely loved every gift that I received yesterday. For me, it's not about buying for the sake of buying. That's not my love language anyway (familiar with this concept?). But so much thought, care and personality came through in each gift.

I could fit all of my gifts into one 8x12" gift bag and that's the way I want it these days. I don't want to acquire "stuff," I want practical things that I either need or make perfect sense to give someone like me. Like the bottle of Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio from my brother Tony: Do I need that bottle of wine? Of course not. But it was so thoughtful that he got it for me because he knows I prefer white wine, have been to Australia, and would always choose the kind with an orange and yellow kangaroo on the bottle - obviously. And it went well with the bottle opener/corkscrew and organic vegetarian cookbook he got me. One thing I had specifically asked for, and another that I was so surprised and excited about that I spent the next 2 hours reading it from cover to cover.

Then later when the nieces and nephews joined us, my stomach turned as I watched the piles of useless stuff build on the floor. It was literally stressing me out. I don't want it to be that way with my children. Do kids just inherently expect that, or is there a way to raise them so they don't want that kind of debris? It seemed as though it was never ending! I will accept any advice from parents on how to raise kids in a fashion that is not this way (no offense to my family members).

But besides my miserly thoughts, the day was exceptional. The nieces were especially snuggly and we all enjoyed each other's company in our cozy home.

And with that, the snow came tumbling down. Call me a skeptic, but I always think that the weather folks build up these enormous storms and then I'm disappointed with some meager dusting. Well, I suppose we'll have to wait and see. It finally started up here in Haverhill and the wind is blowing like mad. Good thing I just bought yarn to use with my new crocheting needles. Time to enjoy the lock in and ride it out.

Happy blizzard everyone!