A Quiet Christmas with Charity

It was so fun to have Charity come home for Christmas. We had a great two weeks together. She got some much needed rest and relaxation and we enjoyed the holiday season.

We had some great menus for Christmas eve and Christmas day - cranberry chicken, yummy potatoes, a special brussel sprouts recipe, pomegranate salad, caramel apple cheesecake and a cranberry pear tart.

On New Year's Eve we made coconut shrimp and mango creme brulee - they were both super good! We really enjoyed ourselves and it shows on my bathroom scales!

This is a picture of us by the new Christmas tree. Charity had the great idea of getting a smaller tree and I love this new tree so much better than the one we've had since the kids were little. This tree is perfect and I'm so glad I downsized!

You can see one of my many Christmas gifts in the picture above - Jason and Ashley got me a fabulous blu-ray DVD player! What a surprise and I love it! They are so good to help me keep up with the latest technology. They were so generous to also sent me a gift certificate for Kindle books! I'll be using that soon!

Charity brought me a suitcase full of presents - I couldn't believe how much she brought me - gloves, scarfs, pajama pants, shirts, fleece tops, hot pads with my chefs, a chef picture for my kitchen, a book, tons of beautiful jewelry, and so much more! Charity is so generous - she is amazing!

I love the calendar that Nate and Misty got me. It is full of fabulous family pictures and must have taken a very long time to create. This was a special gift and I so appreciate it. They also sent me a gift certificate from Amazon that I will use for Kindle books or something from my wish list. In addition, they promised to come visit me and I'm excited about that and hope it will be soon.

Casey and Jenna were fantastic in shopping from my wish list! They bought me a new set of dishes with red so they match my kitchen decorations. I love them. They also got me a Taylor Swift CD that I listen to in my car everywhere I go - I have been wanting that for a long time. They also remembered and got me my favorite chocolate covered cherries from Harry & David's! They also sent an awesome family picture that is in the living room proudly displayed. There is one more gift and now I can't remember what it was - jewelry? (Jenna, please remind me......)

Charity and I shopped the after Christmas sales, went to Weight Watchers meetings, and visited the Grotto in Portland (one of the popular Christmas events). At the Grotto, we heard Michael Allen Harrison play the piano and enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate recommended by my friend Mo. I had a great holiday. Thanks Charity for making it so special!

I am so blessed and really enjoyed the holidays. The time went so fast. I'm now looking forward to seeing everyone I missed very soon! I'm going to California and hope to get to Grants Pass sometime this month.