Yep, you heard me right...I'm totally BLOGGING this!!!

Is that not the CUTEST shirt that Gary got me? He knows I LOVE to blog and this was one of the very creative gifts he gave to me on Christmas Eve. I'm standing next to another one of the cool and creative gifts he gave me--a wine cooler that holds 8 bottles of wine at a set temperature. (Really neat, huh? Gary is a great gift-giver and got me all sorts of other great gifts. Books, bubble bath, CDs, cool things for cooking and entertaining. He's a pretty great guy!)

To put it mildly, I was quite spoiled this Christmas. Between the stuff Gary got me and the things I received from my parents, my in-laws, my brother and sister-in-law, and Gary's sister and brother-in-law...I've got enough fun things to keep me entertained for quite a while!

The girls also were QUITE excited by all of their gifts. Delaney said to me yesterday, "I love every gift I got. I got so many great things!" Isn't it nice when everyone is just happy with how everything turned out?

How about some pictures from some of our different Christmas gatherings?

First off, everyone got something they were excited about! Sydney was SO fun to watch this year. She truly loved everything she opened and squealed everytime she got a present. You should have heard the high-pitched SQUEAL that matched this opening. It caught everyone off-guard and we all just laughed and laughed. Nothing like a three-year-old to fill everyone with the Christmas spirit. So sweet...

I guess Sydney inherited her joy in receiving gifts from the "original"...my Mom! She literally looks amazed everytime she opens anything, whether it's a pair of socks or an expensive piece of jewelry. She truly has joy in the experience...

The girls got more great stuff than they could ever really need. One of their favorite "group" gifts was the Hairspray DVD...

With my family, anything connected with Texas (or the Cowboys, or Alabama) is a sure bet...

Oh my goodness, this is the PRETTIEST dress...

And, of course, the BEST thing about the holidays is seeing family--like my sweet brother...

And are handmade gifts not just the BEST? Gary's parents gave the girls money (which, of course, they loved. They are girls, after all! LOL), but his Mom also made them these most amazing afghans with their school colors. (Look at Scout's. It has an S on it. How cute!)...

Santa arrived, of course, sometime in the wee hours of the morning and delivered the girls some pretty cool stuff. McKenna loved her video IPOD (cool jacket from us!)...

Delaney loved her Nintendo DS (North Face jacket from us! You'd thought she'd won the lottery! lol)...

And, yes, Sydney got her Disney Princess Kitchen (complete with dress-up Disney outfits). As we surveyed the Santa items very LATE on Christmas Eve (or was it very early the next morning?), I commented how PINK everything was. It was!! Everything was pink and girly. I LOVE it!!!...

I hope each and every one of you had a wonderfully blessed Christmas as well!! I can't wait to hear how everyone's Christmas went. I pray that they were filled with all sorts of good things...not just the things that can be bought and opened, but the things that can be felt with the heart.

(And, now, I'm going to beg profusely for your forgiveness one more time! My computer is still on the blink, and I'm on Gary's again right now. I will be unable to get online for at least three days and then I hope to find some way to get another computer hooked up, mine fixed, or find a new one. But, in the meantime, I won't be able to answer email or stop by your blogs. I am SO SORRY! Phats and Dawn, I haven't had a chance to email either of you back like I needed to! And the rest of you, you don't know how badly I want to come and visit your side of the blog world. I PROMISE to do it very, very soon. Just know that I haven't forgotten you and that I love you guys. I will get there soon!!!!)

Okay...enough groveling (I think!)....

Merry Christmas one more time. I'm off to enjoy some of the fruits of my Christmas (reading some good books, eating more leftover treats, taking the girls shopping, etc.), watch some football, play games, and just enjoy some relaxing time. It should be a good week! See ya'll again real soon (I hope!)