Sunday, December 28, 2008


Welcome to my bloggy home for...

Christmas '08 in Pictures!

The Christmas celebrations are in the books and one of the best things about this year's holiday was that it seemed very simple and joyful. There was almost no stress going from one place to the next; no fussing and fighting; gifts that everyone seemed to really love; and just a lot of simple joys in seeing everyone (and you all know that many times the holidays are NOT like that!).

So, I present to you a major photo overload recap of our Christmas. Grab you a cold drink and sit down for a spell, because you're going to be here for a while! LOL

Our celebrations involved a lot of fun stuff, like telling the Christmas Story in dramatic form...


Playing new card games with cousins right away...

Wrestling with more cousins...

And taking a much-needed nap between destinations...

And then, of course, the main event was gifts! (Sometimes I have to remind myself what it was like to be a child surrounded by adults who wanted to sit there and eat and chat and do anything except unwrap gifts. I used to hate that! I'd sit there impatiently, twiddling my thumbs, internally begging the grown-ups to plleeeeeaaasssse get into the living room so we could open our gifts!)

I loved some of the really unique gifts that the girls got, like these vintage dolls that my grandmother had sent from Texas to the girls (Grandma has always collected dolls and she thinks that these are from the late 60s)...

And the cash gift from Gary's Mom made into a rose. The girls thought it was great (it was cash, after all!)...


And, oh my, more gifts...



On Christmas Eve, after the girls are tucked into bed (or, in this case, all passed out on Sydney's floor for a Christmas Sleepover!), Gary and I exchange our gifts with each other.

I think I did a good job with Gary's gifts! I had him all sorts of smaller goodies (several books he wanted, "House" on DVD, etc.), but then his bigger gift totally surprised him. He'd been saying how he wished he could play his old albums, so I found this really cool, retro-looking record player that also has a CD player, radio, and MP3 hookup. By Christmas Day afternoon, we were boogeying (is that a word?) to our old Air Supply and Abba albums and our old 45s of "Pop Music," "That's Rock n Roll" (by Shaun Cassidy! LOL), and assorted Prince songs. It was like Flashbacks with the Wrays. Too much fun!

The girls were so excited about their gifts for me! They told me that they "went together" and they really conspired a lot building up to it. All I have to say about it is that they KNOW ME WELL. They got me the coolest things to make cupcakes. Giant cupcake pans, mini cupcake pans, a book about cupcakes, and a cool mini cupcake display. I can't wait to make some cupcakes (I'm thinking there will be some big ones, some little ones, and some festive ones all displayed in the fun holder, all for New Year's!)...

And Gary treated me great, as he always does! He got me some of the things I requested and then surprised me with some really sweet gifts.

I am smelling GOOD now, with my requested Harjuku "Love" perfume and with the unexpected "Candy Apple" lotion and bubble bath from Bath & Body Works (if you haven't discovered this scent yet, you might want to go get you some before the holiday season is over. It's only sold during the holidays, and it is UNbelievably good!)

DVDS...

A cappucino machine...

And the most original gift of all. These were made by an artist friend of ours and are so cool! If you look very closely at the first one, you can see "Cheryl" etched into the design. The three he gave me say "Cheryl," "Gary," and "Wray." Now I've got to find the perfect place to display them!


(Best gifts not photographed? The 400-count sateen sheet set--Divine!!--the Dallas Cowboys tee--although I'm seriously put out with my Boys after they sucked it up tonight in their game--, a chenille bathrobe, a crystal wine stopper with a "W" inside of it, several new books, a Snowman cookie jar, some new stemware. I feel pampered, to say the least!)

But, really, the best part of Christmas is being with family and friends. Taking stock of how much you have to be grateful for. Feeling joyful that you can be with these cool people. (And, yeah, taking pictures of them all!)





(But, wait...
Maybe the best part of this Christmas was Gary playing with the Wii after Santa delivered it, but before the girls even imagined waking up. Around 4 in the morning...LOL...


I hope that all of you had a WONDERFUL Christmas. I'm still totally enjoying taking it easy and am being sorta lazy when it comes to my blog-hopping. But I'm going to try and stop by and see all of you very soon!

Bunches of hugs to all of you!

19 comments:

Adrienne said...

Looks like you all had a beautiful Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures!

Monogram Queen said...

WONDERFUL post Cheryl! I love how you summarize SO well!

Let me caution you that they don't sell Candy Apple EVERY year. It's one of my faves too! Mmmmm......I might rush out and buy some before it's too late!

Basting Away said...

Did you get Sugar Bowl tickets? Are you planning on coming to the game? If so let me know love to have you stop by our tailgate.

Rolltide!!

Steve

Cheryl Wray said...

Adrienne--It really was a good Christmas!!! (It sounds like you guys have been having all sorts of fun at your house!! :-)

Anon--Thanks!!

Queen--Thanks for the info.I may have to go stock up on that stuff. It is SO yummy smelling!

Steve--Oh boy, do I WISH we had Sugar Bowl tickets. We could have got them, but then just wasn't sure how we could handle it with all the holiday activities going on already. But now, I kinda wish I had gotten tickets. I hope you guys have a BLAst!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!

Lynilu said...

Wow, that is some Christmas! I'm glad you had such a great one! Life is good!!

Basting Away said...

Cheryl,

I have an extra pair of GREAT seats that one of the Judges I work for asked me to sell for him. Send me an email if you are interested. smunster at gmail.com

Auburn Kat said...

That is so funny that Gary started playing the Wii after Santa delivered it!!!

Anonymous said...

It looks like you all had a really great Christmas. Ours was nice also.

Marjolein said...

Wow, this looks awesome,love the pictures with Gary and the Wii!!

We had a great Christmas, (collage on blog!)and I'm having lazy days too... but want to scrap too.....

I wish you and your family a very good and happy and for you creative 2009 and keep on blogging, love to read your stories!

Linda said...

LOL...I love the pics of Gary playing the Wii, how funny. Thanks for the great pics and post...wonderful..Happy New Year Friend.

Mississippi Songbird said...

Awww. Great Pictures .. I'm so glad you had a good Christmas! Cheers to a New Year! God Bless you....

Cheryl Wray said...

Lynilu--I LOVE your attitude. Life is indeed Good!!

Basting--Can you believe I just now checked back on my comments? Too late for me now to plan a trip, but THANK YOU so much for thinking of me. I can't wait to hear how your trip went. Roll Tide! (But aren't you just about sick over Andre Smith? I hate it for him and the team!)

Kat--I think he was more excited about the Wii than the girls! LOL

Gin--It was a very nice one!

Cheryl Wray said...

Marjolein--Yep, Gary cracked me up! Thanks for the sweet, well wishes. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful new year!

Linda--Happy New Year to you too!!!

Songbird--Cheers to you too! :-)

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year to you and yours, Cheryl.

hippo chick said...

Hey Cheryl,

Great post. I've been away for awhile. Love all the pictures. I'm with you about Winter Candy Apple. It is one of my very favorite scents.

Hope you and yours have a Happy New Year.

~hippo hugs~

Dettao said...

Looks like you had a great couple of days. I would really love to know how to make those money roses. How cool is that!

Kingcover said...

I'll bet you had to search high and low for that old fashioned record player and Gary sure does look as if he's enjoying his special gift :-)

I think the girls would be really impressed if you managed to make a Swizz Roll or a Battenberg Cake out of the cupcake making machines. That would really have them scratching their heads in disbelief. Hehehehe.


Happy New Year Cheryl to you and your lovely family :-D

Gretchen said...

FUN and SWEET. Two words that come to mind after reading this post and looking at all the wonderful pictures. Love the picture of Sydney napping. Thanks for letting us come over for Christmas Day, Cheryl. And you look great in teal blue. ;)

Oh, another word: GENEROUS