Christmas 2008

Let's just say Christmas this year was great! I took way too many pictures to even know where to start just pulling some of them. Even though funds were really tight this year, we still had an amazing Christmas. We focused more on the reason for the season instead of the gifts.

Santa does our stockings and the gifts under the tree come from me and Eric. Santa usually spends as much on stockings as he does on under-the-tree gifts but that couldn't happen this year. I probably did 1/3 of what we normally do for Christmas. I was really, really worried and I braced myself for the kids saying, "Really? That's it? That's all we get?" But they didn't. They adored everything they got. Well, except for Jellybean. She was quite irritated to have received socks as a gift. But that's just her.

Eric and I did nothing for each other but Santa got us each one gift in our stockings. And this year, Santa really did listen to me talk throughout the holidays. He got me Lego Batman for the Wii. He couldn't have picked a better inexpensive gift. More so than the gift itself, though, was that Santa had really listened to me and didn't just get me something he thought I'd like. That meant a lot. My brother did the same thing for me - listened to something I'd off-handedly said, read between the lines, and gave me a gift. It rocked!!

One of my favorite parts about Christmas this year we resurrecting an old tradition my aunt and uncle did in their family when my cousins were little. With funds being tight, I was trying to find large, inexpensive items for the kids' stockings. My cousins never got sugared cereal. That wasn't allowed in their home . . . except when Santa brought one special box to them at Christmas. So Santa swung by the grocery store this year and picked up sugared cereals that I never, ever would buy on a normal day for my kids and put them with their stockings this year. Santa did buy Loch Monster, though, a cereal that he knew I would eat, too, and I'm pretty sure he gave it to Loch Monster instead of the girls because he knew Loch Monster would share with me. :-) Loch Monster got Cookie Crisp, Sweet Pea got a Barbie cereal and Jellybean got Fruity Pebbles. They thought it was pretty cool.

We did have another scare, though, on Christmas day with Loch Monster's migraines and how they basically shut his brain down. We took video again of his incoherency and inability to talk. Once we got some meds and a scrambled egg in him, he started to do better. And our brilliant son was back and normal by that evening, alphabetizing and adding our newest movies into our DVD library. Weird!

Civil Rights Movement Happens in Smith Home - 12/24/08

Rascal ran out of treats, and with Eric being unemployed, we weren't racing to PetSmart to stock back up. To fully understand the gravity of that decision, you must know that Rascal probably goes through a bag of treats a week. Every time he comes back inside from galavanting around the yard and neighborhood, he cries for treats. He cries for treats when somebody comes home. He cries for treats just because he can. And we are suckers (with this child only) and give in 99% of the time he asks. So this is traumatic - to be without treats for 5 days. I keep the bag of treats on top of my jewelry box and as you can see, Rascal is holding a "sit in." By golly, he's going to sit there until we get him more treats. In that 2nd picture you can actually see him crying at me. I made Eric take some of our Christmas money we received to go buy more treats for the stinkin' spoiled child. I could not stand to have one more kid in my household be angry at me for something.

Cat Scan Anyone? - 12/22/08

Candid Shots - 12/21/08

Candid pictures taken at a Campbell family party. I won't bore you with all the pictures of presents or family or food - just the precious highlights.

Sweet Pea - I think she's going to grow up to be a model. She loves posing for the camera.

Loch Monster - Tender, quiet, brilliant and quick as a whip.

Jellybean - VERY independent and headstrong, hilarious!

Grandpa Campbell singing carols. He had encephalitis of the brain 11 years ago when I was pregnant with Loch Monster. I was terrified that my Grandpa would send me my firstborn child instead of meet him here in this life. He's since been around for many more great-grandchildren coming into the family despite not ever being the same man that he used to be before getting sick and we cherish every moment we get to still have him with us.

My Grandma plays this STUPID $5 gift exchange game every year. We hate it and the spirit of the holiday is completely lost but none of us dare tell that to Grandma. She'd have a fit. This year she finally did size-down the game to only include children under the age of 18 instead of every single person. I was trying to forget that I needed to take three $5 gifts for my kids to put into the pot but sadly remembered that day, a Sunday, that I was suppose to be a dutiful granddaughter and participate. So I scrambled through the house looking for new, child-appropriate white elephant gifts valued around $5. I found a Kid's Apron and Chef Hat set from Pampered Chef that I still had lying around, in the package, unopened. It costs more than $5 but it was one of the three gifts I needed. It would have to do. Of all the gifts on the floor to choose from, having no idea which gifts I prepared and brought, Jellybean picked the apron and hat. She's a wonder!! And she thinks she's the coolest kid ever and is always asking to help with dinner or treats so that she can wear her new duds.

Julie Got Artsy Fartsy!

For my Team Open House on Dec. 17th, I was looking for easy and cheap recipes to make for treats. Imagine that - Pampered Chef has just the thing I was looking for! Christmas Stocking Cake is a no-bake recipe using cinnamon graham crackers, a white chocolate pudding filling, whipped topping frosting and decorator's icing. Garnish with a few whipped topping stars from "the gun" and sprinkle candy like it's spilling out the top of the stocking. I'm not artsy fartsy very often and I, 99.9% of the time, never prepare recipes that look like the Test Kitchen so when those moments happen - I always take a picture. :-)

Christmas Angels - 12/06

Somebody was very generous to our family this year. We had secret elves visit us late that Saturday night and share with us these goodies. Eric answered the door and when he told me what it was, I hastily told him to yell "thank you" into the cold night air in hopes that our elves were still nearby.

I just sat on the couch and bawled. It's so different being on the receiving end and I was having a hard time accepting it. I didn't feel we were hurting bad enough to receive such service. I was reminded by a very special friend that I know what it feels like to give like this and that I couldn't deny or take away the opportunity for somebody else to feel those same feelings.

I was scared to count the money in the Christmas Jar. I was scared to know the total and know how much somebody really sacrificed for us. Tonight, Jan. 24th, we counted all those coins and the surprise $50 bill hiding in the middle of all of them. Somebody sacrificed a lot for us!! If you know who did this for us, PLEASE tell them thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whomever did this knows our family because they chose gifts perfect for my kids. You forever blessed me and my family with your generosity. I'll never forget this Christmas! THANK YOU!

Holly Jolly Christmas - 12/06

Jellybean dancing at Macy's Grocery Store with Leapin' Lizards Dance Studio