Tangible and Intangible Gifts

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:
the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

This Christmas was full to bursting with tangible and intangible gifts.

Lets start with the intangibles, the real things that make Christmas worthwhile…1) My daughter was home with us. It just wasn’t Christmas without her last year while she was in Iraq. No matter how old she get’s she will still be my baby girl or #1 daughter as she likes to be called. 2) My mother has always worked on Christmas morning and arrives home about 11, in time to make the meal. This year she had the day off and was able to come to my house and for the first time watch the kids open their presents. Then we went to her house (across the yard) to start dinner and exchanged gifts there. 3) My sister sat on the phone in Puerto Rico listening to it all and commenting so it was close to having her here. Next year if she doesn’t come we will need to hook up a webcam so she can also see it all. 4) My brother and his family were able to have Christmas dinner with us which made for a full but happy house. My daughter requested roast duck with raspberry sauce along with the traditional ham. I have to admit it was great and will probably become a new tradition! It was a fantastic day.

When the paper and boxes settled everyone was happy. I was overwhelmed, flabbergasted, thunderstruck and astounded! My daughter spoiled me something awful. She bought me slippers, a dutch oven, The Knitting Answer Book, decorations for the new kitchen, and she made me a sheep ornament with a star that says “ I love ewe” and she bought me a WooleeWinder!!!!! My mom continued to spoil me as she got me an awesome crockpot big enough to feed them all and the Denise Interchangeable Knitting needle set. My son got me Morehouse Farm Merino Knits from which I am making the booties right now. The younger ones made me ornaments for the tree as reminders of this Christmas. My sister made me the coolest thing. It is a framed bulletin board but instead of cork showing she covered it with one of my grandmothers flour sacks! So I have some of the past brought into the future. I love it! She also got me a coloring book with Spanish and English words so when we go back to Puerto Rico in 2008 I will know how to speak some. She also added little comments on pages which were hysterical. In my defense I did know the important words…gracias (thanks) de nada (welcome) and bano (bathroom)!
There were so many other goodies that I was completely floored. The day was chaotic yet calm, exhausting yet invigorating in that weird way that only happens during the holidays! The kids played with their gifts while mom and I cooked, we ate and then we got the last gift of the day….as we were cleaning up from dinner we got a little snow!