Dear Reader:

T’was the day after Christmas and apparently from this poem Santa doesn’t rest…Oh no!….He picks up after himself and all his reindeer….even cleaning out the sleigh before finally stopping to rest with milk and cookies…what a role model for us all!

John and Mandy are just like Santa…up and at’ em….taking down the tree since this year it actually went up before Thanksgiving. By the end of the day everything is up and all the toys have been re-arranged and put back neatly in the children’s rooms. Amazing.

Eva Cate took after her mother…her room is unbelievable…told her when they get back from Huntsville she needs to come help Boo Boo get all her stuff put back up.

And this year…they even stopped and came to Summerville yesterday morning so John could set up my new NETFLIX Christmas present on my old television…he even did that in record time. These folks are amazingly organized….sadly Mandy did not get that talent  from her mother. 🙂

***My life will never be the same….I will be the movie queen!

Thank you Turners so much! John and Mandy & kids are leaving for Huntsville Monday to finally get to see John’s parents…since Tigger’s unexpected passing ended up cancelling the Thanksgiving trip. Have fun Turners!

After hooking me all up with Netflix…the family posed for a picture…Jake, all I can say…is that with those two front teeth missing…like your canine cousins…your tongue must keep falling out! 🙂

I believe in enjoying the ‘fruits of my labor’….my tree didn’t go up until almost the second week in December and then I kept decorating until Christmas came because I love it. 🙂

This week ( The time between Christmas and New Year’s) is my favorite time! Roaring fire, popcorn, now more movies and just enjoying my twinkling Christmas tree lights… Santa’s Workshop den… for a little bit longer.

I did get all the gifts opened from friends and neighbors…and family…like this adorable Snowman Bird feeder Mollie and Walsh gave me…I took some pictures today before he gets unrecognizable by the birds feeding.

Figured Frosty the Snowman  and Sammy the Cardinal can ‘hang together’ …at least for awhile. 🙂 Sammy will definitely survive better.

Today marks my Grandmother Wilson’s birthday whose wisdom, devotion, and love sustained me during those tough early years following my daddy’s death and mother’s hand amputation-bone cancer. I love you Grandmother Wilson for stepping in and up…you left me with priceless memories!

You truly were pioneer stock, grandmother, and passed it down to your daughter, my mother. Great genes… I can be most proud of…..

L-R (Aunt Eva, Grandmother, and mother)

I hope there are some more of you like me out there…. who simply took the day after Christmas to sleep in, slowly pick up, take an afternoon nap and open the last of the packages hiding behind the tree…(much to my delight.)

Isn’t it so nice to rest after all the anticipation and excitement of Christmas…to reflect and ponder the joy of it all…and hope for an amazing new Year.

So until tomorrow….Start working on the third phase of Christmas now for next year….There’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and The Day after Christmas…a day to remember, smile, sigh, take an overdue nap…and pull all the goodies from the “bulging fridg”– your equivalent of Santa’s “milk and cookies! Then eat, drink, and be merry!  🙂 WHEW!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

One of Mollie’s decorations….a beautiful, creative, low country oyster wreath!