T'was the day after Christmas 2010

Ned was very excited to be the host of Christmas Dinner at the Aldersgate House. I provided the meal. Santa visited Ned as planned and he took all of the presents over to mother's apartment first thing so that they could open them together.






You'll see that Hank is missing. When his half-brother declined to participate in Christmas at the last minute, Hank left early Christmas morning to travel an extra hour to get his mother so that she could come to Ned's house too. The weather was bad and Hank encountered a huge tree across one of the back roads to Hometown. He had to turn around and take another route. By the time he got there, it just wasn't prudent from a time perspective to get back in the car and drive to Ned's, then turn around and take her back home. Poor Hank took her to Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant, the only place open in Hometown. He made it back to us about 4 PM.


After lunch at Ned's, Legare, Lorelai, and I took Ned and mother to visit her sister for a couple of hours and then we headed back home. Ned was OVER the moon all day, and mother did pretty well.

Now, if we could just get Ned to take off that ugly Carolina shirt. Shoot, mother looks like she's dressed and ready to go to a game with him!!! I have GOT to get them some orange clothing. But I digress...now back to Christmas...

We had great fun opening our gifts on Christmas Eve...Santa stopped by our house while we were at the Christmas Eve service at church. As usual, Lorelai was happy to have her picture taken over and over and over. Santa was good to her...cowboy boots, a Snuggy, a GPS (Santa knows what a bad sense of direction she has), a gorgeous Vineyard Vines vest, a framed Keep Calm and Carry On poster, and an emergency kit for her car.
Since Legare started "keeping house" this year, he got some things for a kitchen, an emergency kit for his car, a burlap pillow cover for his new sofa, a Fresh Market gift card (he has to eat...), a beautiful and "lawyerly looking' necktie, some Kiehl's items, and a few other odds and ends.
Now, just below, you'll see one of the best gifts Hank has ever come up with. I ALL too often tell him that he NEVER listens to me. Back in 1993, a little Legare and I colored this poster all by ourselves sitting at the dining room table. It was never properly framed and when I came across it in the attic recently, I mentioned how much I'd hate for anything to happen to it, so Hank took it into town and had it framed for me. This, along with some earrings and some perfume I'd been wanting rounded out my treasures under the tree.Now, how did we not get any photos of what Santa brought Hank? Books, a beautiful shirt, a new pair of very stylish reading glasses, some HORIZONTAL striped socks (thanks for the tip ADG...had to go to Dumas), and a very nice bottle of Scotch all made Hank very happy.


We are so blessed....SO VERY blessed. Goodness knows, we love presents in the Land of Belle but I'll tell you what... Nothing has made me happier than having my children home, all happy and healthy. And what I did to deserve the most wonderful husband in the world is ABSOLUTELY beyond my comprehension. AND...how in this world everything worked out to get mother and Ned into new safe living situations right across the street from each other. WOW...God is good and He works miracles. It's as simple as that.