Santa baby...

"Slip a SHELTIE under the tree, for me..." Wait...that isn't how it goes. And this isn't quite what I meant!!

Oh well =0) That's a picture of the girls under the decorated tree; and yes, I did bribe them with a cookie to get under there!

This was a great year for Christmas. Not that Christmas every year isn't great, but this year seemed to be a little extra special. It seemed like more people were looking to just enjoy the holiday for what it is meant to be: a time when family and friends gather to give thanks. Sure, the stores started to put the holiday paraphernalia out right after Halloween and the commercials about their super-sales with slashed holiday prices started airing soon there after, but all in all, I don't think a lot of people were buying it (no pun intended). People just seemed to want to have a down-home Christmas. Sure there would be gifts, but I think people limited their budget a little, and made sure that the credit cards stayed out of sight. I dunno. Maybe I'm way off target...maybe I'm only speaking from my own experience. But this year I tried to get more into the Christmas spirit and appreciate what the season really is all about!

For the first time this year, we sent out Christmas cards! I always mean to do it, but just never get around to it. Two years ago I had the photo, but no cards. Last year I had the cards, but no photo to insert into them (so I kept them to use when I DID have a photo!) So this year I took the girls to go see Santa to get their pictures done. Hey, if other kids can go, why cant mine?? The local mall was having a pet photo night the first Sunday in December. The girls and I met up with some friends at work to get their pictures taken. They were so good! They were good with all of the mall shoppers and distractions (like food on the floor). And they were VERY good for Santa! I think they were trying really hard to make the "good list". If you look closely at the picture, you can see just how hard Heidi is working...she actually put her leg and paw ON Santa's lap! She's either a.) protective of people in red suits or b.) very anxious to make sure her various misdeeds throughout the year get cleared up and erased.

That was the picture that was sent out as our holiday cards. Everyone said how cute they were and how mice it was to get the cards. I'll definitely be doing them again next year!

One tradition that I did stick to was working the holiday shifts. We are all required to work two holiday shifts throughout the year; these are emergency shifts that we pick up when the front office is closed on major holidays. Last year I picked up Christmas morning (7-3) and New Years eve (4-midnight). There were a few "left over" shifts, and I was asked if I wanted to pick another one up. Since the pay is good, I said sure-the only catch was that one shift was the other new years eve shift (3-11; which I couldn't pick up because I was obviously already going to be there) and the other shift was Christmas eve 4-midnight. I chose to pick it up anyways. Luckily as the time grew nearer, the girl who was working 3-11 agreed to switch with me so I could leave that extra hour early...which translated to an extra hour of sleep! It was a really nice thing for her to do...especially where she is 8 months pregnant!!

So last year when I worked Christmas, I made sugar cookies to share with everyone who was on that day. This year I decided to do the same; but I made two batches-one for Christmas day, and one fro Christmas eve. Now, these just aren't your run-of-the-mill sugar cookies. These are sugar cookies with a twist:

THEY'RE SHELTIE SHAPED!!! And they have "love" baked in...or is that dog hair? Oh well! People ate them, which was all I cared about.

So I worked both shifts and then spent some time with family at my aunts house. We came home and went to bed. Then TODAY, we celebrated OUR Christmas: my mom, girls, and I. I took the girls for a walk (as it was slightly milder than it has been, and snowing =0) and then came home and opened gifts. My mom was so generous; she always is. Every day, all year. But Christmas she gives even more. I tried really hard not to ask for too much, because she does give me so much all the time. And I got everything I wanted. I'm very excited about new floor mats for my "dog square" (more about that in a future post), some magazine subscriptions and a great Sheltie wrought-iron coat rack. I got her a paddle for her kayak and a gift-card for a life jacket (so we can go together in the summer!) and I got some spikes for her shoes for winter walking (for traction on ice) and some "happy feet" slippers (the "Patriots" design, of course!)

Since opening gifts, we've napped, done some laundry and dinner is just about done. Its been a very nice and special Christmas this year, and we all hope all of yours has been extra special to! Happy Pawlidays from our family to yours! Sheltie-Mom Jenn, Jenn's Mom, Heidi and Shelby

Here are some photo's of our living-room all dressed up for the occaison: