Guess What?!

I ate too much at Christmas!

Did I get you?  Sorry Mom, no baby for a while!  And now that I've tricked you, I can talk about Christmas! I'm going to have to break the blog up into sections so I don't overwhelm you with pictures!

As you hopefully have already read, Stuart and I had quite an eventful travel schedule over the holidays.  But before all that good stuff got started, we had our own little Saulters Christmas!  We originally were going to swap gifts Wednesday, but someone couldnt wait and we did it Tuesday before Christmas.

Terrible picture in front of our tree

Stu opening his stocking

I was impressed with the wrapping!

My most favorite gift: a Forever Lazy!  No worries, it was shortly exchanged at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Good try, Stu.

After our travels, Stuart and I spent Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve with my parents, then drove to Hernando, MS (close to Memphis) late Christmas Eve to spend Christmas Day and the day after with Stuart's parents.  Whew!  Even though I feel like we spent just as much time in the car as we did at any one location, I still would have to say this was one of my best Christmas Holidays of all time!  Here's a (super) quick run down:

The Jackson family Christmas:  Christmas Eve Eve my dad's brother Jerry and his friend Lura came up from the B'ham area to have dinner with us.  Mom and I prepared a delicious feast, and we had a great time!

Isn't she cute in her Vera Bradley apron?!

Stuart and I played Christmas carols on the piano.  It was the first time I had played in a long time!

I helped mom cook and, yes, I even used Cream of Chicken soup in a recipe against my better judgement.

Stu, Me, Ms Lura and Uncle Jerry

Mom and Dad by the tree!

Can you tell they're related?  Haha

 Since we weren't spending Christmas Day with my family, Santa decided to visit the Jackson home one morning early!

Santa brought Stuart some saw horses!

Dad, as usual, got presents related to his model train set that he has built and that is quite impressive.

This will probably embarrass Mom, but she is obsessed with the weather, and hilariously just loved this calendar!

And Santa brought Mom ... a piece of petrified wood?

Just kidding, it's a watch!  Love that face!

Gifts have always been a tradition at our family Christmas, just like they are for most.  In my opinion, Christmas is a time that you can set aside to get a little something special for someone you love that you know they wouldn't ever buy for themselves.  Of course, gifts are definitely NOT the most important part of Christmas, and I would trade all the gifts I've ever received just to spend time with family.  Even if it means cooking with Cream of Chicken soup!