Merry Christmas!

The party last night went off very well. About a dozen kids tore around the house for almost 4 hours, high as kites! We had lots of nibbles - mostly finger food - and a great variety of wine and other drinks. The kids ended up in the living room with the door closed and upstairs in the girls' room. The adults crowded into the dining room and computer room (two rooms open to each other) where the food was. Lots of conversation and laughter. That made it a good party, as far as I'm concerned.

This AM, I was the first one up. I almost never sleep past 7:00 and that was true this morning. I was VERY QUIET getting dressed and sneaking out of the loft and downstairs. Kate also got up and for a brief time we were the only ones awake. Of course, as soon as Alex got up, the rest of the family were awakened. We all went downstairs to see what Father Christmas had put in the children's stockings. Funky socks, wild patterned underwear and some games and suchlike. After everyone was dressed and had eaten breakfast, we opened presents. That used to last all morning, but the kids are older now and we were finished by 10 AM. Since then we've been playing games and trying to read. Geoff has actually been on the computer checking his email from work! Some people just cannot leave the office at the office.

I did take some photos, but they are still in my camera. I'll get them posted in a day or so. My present from Kate and Geoff is a wonderful book of world wide crafts. I've just glanced through it, but I can tell that I will spend many hours poring over it. I also received a clever pair of earrings - little owls - a CD with kids from the elementary school playing and singing, and a school photo of Kate and Olivia and Alex in a lovely frame. So, I'll be going home with many good photos of my family as well as many happy memories.