Holiday Fun!

Hello, Everybody!

You know all those good after-Christmas sales? Well, Ellen took advantage of one at Best Buy. The other TV died sometime before Christmas. Sharon brought up an extra one she had at her house. By the way, Sharon took advantage of the sale, too! She got a new TV for her bedroom! Of course, here is Sharon doing her favorite thing. She just gets this gleam in her eyes when she knows tools are involved!! One good thing about these new devices--they are very easy to program and to put together.

Here is the "borrowed" TV that is now upstairs in one of the bedrooms. It is replacing an older one.

Isn't the new one pretty? As you can see, the next purchase will be a table to replace the entertainment center. We love the picture. What a difference the LCD makes. When we bought the televisions, we inquired about the difference between the LCD picture and the plasma picture. The salesman told us that it was just a matter of preference. The LCD picture is brighter than the more muted plasma.

Christmas morning Joe came over to open presents. He was quite surprised at his gift from Santa. He had been complaining to Nichole how awful his old camera was. We think he will be happy with this little one!

Just enjoying the day...Joe gave his mom a GPS system for the car. When we finished opening gifts, we all went for a little ride with the GPS to see if it REALLY would know where we were going. Amazingly, it did! We even tried to trick it, but we actually got instructions to make a safe U-turn when possible!

In the afternoon we all went to Margaret and Scott's home. We had a Mexican dinner that was outstanding! Their housekeeper prepared chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas, green chile chicken enchiladas, flautas, and tacos. In addition, there were all sorts of salsa and chips. Then we all brought desserts. Of course, gift opening is always a wild time! This is Alex and Daryl.

This is Joe with the newest member of the family, Benjamin Charter.
Margaret strikes a pose! Not only is she an anesthesiologist, she also competes in national bodybuilding events. (Not bad for someone whose age is somewhere between 45 and 50, huh?)

Ellen and Sharon would strike a pose, but you wouldn't want to see it!

Mark, Paul, Maria and Vanessa with Ellen

Alex and Daryl clowning around with Renie, Paul's granddaughter.

We had a wonderful time. There was much laughter, plenty of food, and lots of noise! Margaret and Scott are also so gracious to have everyone at their home. This year, Hanukkah and Christmas were celebrated at the same time.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day! Happy New Year to you all!

Until next time. . . . .