Happy New Year!

Wow, 2009 already. That is so hard to believe! Christmas was fantastic this year. I must have been a very good girl because Santa hooked me up! A new Wii, Wii Fit, a camera (3 cameras, actually!), kitchen gear, and on top of that, my very own Sams Club card! It was really nice to be able to spend Christmas with Will's family. The feast was wonderful, and the sausage rolls were a huge hit.

I made it to Decatur on the 26th, after an AWFUL drive through nasty fog the whole way up from Nashville. Not being one to shy away from procrastination, I finished my Christmas shopping literally an hour before the Wingard family Christmas festivities began. Nearly all my dad's brothers and sisters made it to the celebration this year, which is no small task since there are 9 kids in the family and everyone is spread out. Grandma Wingard has been in a nursing home but she was able to sneak away to be at the party, too.

We had our annual "Naughty Santa" gift exchange, which is always a trip. You never know what you're gonna get. Some years you can end up with a really nice candle or movies or a board game, and other years...well, other years you may not be so lucky. I was the latter this year, being the proud recipient of an "Anti Monkey Butt" bathroom gift pack. Hooray! Just what I always wanted! Regardless of the gift you end up with, though, that game is always fun to play, especially with 30+ people involved!

Andy (or Will, whatever he is now-a-days...I just can't get used to calling him Will) and Sandy got a Wii and Wii fit this year, too, so most of our weekend at home was spent bowling, playing darts, playing quiz shows, and teaching Sandy how to use the Wii-mote. She just didn't get the hang of it. :)













Some highlights from Decatur: wearing matching pajamas all weekend (the boys had one pair that matched, the girls, another) taking our family picture at K-Mart (hilarious!), singing karaoke with Kelly at Curly's, going to Holy Family's 50th anniversary "Jubilee" mass and then walking through the grade school (it's amazing how tiny everything looks in that school now!), running into my old boss from LaGondola, Tony, seeing my old 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Farris, and avoiding my old teacher from St. T who despises our family, Mrs. Keller. Oh yes, and watching my adorable niece lock herself inside the dog crate.

We spent New Years in Nashville this year. We went to the Music City Bowl with Colin and Jackie during the afternoon, and then spent the evening at another Colin's house. It was a pretty lowkey New Years, but we had fun.















Shaughn stopped by Nashville last night and stayed with us. He is en route to Houston, where he's starting school in a couple weeks. He's heading to Dallas right now, and should be in Houston by tomorrow evening! It's strange to think that almost half my family are now Houston residents. I'm looking forward to heading down there and visiting once he gets settled in.