Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

My Christmas turned out very nicely in the end.

Beth made a breakfast casserole with cheese and sausage and eggs and hashbrowns, so that was a lovely way to start the day.

Then her dad, Marshall, read us the Cajun Night Before Christmas over Skype, which is a family tradition in the Neely home.  Here's the cover and the intro.  As you can see, Santa rides a skiff pulled by alligators. 

Twas the night before Christmas

an' all t'ru de house,

Dey don't a ting pass

Not even a mouse.

After breakfast and storytime, I joined Beth at her church service so I could listen to her sing in the choir.  They sang some traditional Christmas songs with the rest of the congregation too and everyone sang in their language of choice, so I got to hear Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come all Ye Faithful and other favorites in Cantonese.  It was pretty cool.

Back To Life, Back To Reality
It's a Wonderful Life — MOVIECLIPS.com

Then we came home and took a nap and talked to our families some more.  In the late afternoon we watched It's a Wonderful Life.  I love it every year, especially this scene.

Afterward Beth and I went out to get Indian for dinner, and it was delicious as always. 

I got up early this morning to open gifts with my family over Skype.  It was fun and I love watching my niece and nephew perform.

And below are pictures of all my gifts.  In addition to these great items, my folks gave me shopping money that I intend to use on some more shoes.  :)  My sisters still have packages coming as well.  Yay!

A couple things to make my desk more fun - an LED tree that plugs into my computer, and a sand art maker.

I always love jewelry - and these "re-purposed" pieces will go nicely with my copper ring.

Mom knitted these fingerless gloves for me - aren't they great?

I've been looking all over for nice wool socks to wear inside my doc martins.  Mom sent me two pairs!  Also, Beth gave me these ankle socks so I could join the Lego Che Guevara madness.

And, finally, some fleece jammies.  Warm pajamas are always nice - especially red ones.

For dinner we went out with Yeow-Tong, our downstairs neighbor, and his girlfriend Joie.  This Shanghai-style place is always really good.  Everything was delish!

We're glad to have Angie back from Taiwan - the house was pretty quiet without her.  She brought us back these souvenirs!

A nice Christmas in all - I hope yours was too.

p.s. If you haven't tried it already, google "let it snow".  :)