Word of the Day: afflatus Our Christmas this year was one of the best ones I've ever had. There were lots of presents for the three of us, not just for Patrick. I went to midnight Mass [since I worked until eleven on Christmas Eve, I figured it'd be easier for me to just stay up a bit later and go to Mass than go the next morning], my very first. And I have to admit, it was absolutely beautiful. There was holy water and incense and chanting and Latin and the bishop, and I couldn't help but to cry when we were singing 'Angels We Have Heard on High' and 'Joy to the World.' Christmas and Holy Week, I can't help but be weepy because of how overwhelmed I feel. I love that. Any road, on to the more commercial aspect of the holiday. Opening presents was so much fun now that Patrick's old enough to really know what's going on. He flipped out when he saw what Santa left him--some enormously huge dinosaurs and safari animals and a wagon/dumptruck full of blocks. I think he forgot about everything else when he saw all that, but not for long. He was such a little man, handing out the presents. He would pick one out and I'd read the tag and he'd hand it to whomever needed it. At one point near the end of it all, he had a small pile of bows on the floor that he protected from the rest of the paper and boxes. In the end, Patrick got clothes, lots of dinosaurs apart from the ones Santa left, flashcards and computer programs for numbers, colors, letters, shapes, etc., an Aquadoodle, Disney coloring books and awesome colors from JD's uncle Dave who works for Disneyland, a tiny stuffed Croagunk from Pokemon, and a four pound tin of peanut butter [he loves him some peanut butter]. JD got a shirt, a pair of socks specially picked out by Patrick, the red Swingline stapler from Office Space, some caffinated mints, some Twizzlers, a Buddah statue/incense burner to replace the one my mother accidentally shattered with her monstrously long hair, and tons of gift cards from his family in California. I got a new knife set and cutting boards, a statuette of a mother and a son, a Wiimote and nunchuck [for whenever we get a Wii, since the stupid set comes with only one, JD says], yarn [Noro Kureyon!!], and my annual hundred dollars from my dear grandad. I know I've forgotten some things. After we opened everything up, Patrick played with gusto all day long, with JD and I taking turns playing with him. I made ham and stuffing and peas and carrots, somewhat akin to but also much smaller than Thanksgiving, and we all just kicked back and hung out together happily. Like I said, one of the best Christmases I've ever had ever. I do have to admit, I love the DVR we have. I'd go into detail, but Patrick's sitting on me and driving me crazy. I can barely see over his big head.