Ben was on Santa's "NICE" list....

While nothing can quite compare to the Christmas gift Ben already received this week.....I didn't know at that time we'd have a new set of wheels in the garage. As Santa's helper - I pride myself on being observant to what Ben has mentioned he "needs, wants, or likes" over the past few months and put my "shopping skills" to the test. My shopping was done a few weeks ago and once the final packaged arrived in the mail - I was ready to give them to Ben. It's an unfortunate disease but it's one I'll never treat - I love giving great gifts!

If you know me, I love to give gifts WAY MORE than I like to receive them. So for me, the ultimate joy of the holiday is to see smiles on the faces of those who get gifts from us. The smile I'm talking about is exactly like the one pictured below here with Ben.

Ben's stocking stuffers included the peg game (featured at any not-s0-local Cracker Barrel), some Goo-Goo's (milk chocolate and peanut butter covered pecans) and cinnamon flavored hard candies all from the Old-Timers Candy Shop at the Cracker Barrel. Like I stated in the previous post - there weren't as many gifts under the tree with Ben's name on them, but you'll quickly understand why.
Our friend Emilie turned me onto prints by an artist named Amanda Rathiel who resides in Falls City, Nebraska. She does some great prints focused on the cattle industry and this is one of our favorites, entitled "One Man's Opinion."

It is most appropriate since a good portion of Ben's career is focused on this exact thing. I absolutely love this print - and although I am quite sure he knew it was coming - I think it'll be a staple in his office for years to come!

While Ben would never actually need a watch - he's rarely in a situation where he could/would be late - he has mentioned in the last six months (once the watch he received as a groomsmen gift in Stephen Linneburs' wedding went kaput) that he could really use a new one. This gift was probably the hardest for me to pick out since a) I had to go to the Buckle (and I'm not a huge fan of this st0re and b) had to pick it from one out of about thirty different models.

It turned out great, just a little big - we'll get a link or two taken out. But none-the-less, he's got a little "BLING" for himself. These last two are of the two new shirts he got from me. When in doubt, ladies - your man could always use more nice shirts. These two are in a new hue for Ben - RED.!! We have traditionally shy'ed away from red - its likeness to his hair color have made it a hard sell - but the older Ben gets, the more brown his hair turns and thus - the more red he is able to wear!

I told him, "Now you've got a few things to wear over Christmas break." This would be a typical response from a women, because Ben's pretty good about conserving new items for special occasions, but he shocked me by saying, "Yeah, if I can refrain from wearing them before."

I had to give myself a little pat on the back and a little "Whoot Whoot!" for good measure.

I think we had a successful Christmas, hopefully Santa is as good to you as he has been to us this year. Most importantly - we hope you get to spend time with the people who make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside during this holiday season!

To our families - see you soon! We'll be there as soon as we can!