Three, Two, One -- We're DONE!

Yesterday we took a trip to Springfield to hit the mall, TJ Maxx and Best Buy; although we couldn't find a parking place at Best Buy so we just kept moving! As for food, we had lunch at Chipotle which is a favorite of all three of us, but unfortunately not a restaurant we have near where we live. Photo above was snapped while Sarah was eating her Chipotle beef burrito and watching the busy traffic out the window.

About the holidays, last year was Sarah's first Christmas and she had only been with us for a few months as well as not understanding much English. It was a whirlwind for her with meeting so many people, traveling and just trying to figure out what the heck was going on. This year, she is STOKED about Christmas! (Okay, I know I'm way too old to be using the word "stoked" but it's the only word I could think of to really express how excited she it!)

Part of her excitement concerns gift giving. She's helped to select most of the gifts we'll be giving. It really has been good for her to step outside herself and to consider what she knows about others and then try to select a gift for each person. For so many years she was "in charge" of only herself that we consider anything we can do to widen her world view a good thing.

As for shopping in Springfield, we had a great time. Along with our Sunday "girl shopping" trip today, we are pretty much DONE with the holiday shopping. What were the last three gifts? Well ... since they are gifts for kids who don't read the blog (but don't tell anyway!) .... the count down went ...

#3 .... Swim to Me Rescue Puppy (which is too cute for words!)(for cousin Quinn)

#2 .... Season 1 of "Charmed" (for cousin Samantha)

#1 ... drum roll please! .... Star Wars Millennium Falcon TransFormer! (for cousin Little Ty)

And since we were so proud of ourselves for getting everything off the lists bought, we splurged a bit on ourselves! Sarah picked out a Hello Kitty toaster which burns an image of Hello Kitty into the toast! As Sarah would say, "It's DARN cute!" (as a side note, if you ever hear "It's DARN cute!" from Sarah you can trust me she means it! The phrase is only reserved for highly deserving "cuties"!)

Now it's on to wrapping! We've pulled out the paper and ribbons and are starting with those who live farthest away first as we don't know how long the mail may take. Our first package is already in the mail and two others will be soon too. The rest will go under the tree!