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<p>Hey, I was going to mention this gift as a real winner, but he beat me to it!</p>
<p>The best gift was having everyone I care most about home for the holidays. Today, we all took family portraits together. The photographer refused to take payment, so we’re taking his family & ours out to a very nice dinner at our of our new favorite restaurants (that Barrack hasn’t discovered yet–shhhhh). Our families get along great & it’s money we would have spent paying for him to take the time to come and shoot all of us. </p>
<p>He took group shots, shots of just the grandkids (all 15 of them), shots of the grandkids & grandparents, shots of EVERYONE–with the my niece & her husband and without her husband. It was nice having EVERYONE in the picture. We also took shots with each individual family and a shot with my folks in the center and all of their kids around them. The photographer is going to give us a DVD of the originals & then everyone can figure out what they want to do with the photos. My brother & others also shot a TON of photographs as well. He shot continuously for 90 minutes & got some amazing shots! Others took shots as well. My brother made a DVD for everyone of all the shots he took as well–he says his camera is better than the photographers, so folks will have a lot of pictures to choose among.</p>
<p>Since everyone is getting older–my folks are in their 80s & the grandkids keep graduating from HS & college, not quite sure when everyone will be together next, so this is was very special to have EVERYONE present!</p>
<p>Well…since you asked…I had actually ordered a new car in early October. It was ready for pickup the day before Christmas eve. So, I feel a little like the obnoxious “I got a car for Christmas” commercial. (although it’s an Audi, not a Lexus 
) But it is my favorite “present” - that, and having everyone home & getting along, and a week off with nothing scheduled.</p>
<p>Glad you got that car, Justamom.</p>
<p>DS is cooking dinner for us tomorrow night. He is a great cook, and this is a present we all love.</p>