my wonderful sister Paula!

has sent the girls all a combined birthday/Christmas 2008 present today. My sister lives in the UK and I haven't seen her in over a decade - scary, huh! It's just too far away for a visit, unfortunately. We've been a little lax over the years in keeping in contact, but she's always in my heart, as sisters often are! :)

I let the girls open them for an early Christmas surprise. It was fun to watch as usually Christmas can be an overwhelming, overrated affair, and the girls had so much fun opening the bags to find little surprises inside - Thanks, Paula!

Remember to enter the draw to win Amanda Blake Soule's book - the creative family here on my blog. Tomorrow is the last day - I'll pick a winner in the evening! :D