Merry Christmas, everyone! May your meditation and your celebrations be blessed as we commemorate the day the Word became flesh.

EDIT: From my gracious parents, grandparents, uncle, and aunt, I received the following:

--A fine Italian sweater with a rectangular decorative pattern in autumnal colors
--Gift cards to Barnes and Noble and Borders, my two favorite stores :D
--Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season :)
--And the iHome, a bluetooth enabled ipod dock/alarm clock/radio/speakerphone: a compact little unit with good sound that will be perfect for a college dorm. And oh, hm, guess what? That's where I'm going to be living in 8 months. ;-)

Thanks to my awesome family! And never forget why we give gifts today.