My dad and step-mom gave Allison and I some fat cash this year for Christmas specifically to give it away. They said they had given some money to www.heifer.org and that we could give to whatever or whoever we wanted…I think we’ve got plenty of ideas. The cool part was that they recognized our personal lives of giving and wanted to help us step further into that story. Cool beans I declare…cool beans.

My mom and my step-dad have had multiple Dalmatians over the years. At one point, we had about a dozen of them. The last of our Dalmatians died a few months ago and my mom and step-dad were crushed. They agreed that they didn’t want to have any more dogs because they didn’t want to experience that kind of heartache again. So we got them a puppy for Christmas. They’re in love with Goliath.

The best part was when I revealed the gift-puppy to my mom and step-dad. My mom’s jaw dropped and her eyes lit up as she squealed. My step-dad dropped his head and said, “OH NO!!!”

He fell in love with him 30 seconds later.

The end.

But there’s always time for a few links. Check out these cool blogs and see what you think:

www.4junkdna.blogspot.com – My friend Elaine who blatantly moved away to Nashville. The nerve.

www.thedan.us – My friend Dan who definitely has something wrong with him. Possibly many things.

www.littlegrayhouse.blogspot.com – My friend Melanie who lives a life approved by Jerry Seinfeld.

www.churchexperiment.blogspot.com – The 52 churches in 52 weeks “church experiment” which has just come to a close.

www.memoriesfromtheforgetful.blogspot.com – My sister-in-law Andrea’s blog. It’s funny and there’s good photography.

http://flowerdust.net/ – Anne Jackson, who happens to be giving away lots of books lately.

http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/ – Carlos Whittaker is a blogging machine.

http://blog.ruhlman.com/ – Michael Ruhlman’s blog about cooking, food, and eating lots of good stuff.

http://waiterrant.net/ – (Bad language warning!!) (Hilarious content warning!!)

http://www.blainehogan.com – I’m digging the 100 words stories Blaine has on his blog.

http://www.soulpancake.com – Rainn Wilson’s (aka Dwight Schrute from The Office) blog project.

I’ll keep adding to this list, so check back.

Allison and I made out like bandits this year. Just check out the evidence below…matching pajamas.

Were you surprised by any special or ridiculous Christmas gifts this year? Whatja get?