One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to attend the candlelight service at church with Chris's family. This year it was pouring down rain when we got there, so Chris dropped us at the door and stayed in the parking lot with the umbrella helping others to the building. Which was great, except by the time he got into the sanctuary, the row where I was sitting had filled up and he couldn't get in to sit with us. So it was me vs. all 3 kids, who were rowdy from a day of playing with new toys at Mimi and Pa's. Claire had her Barbie and little puppies, and she would not stop making them talk and walk along the back of the pew. Aaron was wallowing all over the place and Hannah was very fussy. At one point I had to get up to change a dirty diaper--I had to get up from the middle of the pew, the middle of the section--basically where I was disrupting the entire service.
I got back in time for communion, which was hilarious because I didn't even have an extra hand to hold my cup of juice and bread. So I put it in the pew rack in front of us, and told Aaron to please keep his feet away from it. Not a minute later he had already forgotten what I said and proceeded to crush my communion cup with his tennis shoe, causing juice to spill out. Luckily I had a burp cloth ready so I caught most of it. I turned to Christi and she said, "This is like a Griswold Christmas service." Ha!
On the way home I had to laugh when Chris said, "That was a nice service." Sure, maybe for you! It really was nice, I just wish I could have enjoyed it. They sang lots of great Christmas carols, had various Scripture readings and an encouraging message by one of our pastors, and then the communion. Next year I'll make sure to sit in the back pew with my husband close by.
We got home and the kids set out cookies for Santa and were in bed by 7:30.
They were so exhausted from the day's activities it didn't take any time for them to fall fast asleep!
Christmas morning they were up at 6:40, which was pretty good for them! Aaron's hair cracked me up--he had been sleeping hard! He had a mohawk all day.
I videoed them discovering Santa's gifts.
And Santa left a letter!
Santa brought Aaron a remote-control robot, and Claire got the Ahchoo Baby she wanted so badly. They got lots of stuff in their stockings. Aaron got his own set of bungee cords, a Diego jump rope, some craft sticks, and lots of other stuff, and Claire was excited about everything in hers--an Ariel notebook, a Dora placemat (just like Allie's!), a glittery puzzle, a toothbrush, some princess stickeers, an Ariel jump rope, and lots of other stuff.
Shortly after stockings were emptied they wanted to open presents under the tree. Aaron got Mouse Trap, some Tonka books, and a Lego set. Claire got Guess Who, some Dora books, and some new dollhouse furniture. They got a Tag reading system as a joint gift.
I got a nice soft robe, a cute apron (with a kid-sized one for Claire), and The Pioneer Woman Cookbook. Chris got a camo hoodie, a new camera (so he can take it hunting), and a couple of new books.
After we opened gifts, Hannah woke up and got to explore her new Busy Ball Popper from Santa.
Mimi and Pa stopped by to see the new gifts, and even sampled some of my homemade cinnamon rolls.
Then my mom came over, and we spent the rest of the day COOKING! I loved it. We made Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon recipe, because we were both inspired after watching Julia and Julia on DVD. It has lots of steps, but it's not very labor intensive, so we just enjoyed our time in the kitchen.
Mmmm...veggies!
The stew coming together!
My cute new apron!
My uncle and his family came to our house for Christmas this year. We ate our meal (with no dessert because I got so caught up in the main dish and sides that I totally forgot to line up a dessert! It was okay because we didn't need it!)
They brought MORE presents.
And look what Granny got for Claire!
My aunt knitted Hannah a new hat! Isn't it precious?
My uncle with Hannah.
About 8:00 that night I felt like surely it was 10:00 already. What a long, but fun-filled day! We still have one family gathering to go...
