Christmas Eve

I really love Christmas Eve.  It has always been my favorite part of Christmas.  (Although now that I have kiddos that are getting in to it, Christmas morning is creeping up there!)

We went to the 11:00am children’s service at church.  Man there were a lot of kids there!

Checking out their nativity puppets.

James pretty much slept through the whole thing, including the very noisy birthday party for Jesus afterward!

My attempts to get pictures in front of the pretty Chrismon tree.

I think this face of Natalie’s is hilarious!

Sweet girl.

Showing me her glowstick.  Notice the hand on the hip – oh the ‘tude!

Fake smile for me, looking at her daddy out of the corner of her eye.

And the best one of all three – such cuties!!

All the glowsticks for James.  :)

Eatin’ her cookie at the birthday party.

Emma, Lisa, and Joanna.  I don’t either of my girls finished their big cookie. 

They were very interested in the Teddy Grahams that were available though.

On our way to the evening service, we stopped by David’s house to drop off some homemade bread for him.  He took a bunch of pictures, which I’m hoping to steal soon.  :)  This is one I took of my girls with his daughter, Laura.  They just love her!

Natalie wanted a sip of water before bed.  I handed her a little jam jar that Joanna usually uses since it’s much easier to clean than the sippies.  Anyway, I snapped this picture because she reminds me of Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two.

I have gotten into the “tradition” each year of snapping a picture of the fireplace area.  I love to see how it changes with each passing Christmas.  I’ll do a post “through the years” next.

The tree has many more ornaments on the top than the bottom.  The girls LOVE to take the ornaments off, but don’t love as much to put them back on.  :)

This one was after I stuffed the stockings and Pop brought over the gifts from them.  See the big red box in the picture?  It’s for me.  :)  Oh, and Matt too.  And really anyone who steps foot into the house.  It was so tempting to open it up before morning.  But I didn’t.  I probably have time-stamped photos to prove it.  :)

Joanna really got in to Christmas this year.  It is SO MUCH FUN to have a little child full of wonder and awe about the whole thing!

I have to be honest, I really haven’t wanted to have much to do with Santa at our house.  Not that I’m opposed, but I really want to limit what detracts from the real meaning of the celebration.  I’ve thought and thought about it, especially this year since Joanna really “gets it.”  We pretty much had to decide what we’re going to do and do it!  As the season progressed, I found ways of merging Santa and sweet Baby Jesus.  Actually, the ways found me.  I listened to people say that Santa gives because he has Jesus in his heart.  Santa gives because baby Jesus was born.  We get gifts because Jesus was given gifts.  It all works.  I think we can do it all.  And anyway, it’s pretty hard culturally to not “do Santa.”  Every grown-up that sees the kids asks them about him!

Matt and I decided at our house that Santa will stuff the stockings.  That’s pretty much how the legend started anyway.  It’s funny because Joanna really got into the mystery of Santa and (without any encouragement from us) decided he had done some other things Christmas morning!  More on those to come.