christmas eve

Although we had a lot of tasks to complete on Christmas Eve morning, I actually loved it!  It didn't feel stressful at all, and I enjoyed having everyone gathered in the kitchen together.  Kevin was prepping the 2 beef tenderloins, the kids were peeling carrots and potatoes, and mom and I were busy setting the table and doing other prep work. Dad was mostly there for the moral support, but he did explain the process of sharpening knives to Colby since he was super interested. 

These two were the best little helpers!!

After lots of peeling, these two sampled the full size carrots.

The table was all set and ready for Christmas Eve dinner...

Then the cousins arrived and the kids got right to work on working on the Christmas program they wanted to do.  It was actually Kevin's idea, and I absolutely loved it.  We haven't ever done a reenactment of the Christmas story, and the kids were so cute about practicing their parts while the adults chatted and finished the meal preparations. 

We decided to do cookie decorating before dinner this year, and that was most definitely the right decision.  (Waiting until after dinner has always felt a bit chaotic since we still have presents, cookies, and chimes on the agenda.) Mom helped the kids make all the frosting that morning, so it was a totally seamless process. 

Everyone was very proud of their work!!

Then it was time for presents...

Uncle Tom gave the kids each a coupon for a movie/lunch date, so they're eagerly waiting for the date to be set :)

We gave Papa and Grandma a new canvas for their garage wall, and a welcome mat for their new trailer. 

Colby received a game called Genius Squares from the Peacocks and Auntie Mel Mel was sweet enough to play it right away with Colby.  

The kids were also eager to start their rock tumbler from Grandma and Papa, so that was tumbling away in the garage. 

Then it was time for the feast!!  We had beef tenderloin (which Kevin cooked to perfection), mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, glazed carrots, salad, garlic bread, and lots of Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. 

We love our big dining room table and the fact that 12 can sit comfortably around it. 

Joseph and Mary in our first-ever family Christmas story reenactment...

The kids all did a great job with their parts, and a few of the adults were involved as Inn Keepers, Wise Men, and the narrator.  It also worked out perfectly that our neighbor dropped off these tents for the kids because one of them made the perfect "stable" for that starry night in Bethlehem.  

Colby later commented to me that Emery wasn't supposed to be in the tent, but when your little cousin wants to join you, you sometimes have to roll with it. 

We finished off the night with chimes, then moved on to sibling gifts once the extended family was gone. Colby has been collecting tiny things for Brooke from his classroom treasure box for the entire month, bought her a Time Turner necklace (from Harry Potter) and a set of fake nails, and even took money to school to secretly buy her a bag of Funyons (which she loves!)

Brooke used a lot of her hard-earned money to buy Colby a wearable Baby Yoda blanket.  He screamed out of excitement when he opened the box!

I adore this picture because it perfectly encompasses why we do this.  The look of happiness on Colby's face as he watched her excitement was just precious. Thinking of someone else is the key to real happiness :)

Love these two and their big hearts!

The kids BEGGED to sleep together in one of the new tents and we made the mistake of saying yes, haha.  They had the hardest time sleeping, kept waking us up, shuffling beds, and finally going to sleep sometime after 1 AM.  We all woke up pretty exhausted!!

But Santa still came amid all the chaos upstairs :)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!