Christmas Eve 2011

This Christmas Eve was truly a day of celebration and peace. We started it off at a leisurely pace with breakfast as a family and then got a few things done around the house. Rarely have we been able to balance productivity and play time so well. In the late afternoon we headed over to the apartment for an early dinner and more family time.

We all sampled the pre-dinner fare while visiting with everyone. When dinner was served we sat down to a fun family meal filled with stories, laughter and general chaos.

In keeping with a tradition dating back as far as I can remember, we opened up our one Christmas Eve gift after dinner. Each year we got to open one gift, and it always turned out to be pajamas. Always. Jeff jokingly refers to it as my family's Tradition of Disappointment because as children, all my siblings and I wanted was to open toys, not clothes. However, Norah and Justin seem to be cut from different cloth. Justin was excited to see his new Santa Claus jammies, and Norah's squeal of delight told us all we needed to know when she opened up her Mrs. Claus night gown. Yellow Haired Grandma finally has a crowd willing to admit out loud, that they love and look forward to her Christmas Eve jammie tradition!!

Once the leftovers were put away and the dishes done, we headed back home to get ready for service. We enjoy attending the candle light service that also offers communion. There is something beautifully symbolic about receiving the sacrament of communion on the same evening we celebrate the birth of Christ. However, the service starts at 9:30 so both children were tired by the time we got there. They were only up for one picture as a family and even then only Norah really cooperated.

As the service began, Justin curled up in my lap and was almost immediately asleep. Norah spent time on Grandma's lap, Grandpa's lap, Aunt Lys' lap and finally Daddy's. She sang along to almost all the carols sung that evening, which surprised us. We had no idea she knew so many but we've been playing them at home and she is a very quick study when it comes to tunes.

The service concluded with the singing of Silent Night as candles were lit and raised. Jeff held Norah up so she could help hold the candle and to give her a better view of all the candles around the sanctuary. With her hand wrapped gently around Daddy's fingers Norah sang along so softly and sweetly it brought a tear to his eye. What a wonderfully sweet moment to end the evening.

When we got home, we set out cookies for Santa, changed into our Christmas jammies, and tore off the last day on our home made Calendar that Jeff helped the kids make earlier this month. As the Muppets in A Muppet Christmas Carol so eloquently put it, "There's only one more sleep till Christmas!"

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jeff, Heather, Norah and Justin