Christmas Eve

Andrew had to go to work for a half day, so Christmas Eve began like most days. Well except for the park, preschool, or work for me.... basically we got ready like normal and hung out. When the kids had lunch, Jackson wanted a bid like the babies - so I gave him one of Andi's because I thought it was funny. One day he may think so but that day, he could care less.

12:30pm
We headed to my parent's house for our second annual tamale making experience. The kids were excited to let the games begin - You talk about Christmas all year, well really all month, and to have it all start is so exciting.

Our annual Christmas Even program involves music, so every year grandma spends the morning practicing the songs. She brought dad in to help with "We Three Kings".

What I love about my kids is that they just adore music - I so hope we have some musicians in our home!! We need to get a house big enough for my piano!

I'm telling you, she was mesmerized by the music. This little girl sings any chance she can get. For example, tonight Andrew said she sang for five minutes straight and when he noticed the silence, he looked back and she was asleep in her carseat - yes, she sang herself to sleep.

1:00pm
This year we invited the Andersons to join in the fun. It was a great way to spend time with both families on Christmas Eve. Because my mom started traditions years back, it has been difficult to spend time with both families. Years ago we would leave my parent's house and go to the Anderson's for late night games. A couple years ago that died out so we haven't really seen anyone on Christmas Eve. So this really was memorable and just perfect. My grandma especially was so happy to have them join us. She couldn't get over how helpful and smooth it all was!

Well almost everyone was helpful - according to my dad we could have done without Tori - hehehe :)

And of course Jackson was stoked to have his buddy Zoe.

Can you guess what's going on with Tori's hands??

This year we did NOT make the chili sauce from scratch and let me tell you - THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT!!!

Grandpa was so stoked that grandma had helpers in the kitchen, this allowed him the chance to sneak off and read his Bible.

This year we made some with just cheese and green chilies - then we added meat to the mix... HOLY COW delicious!!

I complained the masa was too thick, so this is grandma working on it.

Jackson and Zoe came in to help us finish up the last dozen.

3:00ish
The boys left to run an errand for Christmas (Santa needed help) and so we all hung out and prepared for dinner. And yes, by preparing I mean we sat and ate some chips.

I don't remember spending so much time with Bri - really, with all my siblings. It was a good night.

5:00ish
Dinner was getting ready and so were our bellies - Ham, tamales, crab legs, Chinese Chicken salad, asparagus, rolls... I think that was it. Really, I just had salad and a bite of the tamales so I don't remember the rest.

6:30pm
I began testing my camera so we could take a family picture. I spent a good 15minutes messing around with it trying to work out the best setting. I always have issues in my parent's house, so this was trying. Mark just happened to be in my shot at this time.

It ended up that the place I tested for FOREVER, was the worst place. I found this out when I came over to take a picture of Mark and Ryan.

Mark was SO helpful with the kids - I swear our old neighbors and their little boy has changed Mark's life.

So it was time - picture time. The pictures that I accidentally took, turned out just fine. So apparently, the timer on my camera messes things up. See the difference with the color?? I hate it, I don't get it.

7:30
My grandparent's anniversary was shortly after our Tahoe trip. We didn't see them so my parents gave them their gift on Christmas Eve. It was tile for their kitchen and my brothers were the ones to install it. They were so very happy!

8:00pm
Christmas program - yes, our annual reading in the Bible. It really is my favorite tradition because it's exactly what Christmas is all about. Although the tamales may pass it up soon :)

Mom assigning our roles:

Andi displaying the reverence of our scripture reading:

The tail end of We Three Kings - I think:

Andi singing Joy to the World:

9:00pm
Time for pj's and our drive home. The kids were so good but tired for sure. We got pj's, blankies, and dummies and were ready to go!9:30pm
Once we got home, we put the kids to bed and began our preparation for Christmas morning. So here's the deal.... I hate that people can't stand Christmas time. They hate it because it's so stressful, expensive, and exhausting. And this is all true if it done to the fullest extent. With kids so young, I felt like I didn't have to go there just yet. Our families don't really exchange gifts, we haven't for years now. It makes it so nice not having to stress about gifts but instead, just look forward to spending time together. So I realize that buying for our kids will be our biggest stress - BUT it is a stress I am not ready to face. I took advantage of their ages this year. Every year we have only purchased one gift for our kids, so this year really was no different. Santa brought them a couple things... wait, I'll get into that on the Christmas post. But for now, you can see that my "wrapping" consisted of the gifts for my siblings, small but just right. And yes, they are wrapped in streamers because I didn't buy any wrapping paper. Honestly, it was SO nice this year and I am looking forward to the days when we can make our kids' day by filling the space under the tree, but for now, when it's not necessary, it was WONDERFUL not having to stress out! I know though that this is the last year we will be able to get away with it. Trust me... I learned this Christmas morning! To Be Continued....