Christmas Moments

While I am learning that no Christmas is perfect ;), this year we had moments of...

...peace
Silence throughout the house led me to find my three girls reading Christmas books in the living room.

...excitement
With Christmas landing on a Sunday, we changed our normal traditions in order to go to church Christmas morning. We drove up to my Mom's house the day before Christmas Eve, taking all our presents with us and informing Santa where we'd be. The girls each had one present from us that was huge (and Jessica and Mikayla's were luggage, hee hee) so we let them open that the morning of the day we left. It pretty much just got them excited for things to come.

I hate that this is so blurry, but you can still see the excitement on her face!

Rebecca got a Baby Alive, something she's wanted for a couple of years.

...wonder

On Christmas Eve we have a birthday party for Jesus. We read Luke 2 by candlelight, with a nativity scene and a special dessert on the table, sing "Happy Birthday," and blow out the candles. I have done this every Christmas Eve of my life, and it is one of my favorite moments of the season.

...nostalgia
Another tradition I grew up with is a song I've never heard anywhere except from my mother and her mother. After we decorate the Christmas tree, we sit on the couch and sing (to a tune all its own):
O Christmas tree, O Christnas tree,
the best in all the world to me!
With branches green and spreading wide
to hide our gifts at Christmastide.
O beautiful tree,
please tell to me
the gifts you are hiding, what can they be?
O beautiful, beautiful Christmas tree.

...giving
Christmas morning (when the girls woke us up at 5:20!!) we opened presents from each other, and I honestly think we all enjoyed watching each others' pleasure at what we gave as much as we enjoyed the gifts we got.

Mikayla made this apron for Gran.

...joy
Although I don't have any pictures of it, the church service we went to was a perfect celebration of the Gift of Christmas. We read Scripture prophesying the Messiah and telling the whole life of Christ and His return, with hymns and carols between. We saw old friends and had a wonderful time.

...family
My Aunt Sue, my brother Mark, and those of his family who were able came after church. We took pictures, ate a feast, talked and laughed, and played games.

Whitney painted Gran a picture!

...silliness!
We played "Would You Rather..." and Wii "Just Dance 3" on Christmas day, and "Quelf" the day after. I laughed so hard!

My niece Sarah had to keep this spoon in her mouth 2 turns.

Just Dancing "The Mermaid Dance"

I don't have any pictures of Quelf, but in that game I had to remove an article of clothing, swing it around over my head yelling "Rawhide;" Mike had to give himself a wedgie; my nephew Jason had to say, "I command you to be silent!" whenever anyone laughed; my mom had to keep one elbow on the gameboard at all times; Mark and Whitney had to say, "To ancient times and distant music" every time they took a drink---oh, it was hilarious.

In the words of Laura Ingalls Wilder (again!) "It was a rich Christmas."