Christmas

Christmas came and went fast as it usually does, but we had a wonderful time baking cookies for Santa, cooking dinner and celebrating on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day going to church and visiting family.  It was one of the most enjoyable, stress free Christmas Eves I've had in quite a while.  Not sure how I pulled it off, but it was really nice.  We must have made it onto the nice list because Santa Claus paid us a visit.  Nate and I figured he had to have dropped by sometime between 1:00-1:45 a.m..  Rachel had a really hard time settling down and finally did around 12:30.  I checked on kids at 1:00, but still no Santa.  Then I woke up to a rustling noise at 1:45.  To be on the safe side I sent Nate to check it out.  When Nate came back to report I was told Santa had been here and Kaden was up checking it all out and organizing the gifts.... he quickly got sent back to bed. :)   As far as I could tell no one was disappointed and some even hooted and hollered that they got exactly what they asked for.  Phew!  Sometimes you just never know. ;)

We have made a tradition of making a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve.  It basically ends up being Thanksgiving all over again, but I don't hear anyone complaining.  We eat by candle light, too.  That's what we did when I was a kid so I like to keep the tradition alive.  Our ward did the luminaries again.  We love driving around looking at them.  And this year's Nativity stars: Tye as a shepherd and a wiseman, Haley as an angel and a star, Rachel as Mary (one of these years she's going to have to share that role with one of her sisters), Eliza as Joseph (he was very maternal and didn't share baby Jesus with Mary this year) and last but certainly not least, Kaden as a wiseman.  They all deserve an award.  They cooperated their very best ever to date!

Merry Christmas!!