Christmas Eve

When the boys woke up from their naps on Christmas Eve, we started finishing up dinner. I had pre-made the pineapple stuffing, so we simply popped it into the oven. I had also made the 'extra good' mashed potatoes the day before, so they were in the crock pot. All we had left to heat up was the peas & carrots and the pre-cooked and spiral cut honey-baked ham. I set the table with my pretty plates and snowman plates for the boys, and I lit the candles and turned off the lights. The candles kept the boys pre-occupied, so they didn't eat much. In fact, the only thing that Caleb ate was his peas & carrots and a little bit of ham, while Joshua finished his mashed potatoes and peas & carrots. Shawn & I ate some of everything, and it was DELICIOUS! :)

When dinner was over, we cleaned up and then headed out to look for Christmas lights, another Christmas Eve tradition. We drove over to Longfellow, where a house was completely decked out, including a Santa display in the window that looked extremely real. The boys were impressed. Next we drove to another house on Route 23 in Leola that had a drive-through Christmas light display. Along the way, we saw lights, of course, and the boys enjoyed it. But, after an hour, we were all done being in the car. We went home, and I gave the boys baths and helped put them into their PJs. Then we headed downstairs, where they opened a gift from the Ginder's that was labeled 'Christmas Eve.' Inside was a book about the birth of Jesus narrated by Papaw, Mamaw & Aunt Erica. The boys loved it!

Next we opened our stockings, which always have useful items like toothbrushes and chapstick and also fun items like favorite snacks. The boys both munched on raisins and goldfish and drank their juice boxes as we watched one last Christmas video before putting them to bed.

We warned the boys that if they heard Santa Clause, they couldn't go downstairs. They weren't allowed to eat his cookies or drink his milk or he might be sad and not leave gifts. They needed to stay in their beds all night. They both agreed, and they helped me put out the cookies and milk on the special plate we had received from Great Grandma Good at her party (see the top picture). They were SO excited! And it was getting late. Both Daddy & I were exhausted, so as soon as we thought they might be asleep, we hurried downstairs to bring the presents out and put them under the tree. Then we cuddled into our bed and watched a very disturbing movie called "the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It was based off a novel and while good, I wouldn't have recommended it on Christmas Eve. But, we enjoyed just spending time together. We got to bed around midnight, hoping the boys would sleep it...