Christmas Eve

We celebrated a nice quiet evening at home after a bustling day out at my mom's. The standard Christmas Eve includes a pizza lunch, pinata, games and this year a visit from Santa! All the kids had a fun time sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what they want for Christmas. Jonah was the only one slightly embarrassed. This year we waited around for a while to see if the call from my brother James (on a mission in Bulgaria) would come through. Due to some internet issues the call was postponed to later than we could stay. We had our own events planned before bedtime.

In years past when we were driving to Arizona for Christmas, Grandpa Matthews would read to the kids right before bed. Our new Christmas tradition is for John to read "T'was The Night Before Christmas" as we pass presents around the circle each time the word "the" is said. It's quite the adventure trying to keep up as John reads. The kids think it's a super fun thing when he adds a few extra "the's" to the story.

After the kids put out cookies (for Santa) and carrots (for the reindeer) out on a plate and milk in a cup, they ran off to bed. It was quite a while before they all fell asleep. John and I are happy that our own traditions are coming together and that our family is happy to celebrate as a family.