Christmas 2009

Christmas this year.  Oh, where to I begin?  Let's start at the very beginning.  Julie Andrews says, "that's a very good place to start."  

Our celebration this year, as I've already mentioned, started with the beginning of Advent.  We decorated our Jesse Tree and remembered God's promises to His people and His plan to save the world through Christ.  So, after much waiting and anticipation, we got to light the last candle of Advent and hang the last ornament on our tree.

We started our Christmas Eve celebration at church.  The kids so enjoyed singing the Christmas carols.  At the end of the service, instead of traditional candles, everyone circled the sanctuary and held battery operated lights that looked kinda like candles.  It would have been okay except the kids were all waving theirs around like sparklers on the 4th of July.   Then it was a bit like singing Silent Night with strobe lights.  

After we got home from church, we had some great friends over for our Christmas Eve meal.  The kids had a fun time playing with their friends and everyone got to open one gift.  They could hardly contain their excitement.  We baked cookies before bed and the kids wrote letters to "Santa".

We've never played up the Santa part of Christmas.  We've always answered the kids questions truthfully.  They know who Saint Nicholas really was and where Christmas morning gifts come from.  However, on Christmas Eve, I guess they feel it's better to cover all your bases.  Just in case. 

Christmas morning started early, as usual.  Of course Ken and I were up until the wee hours on Christmas Eve, which seems to be a tradition of ours.  

The girls got rollerblades this year.  Since the snow has begun to melt, they've been skating all over the neighborhood.

It was fun watching little man enjoy his first Christmas.  I don't think he really understood what all the fuss was about, but he truly enjoyed eating the paper.

For Jay, the theme this year was trains and trucks.  And he didn't seem to mind at all.

All the grandparents sent sweet things for the kids as well.  We wish we could have been with them in person as they opened them.

I made the rookie move of giving the girls Polly Pockets as stocking stuffers.  Who, with a 10 month old, would do that?  I somehow convinced myself that we could keep them off the floor.  I was wrong.

While Jake enjoyed all things Thomas, the girls got to play Mommy to new baby dolls.  I love seeing their imaginations as they play mommies to their babies.

After a morning of playing, we had a family Christmas dinner.  As much as we miss being with family, it was still a sweet time together.

Christmas night we hosted a dessert and caroling with lots of friends and neighbors.  It was pure fun and complete craziness.  Base housing is lots of things, but spacious is not one of them.  We had 31 people in our tiny place and 20 of them were children.  But thanks to the piano and singing talents of my good friend Nicole, fun was had by all.  Things like that really make for fun Christmas memories.

Thanks to Ken being a student this year, he has the next week off and we're enjoying some fun family time.  And, of course, that means pictures to follow.  :) Hope your Christmas was great too.   Happy New Year!