Christmas Eve Recap

Although it seems like light years away, Christmas Eve was just 5 short nights ago.  Crazy how time flies so quickly.  When Erik and I were first married, we alternated spending Christmas/Thanksgiving with our families.  Because they live almost 6 hours apart, it was impossible to try to do both.  Things only grew more challenging as we began to add children to the mix.  It has taken some time, but with a lot of traveling late hours have been able to figure out how to make both families happy on both holidays.  However, there is one thing that will remain the same.  We want our children to spend Christmas day at their own home.

That being said, we have begun to create some fun family traditions that I look forward to continuing as the years go on.  Each Christmas Eve we make a huge pot of soup, Mexican cornbread and lots of dessert.  My parents come over and thankfully my brother has been able to join us the past few years.  This year was extra special because he brought his girlfriend Candace.  She's already like part of the family, so it was wonderful having her there.  The only thing missing was my baby sister and her family.  My brother, John Paul, and Candace brought their new puppy with them and that only added to the excitement around the house.  It was a wonderful night!

We made reindeer food and before the night was over we went outside to sprinkle the food all over the yard.  I'm sure Santa's helpers were quite full when they left our house!

A Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without a picture of the children in their Christmas pajamas and setting out the letters to Santa.

Each Christmas Eve before we go to bed we spend some snuggle time together, talking about the true meaning of Christmas.  I know the kiddos hear the story a dozen times or more during the Christmas season, but there's something about telling it one more time...right before Christmas day.