Friday, January 11, 2013

Christmas Eve ~ 2012

Christmas Eve was a wonderful combination of our usual traditions and new, tried it for the first time things.  I kind of loved it, actually.  Not one who usually likes change, it was surprisingly great to mix things up and we all had a lot of fun.

Ainsley, Kennedy, Asher and Carter
We hosted our friends, the Asburys, for brunch on the morning of Christmas Eve.  They recently moved to the area and weren't able to go back home for Christmas, so it was fun to celebrate together.  I love hosting and had fun with the menu.  I tried to keep things simple but of course we had way too much food! 

 Our kids are the same ages and (usually) play very well together.  (Both Carter and Kennedy were super tired from a late night up with friends the night before and were less than hospitable at times)  Besides the occasional arguments, we had a lovely meal and a lot of fun.  We are thankful for these new friends and really enjoyed our time together.

We were able to get a quick picture of our family
We had less than an hour to clean up and get ready for church after our friends left. 
Quick outfit change, ran a brush through their hair and snapped a few pictures before heading out the door.  We had to be to church early because the kids were participating in the Nativity play (quite possibly my favorite part of the entire holiday!)

I'm not sure if anyone was ready for this picture, but I just had to include it for myself.  I look at this photo and am just so filled with gratitude.  I am blessed beyond measure and as we celebrated Christmas this year, I was intentional about my prayers of thanks.

Daddy and his best girl
my sweet girl

he's getting so big!
love my boy

I set up the camera on the dining room table and tried to set the timer...the lighting isn't the best, but it was all we could do. 
Definitely needed a Christmas Eve picture of our sweet family

Kaitlin and Kennedy ~ looking cute in their color coordinated dresses!
This was the start of the chaos of getting all the littles dressed and ready for the nativity play.  The girls were so excited!

Another new tradition...
After church, we put on our comfy cozies and got into the car.  (I had intended to make hot chocolate but forgot!)  We spent the next hour or so driving around our town and admiring the beautiful Christmas lights, listening to Christmas music and reminiscing about all the fun holiday things we'd done that month.  We all had different favorites.
  Everyone was quite tired by the time we got home, so it was off to bed...dreaming of Santa, I'm sure!

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