Christmas Eve

We're leaving soon to go to the Christmas Eve service at church. Afterwards we'll eat supper somewhere then come home. The children will open their new pajamas from Steve and me and we'll prepare a breakfast casserole to bake tomorrow morning as we read Scripture and open gifts. The kids will go to bed, and hopefully I'll remember to fill their stockings. Around midnight I'll put their stockings in their rooms at the foot of their beds. At 6:00 a.m. the kids will get up and start the coffee percolator and pre-heat the oven for the casserole. Then they'll come into our bedroom and watch us empty the stockings they've filled for us. I'll put on Christmas music and start a fire in the living room fireplace, Steve will bring coffee for him and me, then we'll call the children into the living room and read the Bible and open gifts. This takes a long time because only one present at a time is opened, thanks are rendered, and the recipient gets to take a moment to admire or appreciate the gift. Then another person gets a gift, and so it goes until every gift is opened and all trash has been thrown away. It can be as late as noon or as early as 10:30 a.m. when we're done.

We'll make the dishes we're to take out to the grandparents' house Christmas night, then spend the afternoon enjoying the time together. Christmas night is the celebration dinner with the extended family - but no gift exchange this year.

Hope your hearts are full of joy and thankfulness, too!