Christmas Eve

I was a little nervous about Christmas Eve day. What do you do with 2 anxious kids for an entire day, while they wait for the Eve? Thankfully the day went fairly smoothly. We decorated some more cookies, watched a movie, got some gifts ready and just relaxed. I was also thankful that I was feeling well enough to cook a real Christmas Eve dinner. Okay, I cheated on the applesauce, but everything else was the real deal. We had 'Perfecto Pork', Nonny's mashed potatoes, applesauce, green bean casserole and cherry jello. Alison requested the jello and I thought it was a simple, yet festive desert. I will NEVER again serve red jello on Christmas.


The kids were ecstatic about the jello. However, we ate a very early dinner so Ben could get to church and the jello had not set all the way. It was edible and jello-y, but still kind of runny. Eli's face was stained the rest of the evening from that stinkin' jello. And even after I got him cleaned up and into his fancy outfit, he kept sneaking back into the kitchen to get more jello. Never again. And yes, Eli ate Christmas dinner in his PJ's.

After a fabulous dinner, we let the kids open their new "fancy" Christmas outfits. Don't be fooled by the gift. I confess that Eli's was a hand-me-down I grabbed out of his closet and Alison's I got on the clearance rack at Target the night before. But, they didn't know and had fun opening an early present.


I had high hopes of continuing my tradition of getting a cute picture of my kids by the tree. Alison kept giving me her "this is how a princess poses" look that just looks goofy and Eli's face is red. But regardless of the situation, they are my precious gifts and I am so thankful that they are here and healthy.



After our pictures, we headed to church for a "family friendly" service. We walked in the door and Eli shouted, "DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!!!". Yep, I knew that one was coming. He could not get over Daddy being on stage. It took everything in me to hold him back from running on stage. Alison burst out in dance during 'Joy to the World', Eli asked for juice over and over until I gave him a sucker that dripped all over me (did I mention I made the mistake of sitting in the first row?) and I was exhausted by the end...just in time to do again the next morning.