Christmas Eve

Some of the pictures from the 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 28th are from my sister.  She came for the holiday (yay!) from Idaho and before she left I downloaded pictures she'd taken, and then she even sent me the pics from her phone.  Thanks sis, so glad you were here with us, miss you!  And your family!  And you too my Utah sister!

Bonus picture from the 23rd, baby meeting his cousin. They stopped by our place after arriving at the airport.


We visited my father-in-law on Christmas Eve. It's hard to be sure whether he understood that he was meeting his grandson, but at times he seemed to appreciate the visit and we enjoyed seeing him.


We had our Christmas Eve dinner at my brother's place, a delicious breakfast-for-dinner and it was so much fun to be together!
The boys got a little crazy. Though it looks that their cousin might not have been convinced of the rolling-on-the-floor fun.
Group hug with Uncle A!


We spent Christmas at my parents.  A traditional Christmas Eve there includes everyone sharing something followed by us acting out the Christmas story while my dad reads it from the scriptures.

My sister's family on the piano and reading The Night Before Christmas:



My family ringing bells while singing Jingle Bells:

My boys had enjoyed this song during the Christmas season and would sing it a lot. Our preschooler would sing the whole chorus and our toddler would sing "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.  Oh what fun! ..."

My baby sister reading The Friendly Beasts:


My mom playing What Child Is This?


The Christmas Story:
Our donkeys being herded to Bethlehem.
An angel visiting the shepherds.

Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, donkeys, shepherds, and an angel.
The wise men visit Baby Jesus.


Then the kids went to bed and we finished up Christmas preparations!