Christmas eve

Saturday, 12/24/2011

Here they are! And these are the best I could get :) The girls were completely ecstatic this year which made it even more fun for everyone :)  Here we are before the 5:30pm Christmas Eve service.

Oh yes, and it must be said that we did fairly well at church... LeaAnn only fell off the pew, busted her lip & got blood on Chris' shirt :) And Lydia mostly cried during the singing... thankfully their was a lot of singing ;) 

I remember being pregnant last year and having to chase Lydia around...

I was personally SO THANKFUL that I was not pregnant this year, and able to sit comfortably :) even if it was for a only a few moments at a time ;) And there was NO SNOW! or wind... and it was actually nice outside.. and we were there EARLY, found a seat & everything... Chris & I were pretty proud of ourselves :)

ALSO, last year, I remember my favorite part of Christmas Eve service... singing Silent Night. We hold white candles, everyone sings a cappella.. so serene, peaceful singing by candlelight... that is until a 13mo-old  throws a huge screaming temper-tantrum b/c SHE wants to hold the lit candle ... :) While sitting in the pew, I reminded Chris of this memory, and he said, "she's yours tonight!" :) Luckily, this year, she agreed to holding the candle WITH me, and we all got to enjoy the song.                   

2011- Lauren 6-8mo, Lindsay 5-4mo, Lydia 2-1mo & LeaAnn 9-1/2mo

2010 - Lauren 5-8mo, Lindsay 4-4mo & Lydia 13mo!

and couldn't resist one more :)  2009 - Lauren 4-8mo, Lindsay 3-4mo & Lydia 4wks :) I remember being COMPLETELY overwhelmed while at church this day ... :) if only I would have known what being REALLY overwhelmed truly was ;)

here are a few more from 2011...

And then after service we came home to a meal prepared! The girls' had set the table before we left... and Grammy & Papa Jim came over and got everything ready while we were at church... SO sweet of them, and so perfect for kids this age! :)  They asked Lauren & Lindsay what Christmas Eve dinner should be, and the answer was, "chicken, rolls & corn" :) so we had that, plus a few more sides.

They got to open a present after dinner...

A new ornament for each :) I am my mother's daughter ;) I truly appreciate all my ornaments Mimi! And it's really fun now, b/c the girls ask me about them, and why I got a particular ornament for that particular year...

Big girls are taking dance again - both thrilled to actually have a 'ballet' class dancing to ballet music :)

going along w/Lydia's 'monkey' theme that fits her personality perfect ;)

And LeaAnn's first Christmas! When I found these, I thought... "Oh too bad... it's not her first Christmas..." oh how time flies... I FORGOT that this was indeed LeaAnn's first Christmas :) but what counts is that I DID remember... :) I will forever have to tell her that I think...