Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve! 

After a not-very-Christmas-y-feeling morning at Vizcaya (which was still very awesome-just hot and Miami-like, not my usual Christmas idea) we came home to celebrate! I made fudge. We made it. It smelled divine--just like Christmas should--and then I burnt it bad enough that we ended up soaking the pan with the fudge inside and never eating it. 

I also forgot to turn the chex mix at regular intervals, but we didn't really notice a difference--still good. Also, a thermometer, that 6 qt lifetime pan, a cup of water...it all means Christmas to me.

We had friends over for Christmas Eve and that was a blast! I chose to do my family's traditional Christmas Eve meal--hoagie sandwiches. Sterling felt obligated to do it right and even bought the fancy mustard my dad and brother love. I felt obligated to do it right and made the traditional drink--grape juice with 7up. It felt good to me because that is what I have had for Christmas Eve dinner my entire life. 

There were three other kids there but they were either uninterested or too small to join in the Nativity, so this was our teeny tiny nativity:

You'd think Mary and Joseph, but they were actually a shepherd and angel. Go figure. 

I tried to explain a little more by using our fisher price nativity, Will tried to destroy my endeavors by sitting on the entire thing, haha! 

Our good friend Tricia stayed all night (bless her for putting up with our overtired, overexcited kids!) because her husband was doing a choral gig that night. So we opened Christmas PJs!

Molly wasn't very good at opening her present, but she sure held on tight! She wasn't giving anything up, haha! 

Trying to take a picture of everyone that night was a disaster. I eventually gave up and took one in the morning. 

My family never did this, but we left out cookies for Santa! The kids were SOOO excited! So very excited, that several tantrums occurred when leaving the plate out. Oops.

We laid out the stockings...Ruthie adamantly wanted them on the floor, not the couch.

Santa came!!!!

Getting ready to go downstairs in the morning. Much better. Presents are a good incentive to smile.

I got their PJs last year on after Christmas sales, all three at different stores and at different times (crazy, I know) and so I was very glad they all fit! I would have got Molly a size up, but since she is a teeny tiny she'll probably fit it for awhile anyway, so I was happy. Cutest kids ever!

We had a grand time playing games with Tricia that we normally can't play with just the two of us. Also, she has an angel baby who sleeps anywhere, with any kind of noise. So that is always nice. Also, luckily our other friends stayed up late because we totally spaced needing a ladder to get some things out of our loft that night. That would've been a little crazy, haha. It was a very exciting Christmas, getting everything ready!