Christmas

I like Christmas to be low key. Especially when I am in charge of it. So Christmas Eve was a day of folding laundry, picking up downstairs, dishes, haircuts, and baths.

For dinner, we decided to incorporate Jason's family's tradition of eating a "traditional" Bethlehem dinner by candlelight, with a few modifications. We did chicken nuggets instead of fishsticks to make sure that the kids ate and simplified it down to meat, bread and vegetables. And out candles ran off batteries so we could maintain light and not have to keep relighting candles. Then we read Luke 2, no reenactment, and talked about Jesus and his birth. 

Then we made cookies for Santa...

Wrote Thank you letters to Santa...

And watched a short movie before bed. Carter was up at 5:20, but I kept him in my room watching a show on the ipad until the other kids got up, well 2 of the 3. We woke up Tanner when Matthew and Andrew got up at 6:50. He was not too happy...especially when I asked for pictures...

But he got into opening presents really fast.

He was playing but refused to put down lion.

Andrew even got into presents...with a little help from mom...

Ignore mom, but I liked Andrew with his piggy bank in this one.

Matthew wanted to ride the bike, too.

In the paper sea...

Oh, safety first.

Then it was off to playing and eating and playing and napping and playing and eating and playing.

Happy Christmas to all. Mom is glad it is over until next year.