Christmas Eve
Today was an awesome day. We have a tradition of trying our best to make sure everything is done by the night of the 23rd so we can relax and enjoy Christmas Eve with our family, free from all the stress that comes with making sure we're ready for Christmas. We spent the morning peeling potatoes, slicing veggies and prepping for dinner. The kids wanted to help in the kitchen. Calvin wanted to make peanut butter balls. Kira made peppermint brownies. Kate got everything ready for our Christmas Eve program (I had her do the one outlined in the Friend magazine). Mikey and Isaac set up their beds under the little Christmas tree up in the beach room, lined with little stuffed animals and things. We played dominos and baked and had a great time just being together. It was awesome!
When it was time to cook dinner, all of the boys pitched in while Kate watched a Christmas movie and Kira worked on her homemade gifts for everyone. Calvin and Isaac were awesome! They helped a ton with dinner. They mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, set the table and helped clean up. It was really nice.
Our dinner was delicious: prime rib (cooked to perfection by Jeff) with sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans, sourdough bread and sparkling cider. It was beautiful. The kids had great manners (it's all relative), we talked about all of the things we loved about Christmas time and how we felt so blessed. We ate by candlelight with soft acoustic guitar Christmas music playing on Pandora in the background. It was really beautiful and memorable. It was one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself because you can't believe it's actually coming off like you'd planned. That hardly ever happens around here!
After dinner we got two plates ready to take to Jeff's parents. They were supposed to come over for dinner but Clint was feeling kind of sick so they decided not to come. While we drove the 10 minutes over to their house, we sang Christmas carols the entire way. It was really fun. Everyone was so merry! We delivered their dinner, sang a carol, talked for a minute then headed back home, singing Christmas carols on the way.
At home we had our little program and watched the Nativity video on lds.org and put the kids to bed. They are all sleeping on the floor in the beach room with the little Christmas tree that has just a small section of lights that still work. It's been an hour but there are still stirrings upstairs so they're not asleep yet! Naughty kids! ;)
It has been an awesome Christmas Eve! It's really fun to see the kids at Christmas. The two little boys are so excited they can hardly stand it. These years have got to be the golden years of Christmas for us. The kids are at the funnest ages and I am soaking in every minute. It is so fun to watch the magic of Christmas in their eyes.
I can't wait for tomorrow!
When it was time to cook dinner, all of the boys pitched in while Kate watched a Christmas movie and Kira worked on her homemade gifts for everyone. Calvin and Isaac were awesome! They helped a ton with dinner. They mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, set the table and helped clean up. It was really nice.
Our dinner was delicious: prime rib (cooked to perfection by Jeff) with sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans, sourdough bread and sparkling cider. It was beautiful. The kids had great manners (it's all relative), we talked about all of the things we loved about Christmas time and how we felt so blessed. We ate by candlelight with soft acoustic guitar Christmas music playing on Pandora in the background. It was really beautiful and memorable. It was one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself because you can't believe it's actually coming off like you'd planned. That hardly ever happens around here!
After dinner we got two plates ready to take to Jeff's parents. They were supposed to come over for dinner but Clint was feeling kind of sick so they decided not to come. While we drove the 10 minutes over to their house, we sang Christmas carols the entire way. It was really fun. Everyone was so merry! We delivered their dinner, sang a carol, talked for a minute then headed back home, singing Christmas carols on the way.
At home we had our little program and watched the Nativity video on lds.org and put the kids to bed. They are all sleeping on the floor in the beach room with the little Christmas tree that has just a small section of lights that still work. It's been an hour but there are still stirrings upstairs so they're not asleep yet! Naughty kids! ;)
It has been an awesome Christmas Eve! It's really fun to see the kids at Christmas. The two little boys are so excited they can hardly stand it. These years have got to be the golden years of Christmas for us. The kids are at the funnest ages and I am soaking in every minute. It is so fun to watch the magic of Christmas in their eyes.
I can't wait for tomorrow!
My little candy maker. He did these all by himself! (Inspired by Garrett Tillman)
Mexican train dominos—our family favorite!
Kira loves to wear her "ugly" Christmas sweater that she purchased at Smith's with her own money while shopping at Smith's a few weeks ago with her friends. She finds great joy in wearing clothes that she finds amusing. She makes me laugh!
Bringing in the Santa (our little statue that guards the stairs on Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning. The kids can't come downstairs until the Santa is gone from the top of the stairs.
What an awesome little helper.
1-2-3-4-5. Our traditional Christmas jammies.
I LOVE this picture!
Jeff's amazing roast! I can't believe this bad boy was $9.99/lb! Prime rib was our traditional Christmas dinner with my Grandma and Grandpa Redding and so I wanted to carry on the tradition. I had NO idea how much they cost! I guess that's why we only had it once a year! We called Grandma Redding and she gave us the expert's tips on how to prep and cook the roast and it turned out perfect! Thanks Grandma!
Our candlelight Christmas table.
I wish Jeff could have been in the picture but he volunteered to be the camera man.
Mikey LOVED the prime rib!
Kate's Christmas program. She did an awesome job making the signs that spelled out "Merry Christmas" and had a word to go with each letter. She wrote out the message on the back and handed out the letters and we took turns reading about our letter. She was the narrator and read a scripture and had a few songs to sing during the program. She is a great little teacher. She even used a metal spoon as a microphone to start off: "Welcome to the Davis family Christmas program..." It was adorable!
Kira's peppermint brownies. Unfortunately I didn't have a single peppermint candy cane to crush and put on top. What is wrong with me? Kira has been off of sugar for 3 months now and she gave herself 2 "cheat days" for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She said she's been craving these since Nana made them last year. They were delicious!
Opening their Christmas jammies.
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