Twas the Weekend before Christmas

We are extraordinarily lucky to live close enough to a gaggle of family members on both sides to see essentially all of them in a whirlwind few days of holiday extravaganza. Part of me thinks it might be nice to travel to the quintessential grandmother's house (picture long drive through perfectly falling snow) only to be greeted with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and long-anticipated hugs from enthusiastic relatives. Oh wait, maybe that's just the Folger's commercial running through my head. Pregnancy hormones or not, that thing makes me tear up every time...
Indeed, it can be hectic.And I sometimes fear that we are so rushed to get to the next location or prepare for the next influx of family members that we may not really take time to relish the moment, to absorb the magnamity of the season and the treasure of spending time with family. Maybe it would seem more "special" if we spent several days with family we rarely saw otherwise throughout the year. But despite the emotional waterworks that the Folger's soundtrack may trigger, I have realized more and more how blessed we are to be surrounded by our loved ones and how nice it is to be able to see them all at Christmas. Every Christmas.

This year's whirlwind was kicked off with the Peds Radiology Christmas party we hosted again this year. Elle continued the tradition of spending the night with her best friend Grace, while Elise stayed behind to entertain guests. Charming as always, I think she was the hit of the party. 

Life of the party, little E

On Christmas Eve Eve Eve we were invited to Grampa and Mimi's house for a fantastic dinner and present opening gala. The girls were beyond excited to kick off the festivities. 

Love that we are close enough for the girls to spend time with Grampa and Mimi! And so grateful for the help they are to us with sick days, date nights, and everything in between.

Christmas Eve Eve entailed a brunch with some of my high school friends and their sweet little ones. The kids managed to entertain themselves beautifully for the most part, allowing the adults to catch up. I was reminded yet again the volume of food my kids consume relative to their peers... guess they get that honest! 

Christmas Eve started off as all Christmas Eve's should... with cookie baking. Elle and I have made gingerbread cookies for Santa the past several years, and we continued the tradition this year with the help of an eager albeit little-concept-of-keeping-ingredients-in-the-bowl E2. 

I am far too obsessive-compulsive to bake with small children. Working through that. Hopefully they aren't too scarred from the repetitive outbursts of "Don't stir so hard!", "The flour stays IN the bowl!", "Use the cookie cutters along the edges so as to maximize available surface area of the dough!", and "That's not where his mouth goes!"

Tyrannical Mom notwithstanding, they turned out well . The girls were proud of their work, and Elle reluctantly agreed to partition a few out for Santa.

Tasting the fruits of their labor.

After some festive wrapping and holiday preparations, we got ready for the Christmas Eve service at our church. The 4pm service is labelled "family-friendly" and it was great. Lots of kid involvement, including having all the children on stage for a good portion of the service. All the children and one rather pregnant woman scooting around amidst the service trying to corral an inquisitive and extremely mobile almost 2 year old. Entertaining for the audience, apparently.

My kids are notorious for nonmatching beyond tacky and seasonally inappropriate attire. Long ago I gave Elle the independence to dress herself, which I suppose has been good for her independence but disastrous from a not-looking-like-a-hobo standpoint. Parenting is all about picking your battles, and for better or worse, this is one I chose not to pick. That being said, I did manage to achieve some degree of wardrobe normalcy for this occasion. Not without a struggle (apparently tights are "as bad as mayonnaise"), but the end result was acceptable.

Sorry for the crotch shot Elise. 

I'm not above cookie bribery for tolerating photo opportunities. 

After church we headed back home to greet my mom's side of the family for Christmas Eve dinner. I didn't get many photos, but it was nice to see everyone, share some good food (including a requested repeat appearance of the "chargrilled artichokes" aka roasted brussels sprouts we made at Thanksgiving), and open presents with Nana and her family. 

After dinner (and amazingly before presents), Elle gathered everyone in the living room and asked who wanted to hear a story about Baby Jesus. She then proceeded to tell the Christmas story in perfect 5-year-old paraphrase that absolutely melted my heart. Proud Mom and Technical Misfit are currently at odds since I can't figure out how to upload the video properly... but perhaps I'll figure it out before you're grown and looking back at the digital archive of your life, E.

Food consumed, family bade adieu, cookies and milk left out for Santa. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, and our sweet little ones were tucked snugly in their beds. All the anticipation of the season was thick in the air as Elle thought she heard jingle bells before falling asleep.