Birthday/Christmas Eve

This year, we went down to Ashland for Christmas.  All of my siblings and their spouses were able to be there.  It was the first time we had all been together in two years, so we were all pretty excited to be there.  Our family had grown a bit since the last time we were all together – we had twelve adults and twelve kids.  Next time we’re together, the kids will outnumber the adults!

For my birthday, Shane let me sleep in once I fed Asher, and when I woke up, I got to eat a yummy breakfast of crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.  After we were all ready, we headed over to the church to play some games, eat take-out Chinese food, and break a piñata.  It was a great birthday party!

               

That evening, we had a delicious dinner followed by a program that included each family doing something: Bryce and Camille drew pictures to share with the family, Dave and Liz had everyone sing Jingle Bells while the kiddos rang bells, Jake and Stacey read a Christmas poem that they had written, Becky and Nate’s family sang a song, and we played “name that Christmas tune,” My mom led the grandkids in “C is for the Christ Child.”  They also had fun playing the chimes. 

     

We concluded the program by acting out the nativity:

   

(Thanks Stacey, for catching the great picture of James and Maggie!)

 

After the nativity, the kids got ready for bed while my dad hid their wrapped Christmas Eve book for them to find.  They were all a little excited for Santa to come, but all managed to go to sleep eventually.