Our Christmas

We had a very nice and relaxing Christmas this year. 

We spent Christmas Eve differently than we ever have. But I think it will be the way we spend Christmas Eve from here on out. We started the evening with reading the book The Night Tree. It's about a family that goes out into the darkness of the night on Christmas Eve to decorate a tree for the animals to enjoy on Christmas day. They decorate with birdseed and popcorn and they sing Christmas carols and just enjoy the stillness and quietness of the night. We then went out and decorated our own tree. This is something my family used to do when I was growing up and I loved getting away from the craziness of Christmas for a while and just enjoying the quiet. We invited our friends, the Lewis family, to go with us. The kids loved it!

After that we drove around a little and looked at lights.

Then we returned home, opened up our Christmas pjs, ate our traditional Chinese food and watched a Christmas movie. Next year we'll start earlier so we can get a nativity pageant in as well. 

We decorated Santa's cookies. 

We took pictures by the tree. 

Then finished the night with 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

The next morning, the boys woke us up and we read Luke 2 all snuggled in our bed. This is probably my favorite tradition we have. I love starting the day off with the the story of the birth of our Savior. 

Then it was time for presents. 

I love the excitement of Christmas morning. 

Most of Christmas morning was documented with video. But we had such a nice relaxing day together. I love my little family. 

Even though it was just the five of us, we still wanted to have a nice Christmas dinner. I absolutely loved it! We ate just by the light of the Christmas tree, other Christmas lights around the house and a few candles. No one was complaining, everyone was happy, it was perfect. 

It was such a wonderful day. I wish I could go back and live it all over again.