It ain't what it used to be.

Christmas Eve held distinct traditions for our family when I was growing up. We always went skiing (the lines were short or nonexistant - it was wonderful and so much fun), then came home and lit luminaires to put out on the sidewalk (our whole neighborhood did it, and it looked so cool). Then we would hastily eat dinner - Christmas Eve dinner wasn't a huge deal, and it couldn't be, considering that we were skiing all day - and then have a small program. Then we would open up a game (a new game, every year) and play forever, falling into bed like at midnight or so. All four of us sisters slept in my room every year. Lex usually kept us up all dang night. "What time is it, Kar?" "Hey, Kar, what time is it now?" Em's mom made a batch of rolls for my family every year, but also made me my own special batch as a present from Em. I would hoard the rolls in my room, and we would eat them all night.

Unfortunately, as Nat and I have had kids, we've had to alter Christmas Eve tradition a little bit. No skiing - there's no way Ben and I could afford to do that. I wish! I would love to teach my kids how to ski. Someday. When our ship comes in. (We've been waiting a long time for that ship....) We still help my folks put out luminaires. Here are some shots of us doing that:

Poor Mikey. In October or so, I bought him a coat at Wally's. I totally thought I got him a size 2T, the size he was wearing at the time. That's what the hanger said. Why I trusted a hanger at Wally's, I don't know. I didn't realize, until like the beginning of December, that I had accidentally gotten him a size 18 months. I was wondering why it was so dang short!!! I just thought, "Oh, well, he's in size 3T now, so the size 2T is too small for him..." When Mom asked me why on earth Micah was wearing a size 18 months coat, I was like, "Oh!" I got him a replacement coat a couple of weeks ago. A size 3T. Just right.

Saders:

Dylio:

Ben felt too gross to help out:

Dad felt gross, too. He had just had surgery, as well, so he stayed in. Here he is, a while later, de-shelling shrimp:

See, that has changed, too. No longer is Christmas Eve dinner something quick and thrown-together. We have time to make it nice now. I brought a big old salad. I've become the Salad Bringer for family gatherings. And the Roll Bringer. My mom likes my salads and my rolls. Which, by the way, are Em's mom's recipe for rolls.

Funny story. This salad that I made can have chicken and bacon in it. When I was preparing it, I kept the meat in seperate containers from the salad. Dylan asked why I wasn't putting the meat in, and I said, "Lexi doesn't eat meat, so I'm keeping the meat to the side of the salad. People who want meat can dish it into their salad." Dyl asked why Lex doesn't eat meat, and I told him that Lex has a hard time with the way the animals are treated before they're killed, and also doesn't like that animals are killed (I hope I was on the right track, Lex. I think I was - we've had many discussions about it). This was a total revelation for Dylan. His eyes lit up, like, "Wow, that's right. Meat IS dead animals." I could see the wheels turning in his brain. "Mom," he said, "I don't want to eat meat, either. Ever again. I feel sad for the animals, too." "Alright, hon," I said. (I didn't kick up a fuss. I knew it wouldn't last.)He was a vegetarian for about 24 hours. He ate meat the next day. :) He's so funny.

So we ate some good food. Then we hung out for a minute before doing our little program - that part of Christmas Eve is still the same.

Chris and Lex - I think this pic of them is so cute:

Nat and Gag, I mean, Gage:

I just showed this pic to Nat via facebook, and she was like, "I think he barfed on me four times while I was holding him." Yep. That sounds about right.

Then we had our little program. Here is me, trying to read my poem while Micah was shrieking and running around. Sigh. At least Dylan and Jake were trying to pay attention:

I never realize how dark my hair is until I see pictures. In my mind's eye, it's like a light brown, but in reality, it's pretty dark. Weird that none of my kids got my dark hair.

And then it was like 9:30, and we had to go! No games. Soooo sad. I am a fan of games. But I'm also a fan of not having my kids scream and run around like banshees because they're overtired. Oh well. When they grow up a little more, I'm sure Game Time will recommence.