Celebrating Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve 2010 started out busy, busy, busy! We had to pick up Caitlin and Harrison from their grandparents' house in the morning. While there, we got to eat a delicious breakfast cooked by Grandaddy of biscuits, eggs, bacon, and sausage gravy. YUM!
We came home and started our baking.

First up...mixing the cake batter (or licking it!) for our...

Happy Birthday Jesus cake! We've made one every year since Caitlin was born, so it is one of our annual traditions. We change up the design each year to surprise our family.

Then it was on to baking cookies for Santa.

Look at that detail!
After making a few more dishes for our Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house, we got ready for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service at our church.

I wish they were always this sweet and kind to each other!
We saw lots of friends at the Christmas Eve service which made celebrating the birth of Jesus that much more special. This service is my most favorite!!
Then it was off to Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa's house for Christmas Eve dinner. After eating our wonderful meal of turkey, dressing, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn casserole, "regular" corn as Harrison calls it, potatoes, rolls, macaroni and cheese, and yummy desserts, it was time for presents!

We always start with the stockings, and we AlWaYs let the kids go first.

This year Caitlin got a surprise in her stocking...an empty Snickers wrapper! She blamed it on Pa-Pa, of course, because that's his favorite candy!
On to the Christmas tree!!!!

Caitlin can't wait to go shopping now! Who am I kidding?!? She always loves to go shoppping.

Daddy got the cassette tape converter he's been wanting. That will keep him busy for awhile.

Harrison got the game he's been asking everyone for--Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots!

Ma-Ma got a new ornament for her tree which is an annual tradition.

And surprise, surprise...Pa-Pa got a matching one! Their dog, Wally, was right there in the action the entire time.

My sweet family
Finally we made our way home to get ready for Santa!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." (along with our gingerbread cookies, carrots for the reindeer, and milk for Santa)