i had plans to post on christmas eve,
but the evening came and went so quickly.
i didn't want to forget to share some of the highlights
of our evening so here's a little recap of how our family (including auntie jen)
spent the night before christmas...
- walking garrison street in point loma looking at beautiful christmas lights on homes
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| in awe of these residential homes |
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| boys bundled up for our 60 degree weather *wink* |
- eating warm chili (a christmas eve tradition handed down from my mom)
- boys receiving and wearing their new christmas pajamas
- gathering around the tv eating popcorn, black licorice and watching home alone 2 (finn's selection)
before the boys settled into their cozy beds,
we left cookies on the table for santa,
and a few carrots for the reindeer.
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| scout leaving carrots for the reindeer |
after kissing my boys goodnight and making
those final christmas eve preparations,
i couldn't help but think back to my childhood christmases.
i remember being so excited i could barely sleep.
the anticipation, the excitement, the magic.
as a child, i don't think there was anything more exciting
than waking up on christmas morning.
it truly was MAGICAL.
my mother was a master at making christmas mornings special for our family.
she must have spent endless hours decorating our home, baking,
and searching for the perfect presents for us kids.
i don't recall receiving exuberant presents.
with 7 children, it simply wasn't possible to get lavish gifts, but it never mattered.
the gifts santa brought were always personal - they were perfect.
even with all this, mom never let us forget the true reason for celebrating christmas.
before we could open our presents on christmas day,
we all sang 'happy birthday' to jesus and blew out candles on a cake.
though i haven't started the tradition of baking a cake for jesus' birthday,
i do my best to create a little magic for the boys on christmas morning.
someday, i hope finn and scout will remember happy christmas mornings
and get a little tingly inside like i do.
