Christmas--my favorite time of year

Even after all the stress--I love Christmas! Christmas Eve is one of my favorite nights of the whole year. I love that I am done with everything and can truly enjoy the traditions we have. We start off by going over to Grampy and Grammy's and having pizza. Then we perform the nativity (with the girls taking turns being Mary.) We were lucky this year that it worked out for both Chelsey and Chantz to be Mary and Joseph.

Here are the shepherds--

Cassie and Lizzie--the littlest shepherd!

The Wisemen--Luckily I have a very talented niece--Jacque that also captured some great pictures!

Clay and Lincoln as angels--teenager boys are so angelic!

It is so much fun to watch as all the cousins act this out and my Dad reads the story. I love this tradition!

The whole cast~~

Next--we have a family talent show. We always sing the "Twelve days of Christmas" as fast as we can with actions. If you know how fast we can talk it is a battle to get done the fastest and even Chloe has gotten pretty good at it! We also decided to have Chloe sing "Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer" while standing on her head and we would be the echo. (You have to get creative for your talent!) Chloe has perfected the art of standing on her head and has won many contests for staying that way the longest! (yes..this is what we spend our time doing!)

Chantz and Chloe enjoying the talent!

My dad had a special treat this year. He gave each of the grandkids a special coin for them that said, "Peaceable followers of Christ". What a great gift for each of my kids!

Great picture Jacque--

Then my mom ended the talent by playing a beautiful song on the piano. It is so nice for my children to get to hear her play and realize just how talented she is! It was a wonderful time and I am so grateful to my parents for letting continue this great tradition on Christmas Eve.