yellow label: Christmas Eve

Every family has their traditions around Christmastime, and this year more than any other, upholding those traditions was top on my priority list. I wanted Cutter to experience what I experienced growing up, and though I realize he is quite young and will not remember this first Christmas, the memories that we made this past year will stick with me always. It's banal, really, but an accurate portrayal of my emotional state this December.

On Christmas Eve we have a tradition of attending church as a family (now of three) and then celebrating with my parents afterwards with a birthday party for Jesus. Even as adults we continued to light the candles in the angel food cake and sing a rendition of Happy Birthday for our Saviour, to remind us just what this holiday is all about. My mother makes the richest hot chocolate and we all overindulge on sweets, cookies, and cake. Shortly thereafter, we are sent to bed so that my mother can prepare the gifts for the morning, and regardless if we are tired or not, we gather upstairs forbidden from the downstairs until morning. This year our traditions carried on wonderfully.

We attended the family service and Cutter loved the singing and stories. It was wonderful to sit in the pew as a family and celebrate Christ's birth all together. Steve's mother joined us for the service and she enjoyed sharing in Cutter's first Christmas as well. We came home and ate dinner, dressed Cutter in his Christmas pajamas, and put our son to bed. The rest of the evening rang true to each previous year, and we were all sent to bed to await the morning.

Earlier in the day, we went over to Steve's mother's to celebrate Christmas with her. Steve's brother and sister in-law have typically celebrated with us in the past, but since they travelled here for Thanksgiving, it was just the four of us this year. Cutter enjoyed opening his presents from his Grandma and seemed to enjoy the toothbrush the most. He wouldn't put it down for the majority of our visit.

This Christmas Eve was exactly how we hoped it would be!