it was a lovely day, full of happy memories!

Christmas Eve

for as long as I can remember, it's been a family tradition to have a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve. (the special angel centerpiece was made by M at camp when she was 8 years old.) last night we had an orange supreme cake, with pineapples and cream cheese icing. Yummy! we lit the candle, and sang happy birthday to Jesus. A liked it so much that we re-lit the candle and sang it again. and again.

both little girls helped to blow out the candle.
A is filled with anticipation and joy! she wants to hold baby Jesus again!

last night was a flurry of activity after the little girls went to bed. we don't put any presents under the tree until after the children go to bed, so we had lots to do! all the stockings were hung with care, and stuffed with glee! some of them can get quite large and stretched out when they are full of stuff. there have been years when there is so much that it won't all fit in the stockings, and we have to pile things on the steps!

Christmas Morning

here's another tradition- the picture on the steps. S is visiting us from South Carolina. she and M are friends from WAY BACK! S is also a freshman at BJU, majoring in English. after we fed the little girls some breakfast, we gathered in the living room for another tradition- the reading of the Christmas story. we read from both Luke and Matthew. we've always done this, too, and it's just to help us all remember why and what we are celebrating- the birth of our Savior.

I'll just give you a few highlights of the morning. the big girls really liked their ornaments- and they can use them to decorate their rooms for "winter".

the little girls got a Fisher Price farm set- with all the animals, and the tractor. they will appreciate this more in the days to come. today was a little bit overwhelming for both of them. both A and B still have some presents to open, but we'll work on that a bit at a time in the next few days.

N was so excited to give us his gift! he's saved all his tip money from Dunkin' Donuts, and with it he donated an appropriate gift in our name to World Vision. tonight as we go to bed, we can think of the families somewhere in the world that have a donkey, a warm blanket, chickens, ducks, an alpaca, food or basketballs because of N's thoughtfulness and generosity! N and G liked their gifts from Dave and i- the new Narnia movie for N, and a sweater for G.

the girls liked the tractor, which was N's gift to them.

Dave and i got each other a t-shirt. our local paper has an advice column- very practical and satirical. we crack up every time we read it! Dave also got an ask Alice mug from G. now we're official residents of rural Bradford county, PA!

it was a very pleasant and relaxing day- except for one little blip that I'll tell you about another time. we enjoyed each other, our gifts and our many blessings. merry Christmas to you and your family!