Hilights of Christmas Eve

I hope you all had a GREAT Christmas.  Will claimed that this was his "best Christmas EVER!"
I take so many photos (surprsied?) and we have so many little family traditions around Christmas. I want to preserve each and every one.  Sometimes, I look at a photo and even though it is not a good one~I love it because it reminds me of the memory.  So, instead of posting every little picture that I desire here.  I am going to make my family a little Christmas video on I-movie.  I might post it so that it is here for our family. Here is just a little (ha ha) of our Christmas Eve....

I always insist on taking posed photos in front of the tree before Christmas Eve Mass. My whole family moans and groans but it is important to me.

Harry took this one with my camera~ pretty good Har!

After Mass, we always have pizza.  We do this because we go to Mass in the late afternoon and we cook two breakfast casseroles for Christmas morning and a big Christmas dinner.  Anyway, we love this tradition but this year we decided to make our own gluten free pizzas.  It was a lot of fun but I am not sure we'll do it again. Ironically, the gluten free crust irritated all of our stomachs.

The n*aked Chef~Katie Ru!  There was no way I was letting her cook in her silk dress!

Waiting for her pizza to cook.....Kate decided to sneak into the pantry and find a snack!

And she was caught climbing on a still unpacked moving box (I think my bread machine is in there).  This is a BAD habit of Kate's ...she is a BIG snacker and not a meal eater.  Dave is helping me "wean" her off all the snacking this week.  

It isn't pretty.

After our delicious pizzas, we hopped in the car to drive around and look at Christmas lights....

I do not own a tripod and I do not know how to shoot in the dark...but I wanted to show y'all how they decorate down here.  These are HUGE live oak trees completely wrapped in lights and the the lights hang down from the branches.

This one neighborhood is incredible! It is a sea of lights.

After the lights...we go home and hang stockings, each child opens a gift and we read Christmas stories.  

Every year, I buy the boys a nut cracker that reflects their interests of that year.  As much as I am not a fan of Star Wars, they LOVE it!  So, this year, I broke down and ordered Star Wars nutcrackers from E-bay.  I am sure their future wives will love them as much as I do:0)

As you can see...they were so happy. And that is what matters!

Kate gets an ornament each year.  This year I bought her a cupcake because she loves cupcakes! I also get her a little bracelet.

Finally, we read the story of Jesus' birth and Twas the night before Christmas but I'll save those photos for our family movie.

More of Christmas to come......