Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was so different this year with two wiggly, giggly girls! They just knew something was up and Kate was very wound up! We went to the children's service at 4:30 and ended up in the cry room so Kate could burn off some energy and Hope could... well... stop crying! She had napped in the morning and by 4:30 could have used a second one!

After trying to take some pictures of them in front of the full sized tree we headed off to Kwong Tung, one of our favorite Chinese Restaurants. For the last few years we have made it a tradition to go out for Chinese after church on Christmas Eve in honor of Hope. This was the same restaurant we went on Referral day and it was Hope's first time there! She managed a little nap on the ride there and for a good 20 minutes on my shoulder while we ordered. It really was surreal and frankly... a dream come true.

Then we headed home for another family tradition of opening the gifts from Jim's parents. This gives their gifts a special moment and are very much anticipated by Chris as the first gifts he is allowed to open! In the past Chris has always gotten new pajamas, usually made by me but this year instead, I made the girls little Victorian nightgowns out of white eyelet. Another little dream come true... they just looked so adorable in them, this will be a new tradition. I don't think Chris minded not getting another pair of pajamas he really wouldn't wear beyond Christmas day anyway.... maybe I'll have to start earlier next year to get some done for him!

I must have snapped a couple hundred pictures... most of them were blurry because my little subjects would not, could not, sit. still. So the one's here in this little slide show are most of the, erm... good ones? : )

I will work on Christmas day later... those pictures I think are actually... worse... : ) But who cares... It was just a blurry dream come true!