Oh-Bla-Di

We have a lovely tradition going for Christmas Eve.  We fix an awesome steak dinner (completed with twice-baked potatoes & green bean casserole), invite some lovely friends to join us, and then, as we sit down to the table, finally take the big sigh that means it’s really and truly Christmas.   There’s something cathartic about this meal.  After all the rushing around this season sometimes brings, once we sit down to the table on Christmas Eve, we get to hit the pause button on our lives.

Also?  It’s when all the picture taking starts.  

After we enjoyed watching the carousel go round and round (very popular with the 16 month set)…

…we wrangled the kiddos for our obligatory Caspers/Hoffmans kiddos in front of the tree photo.  Here’s last year’s.  How time flies.

Since it’s just the eight of us for dinner, we get to stick with just dinner and then break up the party in time for each of the families to do our own traditions at home.  After the Hoffmans left, we set out cookies for Santa and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Then it was time to nestle our children into their beds to wait for the big guy to come for a visit.  With a baby in the house, there was no long winter’s nap for us and Christmas day started early!  More soon!