Christmas Eve!

What a fabulous Christmas! We got up early on Christmas Eve and went to the breakfast buffet at the Golden Coral with the Yardleys. We had to be there by 8:30 to get the $4.99 breakfast deal so we left early. Last time we went to the GC for a meal, I was so uncomfortable, it was a yucky feeling and I kind of felt like I was at the food kitchen and should have been behind the counter to serve food to the homeless. Not just because of the customers but the whole environment just felt a little lower class than a pawnshop on the west side. This time as we were waiting for everyone to get there I kept seeing people who kind of made me wonder if the GC had become the new food kitchen. The place looked clean though and the servers were very nice. As we were going through the line a man came behind us and told the cashier that he was there for the Salvation Army breakfast. She smiled and directed him to where he needed to go. They were serving food to the homeless. They also had stuffed animals to give to each person who came from the Salvation Army. It was a neat feeling to witness that generosity. Another sign of their Christmas cheer came when Jim was going to pay. We were there because of the deal for the breakfast but they charged him full price. He asked about it and the cashier said that he needed a coupon to get that. He was a bit disappointed until she pulled out a box and said, "Good thing for you I just happen to have a box of the coupons right here!" She gave us the $4.99 price. It was a great breakfast and so fun to be with family.

After breakfast we came home and got some things done to be ready for Christmas. Emily had Kayley come play and that's when they made the cupcakes for "Buster's funeral- because he was a white dog and the cupcakes where from a white cake mix" and for Santa. They made 12 normal size and 12 mini's. The two of them sat and just popped the mini's out of the pan and into their mouths! They ate all 12 of them!

Finally the time came to go to Bullock's for our family dinner/party. We were the first there so we got to help for a while. Again, it was so fun to be with family and enjoy their company.

The time came for us to do the Christmas story so I took the kids who wanted to down to get ready. Because our family is getting a bit older we don't have as many kids wanting to be in the pageant. We made do with who we had- it was plenty- for the most part. We had a Mary (Natalie), Joseph (Riley- who decided to stick a balloon up his costume to be a "Virgin Joseph great with child"), Preston played a reluctant baby Jesus, Ashley, Jacob and Ben were the wisemen, Abby, Jessica and Emi were the angels and Jamison was the sheep/herder. We didn't have enough to have a shepherd and a sheep, so he was both- a sheep carrying a staff- very clever. As we prepared I had visions of the show "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." It turned out nice- with some giggles too. After that we got to open our presents. That is always fun- especially the wrapping paper snowball fight that follows.

We got home and went to bed so Santa could come. Well, the kids went to bed and some got a bit annoyed that Mom and Dad stayed up and cleaned the house. I just did not want to wake up to a messy house.