Christmas!

       I love Christmas Eve, how the bustle of tradition melds into a quiet hush of expectation. I started the day with a hunt for tamales. I always have tamales for Christmas Eve dinner, but had neglected to get them when I was at the store earlier. I found some, but was not particularly excited about them. It was an unknown brand to me. I have lived near a large Latino community for most of my life, so getting good tamales for Christmas was never hard. Here, I haven't found them, so I was settling for whatever I could get, but to my surprise, our neighbor brought over some homemade tamales as a thank you for the cookies. She was so sweet, and I'm afraid I may have startled her with my enthusiasm for them. I told her that she had made my Christmas. They were delicious and just so perfect. 

    After dinner, we gathered to listen to Daniel read from Luke 2. Normally, we also read Stubby Pringle, but we weren't feeling very well, so we kept it short. The kids drifted off to sleep, and I caught this shot of the tree. This is the moment I look forward to the most. The quiet before the storm. It's so magical. 

    The kids surprised me by staying in bed til after 7 am. We had to roust the older kids out of bed. A clear sign that they are still feeling the effects of the flu. I didn't mind the respite. I decided that we would have a Bluey Christmas. I got everyone Bluey Pajamas. Inexplicably, Devon lost his. We always eat breakfast before presents, so Daniel made our traditional monkey bread. Afterwards began the (somewhat subdued) frenzy!

    Charles loves this bike horn; he has been using it non-stop to hilarious effect.

Lizzy loved this crazy toy. You pinch it and blow, and it plays music. It was hysterical.

Merry Christmas!