Christmas Eve!

We started Christmas Eve morning by coming down to see cookie our elf had gotten out all the things we needed to make Gingerbread cookies! Gracie had been wanting to make them so I thought making them for Santa would work well! We made them that morning and had a fun day of just being at home! We all got dressed and headed to our church's Christmas Eve service at 4:00. They had three services and the first two are family services where the kids can come too! They make it very kid friendly with the children's choir singing, family testimonies, and live animals for the nativity scene! This has been a highlight for Gracie for the past three years and the service is just wonderful! After the service you can go out and see the animals and the people dressed up as Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wise men! After the service we came home to decorate our cookies and do some of our Christmas Eve traditions! Sadly I stopped taking pictures at this point! I just don't know what happened! We got a new video camera for Christmas and we were excited to try it out so we got it all on video with no actual pictures! The video is good though!:) Daddy grilled steaks and we enjoyed those and cookies for dessert! Then we got in our PJ's and rode around to look at Christmas lights one last time! Then it was back to our house to put out reindeer food and open presents! We let the girls open two presents. One is from each of them to each other and one is from us! The girls give each other ornaments for their tree. Gracie picked out a Minnie mouse ornament for Lillie because she likes Minnie mouse and Gracie picked out a Rapunzel ornament for Lillie to give her!:) We get them both Pajamas each year from us! Mommy and daddy even got to open a present so that was fun! After that we set out Santa's milk and cookies and tucked Lillie on in bed. Poor baby was exhausted! Then daddy and I both went in Gracie's room and read the Christmas story to her! We have done this the past three years with her and this year she understood so much more! It is neat to watch her grow and learn so much! Lillie should be old enough next year to sit with us too! After the girls were tucked in Santa did all his work and then we were off to bed too!:) Here are the pictures I did get from our day!

Posing outside before going to church!
Sweet sisters!

Daddy and his girls!

Mommy's little angel's!

Pretty Girl! Lillie was off doing her own thing and not int he mood for anymore pictures!

Being silly and posing with the reindeer!

Cookie our elf got out our stuff to make Gingerbread cookies on Christmas Eve!

Meeting up with our friends the Purdy's at church!

Here is the camel!

Andrew, Annalyn and Gracie checking out the animals!

Gracie petting the sheep!

Our Little family after the Christmas Eve service!

Gracie and I made the gingerbread cookies early in the day and after church we came home and decorated them!

She had fun adding sprinkles and M&M's and chocolate chips to them!:)

She was so proud to give these to Santa!

Washing carrots for the reindeer!

This is where my pictures end for Christmas Eve night! I wish I had taken more! We were so busy trying out our new video camera that I just forgot all about the regular camera! Oh well! Making memories is what is fun!