We did our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. Ruby LOVED her stocking. Inside were several new toys and a pig ear (most favorite). Patrick and enjoyed giving our gifts to one another. We worked on some projects around the house (leaky toilet in the guest bath) and even made our first trip to Home Depot as homeowners! Andrew and Emily stopped by on their way to the airport to fly back to Charlotte and our parents also stopped by. We joined my family at Battle Ground United Methodist Church for the Christmas Eve Service. I love, love, love the "Passing of the Light." Everyone has a candle, we sing Silent Night, light the candles one by one, and turn off the lights. It is so beautiful to sing by candle light. After we got home, we opened my new DVD "The Nativity" and watched it by the firelight. It was a magical night!
The next morning my family came over for waffles. Patrick was the chef and made blueberry, strawberry, cinnamon roll, and regular waffles to order. My Dad also brought bacon. Yum!! After that we exchanged gifts. My family got Patrick his smoker!!! He is super excited to get that up and running, or smoking I guess you would say. Another top gift was the coffee maker that my sister found for my mom. It does a small pot of coffee or you can do Kcups- the best of both worlds! My Uncle Bob and Aunt Gale came, as well as my cousin Jeff and his son, Jeffery, to enjoy a turkey dinner. A lovely time indeed.
After everyone left, Patrick and I worked on the bird puzzle that his mother, Gail, had gotten him for his birthday. We worked on it together for about two hours, but then I cuddled Ruby while Patrick finished it. A fun and relaxing evening to an exciting day. :)
