This year we spent the Christmas holiday with my family in Cincinnati. My neighbor who works for security at BWI had painted this horrific picture of what the airport would be like on Christmas Eve morning so obviously we were a little concerned about how the whole airport experience would go. However, although we planned for a nightmare by getting there just over 2 hours before our flight, we were greeted by emptiness - we checked right in at the sky cap and there was absolutely NO ONE in security so we breezed right through. We all enjoyed flying much better than driving; this might cause problems in the future when we go back to the road trip. We arrived in Cincinnati around 1:00 in the afternoon and were able to enjoy the rest of Christmas Eve with my parents as well as my sister Heidi and her family.
We always have the best Christmas Eve dinner - it's one of my favorite meals of the whole year! Jumbo shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, Caesar salad, rolls, my mom's famous cream corn, and plenty of martinellis to go around. This year Ryan added twice-baked potatoes to the menu and boy, were they delicious! I've been craving them ever since.
This year, for the first time ever, we performed the nativity rather than just reading it. My sister Heidi was given a script that included narration as well as the singing of carols. The kids did such a great job performing!
Savannah and McKenna as angels.
Mary riding the donkey (Ryan) into Bethlehem.
And yes, that's Noah playing Joseph dressed as Batman. We tried to outfit him in more appropriate attire for his role but he was insistent...and once Noah is set on something, well...as you can see, he's dressed as Batman.
Due to a shortage of child actors, we hired David and Ryan to be the shepherds. They really got into their parts!
Joseph got a little bored with the whole thing.
Xander was our lone wise man and was so patient the whole time, waiting for his time to come on.
What a cast! We all teased Ryan about being our Jamaican shepherd.
Dad finished up the evening by reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
Before heading off to bed, the kids braved the cold and snow outside to leave some food for Santa's reindeer.
A cousin moment - it's so fun to be together!
The Rest of April
3 months ago
4 comments:
I love this post Trace! I really wish that I could have been there to celebrate the holidays with my favorite people in the world!! Anyways, it was great speaking with you today (thanks for listening!). Give everyone a great big hug for me and let them know that I love and miss them terribly.
Best. Thing. Ever. Can I be adopted into your family?
Oh, memories! I miss you guys so much and seeing the pictures just adds to that. Thanks for the recommendation of the "romance" author by the way. Finished it late last night and really liked it!
Nothing like spending the holidays with family, it really is the best. Your kids are gonna have such fond memories of growing up, you're doing a great job!
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