Day 126 (Not So Empty) - Last Minute Gift Giving and a Happy Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve!!

Things have just been so crazy around here!!  Our home is buzzing with activity... definitely not empty at all!! But I love it!!  The library closed at 1:00 p.m. today for Christmas Eve...SWEET!  Last night I finished up some last minute gifts for neighbors and friends...some pretty cute candy bar snowmen if I must say so myself...and today Cody and Jessica were so awesome to deliver them for me!   They delivered a couple while I was at work and then did the rest for me while I wrapped the last of our gifts holed up in my bedroom downstairs.  (That's right, I did end up wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve...but only a few and I wasn't up until two in the morning doing it!!)  So  they left with a bag of 4 candy bars, and didn't return for two hours!  I was getting a little worried!!  Our neighbors only live around the corner and in the culdesac next door.  Did they get mugged in broad daylight?!  I sent them a text but no reply.  Then they finally showed up back home filled with the spirit of Christmas giving for not only did they deliver my last minute gifts but they gave our neighbors a gift too...they shoveled all their driveways!!  Four in all, I think.  Now that just makes a mom proud!!

Tonight was so fun!  We had our traditional advent wreath and read/sang the Christmas Story.  It was perfect because Tiffany came and shared the evening with us since Jeremy was working...we had five family members and five candles!!  We didn't have our big Christmas Eve dinner as in the past because everyone is coming tomorrow!  We just have to tweek tradition every now and then.

It's still our tradition to get a new family game for Christmas because I just love playing games with my family!!  We open it on Christmas Eve and now that the kids are older, we play until midnight or so.  So this year we played Rummikub.  It was so fun just playing together even though I was sooo tired! That must be why I was the grand loser of the night!!

Somehow Santa still came and filled all our stockings and organized our gifts!  Imagine that!

Aw...what a great Christmas Eve!! :)