Christmas Eve finally arrived, and Lincoln and Beau were excited all day!!! We did a tiny bit of shopping, tons of cooking, and plenty of having fun! Our church has a beautiful Christmas Eve service, so we got all dressed up and headed out. Three handsome guys were sweet to pose for a picture. (Well, Beau was not happy about it but couldn't help but give a sly smile when I told him that he better give his best frown face.)
We had fun singing Christmas Carols, and Lincoln grabbed the hymn book to follow along with the music notes with his finger. He was bobbing his sweet head and singing along . . . too cute! Beau mostly sat on my lap to sing or scribble on his coloring book. Nana and Pops joined us, and we had a great time.
When it was time to light our candles to sing Silent Night, the boys got super excited! I helped Beau with his, and we managed to not burn anything down! When we finished singing, he began to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus then blew out his candle - what a great idea! Lincoln's sweet face is too much!
After communion and a few more songs, we came home to have dinner. Taco soup, cornbread muffins and cookies were on the menu, and everyone was hungry! (No, the kids don't eat taco soup, but it isn't for lack of trying. They had baked fish and veggies.) It was getting late, so Pop Pop read Twas the Night Before Christmas, we bathed and got in our Santa pajamas and set out the cookies. Lincoln decided that Santa might be tired of milk at other people's houses, and we should make him hot chocolate! Beau was super excited about this idea and added the marshmallows. It was a very important moment to say the least!
Lincoln wanted to stay up to watch the news to see if they reported on Santa's progress, but Daddy found a Santa Tracker online. He was visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico at the current moment and headed our way! Lincoln told me we should all hurry to get to bed so he could leave our gifts while we slept. Surprisingly, they both went to sleep quickly and quietly!
Another surprise was that they both slept until their normal time and stayed quiet in their beds until we came to get them in the morning. They first had to check if Santa ate the cookies and drank the hot chocolate. Success!!! Santa ate some of each cookie, left a few crumbs and drank most of the hot chocolate. Beau has shouted at least 15 times that Santa ate ALL OF THE MARSHMALLOWS!!!!! Thanks for that, Santa! Also, Santa left a note telling them how delicious the treats were. We went to the tree to check out what Santa left in the stockings, and there were so many fun things. An orange and banana (How did Santa get to a fruit store???), a new cup, a secret invisible ink marker and coloring book, a Mike/Sully monster, and a gift card to the Nestle Tollhouse store! They definitely loved the "cookie credit card" the most!!!!!!!
Santa brought them the two toys each that they had asked for . . . a Buzz Lightyear toy and Minion Dave for Lincoln, and a cash register and Minion Stuart for Beau. They were thrilled that he brought exactly what they wanted! He also left an extra gift for each boy because they have been so good (?!?!), and Lincoln got a Snoopy Sno Cone maker and Beau got a grabber thingy. Tooooooooo excited!!!! We opened our family gifts next. Those consisted of a Dusty Crophopper tent, Cars rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Linc, a Jake and the Neverlands Pirates tent, Batman rain boots and a balloon animal kit for Beau, several kitchen gadgets, Daddy pants, an HDMI cable, a date night gift card to Alamo Draught House for Daddy, and jewelry, work out shorts and shoes for Mommy. Everyone was super happy with their presents, and the boys may have been more excited to help us open our gifts than their own! They posed in their new rain boots immediately!
We had to put together the tents right away, of course. They played separately then together in their tents, and they came up with plenty of imaginary scenarios. While these tents are a little annoying in size, they provide a multitude of ideas.
Of course, we had to put together the Buzz Lightyear toy and cash register next. The Sno Cone machine was soon after, and we had lemonade sno cones before lunch. The Snoopy Sno Cone maker is the same one that both Kevin and I had as children, and it's a little less than technological. It took quite a bit of effort to push the ice down while turning the crank . . . the boys couldn't help but wonder why the shaved ice was coming out so slowly! They did enjoy their sno cones at last!!!
After lunch and another sno cone (my arm is already tired!), the mailman mysteriously left a delivery. The boys get a package from Auntie almost every week, so the best way for her to send their Christmas gift was with a drop off at the front door. (Super kudos to Daddy and Pops for putting together the coolest Home Depot station ever on Christmas Eve.) They loved Auntie's gift and hurried inside to begin playing. This work station also doubles as a pizza shop and Slurpee station, and it's just more proof that their imagination never stops!
While the boys were playing with all of the new fun toys, Mommy and Daddy were busy cooking again. I began the rolls early but had a bad packet of yeast that didn't rise. Daddy went in search of an open store and didn't disappoint. I made the chicken dressing, started a new batch of yeast rolls, and went for a run. The boys rested/napped for a bit, and Daddy whipped up his yummy fresh green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Nana and Pops came for Christmas dinner again, and then we went to their house to exchange our gifts. The boys were sooooooo excited to give them their presents, and again I love that they are happy to give!! They loved unwrapping more gifts too, and we have two superhero houses, two Play Dough sets, and two helicopters to play with!! Because Beau was so eager to tell them that he had asked Santa for a cash register and all of the fun food stand that he would play, Nana and Pops built him a stand! There are different signs to hang based on what store he wants to play . . . Tom Tom, Home Depot, Target, and Whataburger. We all know that the Whataburger sign will hang the most!! Everyone lined up to place their orders, and Beau was in heaven!!! Also, he had to sing the Grand Ole Flag song when he saw the flag hanging. (We sing that every time we see a flag!!! Patriotic - yes!!)
Because we like to take pictures of food, our lovely dinner spread was yummy! The ham was from an awesome place in College Station, and we just had to heat it up. The potatoes, green beans, and dressing were wonderful, and the rolls turned out find after we got new yeast.
The kids and I worked hard to make yummy desserts, and we had chocolate chip bundt cake, hello dollies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered sprinkled oreos. So much sweetness!
As we got ready for bed, we recapped the day. Lincoln decided that the extra gifts might not have been from Santa after all. "Maybe Jesus gave them to me for his birthday!", he told me. I can't think of a better statement. Perhaps all of the blessings we received were actually from Jesus. I would be remiss to not mention that each time we discussed that it was the birthday of Jesus, Beau would wonder about the cake. How could one have a birthday without a cake with a candle to blow out? After a quiet bath and bedtime story for the boys, Daddy and I snuck into Lincoln's room to check out what he was doing. He had set up all of his stuffed friends to have a contest . . . who could name the most words that started with the letter M? Since he makes up the voices for each friend, he'll need to think up a lot of M words! Why is a 4 year old not tired ever? He was still talking to them at 11:00 PM!!!!
We have had a wonderful Christmas, that's for sure! I love that the boys didn't have a case of the gimmies, and they truly enjoyed present opening for everyone. They might even love helping others open gifts more than their own. It might not always be that way, but I love their sweet hearts right now. It was a Merry Christmas all the way!
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