Christmas Eve

Justin, Sarah, and Naomi Christmas Eve 2011

Our Christmas Eve started with a wake up call from our son-in-law, Justin.  He is an early riser and was up even before the grandkids.  He woke Janie up first with a howl that sounded like a wolf.  He was playing with Naomi as it turns out.  He woke me next with Elvis Presley music which, to quote the narrator of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" started in low and then started to grow.  We took the hint and rose so the kids could open their presents. 

Naomi before Papa got a hold of her and got that rubber band off her head

It was fun to watch everyone opening presents and everyone seem to love what they got.  I gave Janie an electric razor and she gave me a solar powered charger for my cell phone, a device that will come in handy when I am out hiking.  When the gift unwrapping was over I made a pot of chili which really hit the spot on a cold and damp day.  Justin and Sarah left after lunch and the grandkids played all afternoon.  We went over to the church for the candle light service at 6:00.  The service was well attended and was very enjoyable.  We had leftovers for supper tonight and the kids who have been sleeping in the garage wanted to spend one more night there so we let them.  It might seem bad to have your grandkids sleeping in the garage but they sure were excited about it.  We set up a TV and a DVD player out there for them along with their cots and some chairs.  They loved it.

The grandkids in the garage watching TV

We skyped with Jason and his family today.  Each of the kids got to speak with their counter parts in France.  Jason will be taking 2 of the boys with him in the morning to a church in Spain.  They will be bringing a preacher and his family back with them to France.  He has come for a visit and wanted to spend some time with Jason.
While Janie was taking a nap I skyped with her sister Patricia and her husband Steve.  I always like visiting with Steve and I wish we did not live so far apart.  They were doing very well. 
It has been really good to have the grandkids here.  I made some banana pudding for desert tonight leaving Scott a bowl with no bananas sense he is allergic to them.
We will attend church services tomorrow and then head out for Henderson tomorrow night.   We hope to get to Athens in time to see the Christmas lights.  If the weather is good when we get there we will let the kids ride in the bed of the pickup to see the lights and they will love that. 

Opening Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, what a joyful mess.

Scott is going to teach the Sunday School lesson for me in the morning.  I will be preaching from the book of Luke chapter 1 on the subject of "Ten Things Jesus Did Before He Was Born."  God bless you.