Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve started off with some playing in front of the Christmas tree...

  

And once Daddy left for work I got started on baking/cooking.  As I was preparing ingredients and sorting through recipes and such I realized that Christmas apparently means SAUSAGE in my house.  I think that every other recipe I was making called for it.  hahaha.  Apparently along with lots of butter, cream cheese and bacon!

While I cooked, the boys watched a movie (yes, Mason is sitting in Luke's car seat - my mom had borrowed it on Friday and I hadn't put it back in the van yet)

... danced on the ottoman...

... and took an outrageous bubble bath after playing outside for about three hours. (I made the mistake of putting the soap in the tub and then turning on the jets and walking away... ooops!)

Once everyone was bathed and napped, we headed to Christmas Eve service at church.  There's no childcare (which I understand, but still...), so Mason came in with us.  He LOVED the music portion of the service as evidenced by his trance :)

Luke LOVES the candlelight part - such a little man!

I love that part, too!

On our way out we attempted a family picture and it worked! Despite our various stages of the crouch... mama's sciatic nerve has been CRAZY bad and I was trying to avoid not being able to get up again :) 

Then there was a Christmas miracle.... one of the Children's minsters asked if we wanted a picture with everyone in it, we said sure and EVERYONE LOOKED AT THE CAMERA!!! AND KIND OF SMILED!!!  I'm not exaggerating when I say that this made my day.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

After church we headed over to Dave's Granny's house.  

This is the "door bell" that Granny has set up on her back porch :)

Granny's house is kind of like a museum/photo album/knick knack shop.  The kids were all fascinated with the pink rotary dial phone. :)

Mason was all about her animal figurines...

And Levi enjoyed her dog!

Mason placing a call:

Did you know Woody had a sniper rifle??? Me either :)

The best part of Granny's house for me is looking at all the old pictures.  She literally puts up pictures every year and NEVER takes them down.  Here's a McAnally classic from 1989.  Dave was six and he's on the bottom left.  Mini-Luke, right?!?!?!

Here are a few of my other favorites:

Dave's on the right...

Dave's on the far left:

Dave is wearing the SA-WEET white blazer :)

Dave's stylin' again - this time in the pin-stripe jacket :)

We left before dinner started, but were there for the blessing.  Dave's cousin Michelle just got married to Darrin, and Darrin knew JUST how to keep Mason's jabbering to a minimum during the blessing :)

After Granny's we headed back to our house for appetizers and fun with Mark, Diana and my parents.... I didn't take a single picture. BOO!!!  We put out cookies and milk for Santa and got settled in for what turned out to be a CRAZY stormy night.