On Christmas eve, the kids all sleep in the same room together. They started doing this when there were only the 3 oldest. The girls were already in the same room, and Michael wanted to be with them. It has become one of their favorite traditions. I'm not quite sure how it will work next year after Jennifer is married. Adam isn't quite sold on the idea yet. Here they are sliding a mattress to the basement for the big sleepover.
When Jayme was no older than 1 or 2, we got a pop-up book of "The Night Before Christmas" That first year, Dennis read it to Jayme every night for several weeks before Christmas. She actually had it memorized and "read" along with him. The book has survived and so has the tradition of Dennis reading the book on Christmas eve. This was after we had our nice dinner with Dad and Scott and having Dad read from the Bible.
Several years ago, the kids were all posing in their new pj's and taking pictures. This pose quickly became their favorite, and they re-enact it every year. Again, not too sure how it will go next year...
When the kids were little, they always got matching Christmasy pajamas. As they've gotten older, their jammie requests have changed to sweats, shorts, t-shirts, etc. I guess that's ok, but the pictures aren't nearly as cute.
Christmas day was spent basically just hanging out, playing with toys and eating. Oh yeah, and napping was pretty high on the list too. I'm so glad we made the switch from Christmas dinner to Christmas Eve dinner. It has made Christmas day so much more relaxing and enjoyable. This year was the last Christmas we will have all of our children living at home for the holiday. Jenn will be getting married in two weeks, and next year Michael will likely be on his mission. Our family is growing and changing, and I'm not sure I like it. I know change is inevitable, and I love to see the kids maturing and becoming adults, but I don't do change well. It's sure a mixed bag of emotions.
This is Sunday after Christmas. We didn't do Christmas dresses this year, so I caught the kids off guard, but I still think they look great!!
