Twas the Night Before Christmas...

or, more commonly, Christmas Eve! And this year went MUCH BETTER than last year! We were well prepared (for the most part) and for the first time in, well, ever, we got to Church for the kids Mass early (say 35 min. early) and were lucky to snag 4 seats at the end of a pew in an already crowded church. We saw Mass in it's entirety and had the luxury of sitting. Wonder what time we'll have to be there next year??

After Church it was off to Grandmom and Pop's house for the annual Christmas Eve party with the Family. We had a surprise early visit from Santa and everyone was excited to sit on his lap... well, almost everyone! Emma and Cousin Andrew performed numerous songs that they learned in pre-school, tho my camera was acting up and my coverage was less than viewable, sorry.

Christmas Eve tradition states that all of the kids, as well as those "with child" must sit on Santa's lap for a treat. Baby Newby got a cute little teether!

After everyone left it was time to destroy in minutes what it took Grandmom hours to wrap! The kids were treated extremely well this year, as always, and Mommy and Daddy made out with a GPS and a bunch of other great gifts - thanks everyone!

The first step before Christmas Eve presents - the traditional Christmas PJ's!

Baby Kylie's first Christmas... she got a beautiful doll cradle but wasn't amused at our humor.

We were home by 10pm, with just enough time to sprinkle the reindeer food on the front lawn and leave a plate of cookies, carrots and milk for Santa! According to NORAD, he was in Iowa so we hurried to bed so he wouldn't have to pass us by!

Wake up Santa, you have work to do!

Mission Complete!