The Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, the creatures (Bryn and Hudson) were stirring making messes in my house. But, I guess I should be grateful that Bryn had the foresight to clean up after herself with some help from Grandma Steph. There are many reason why I love when my mom visits. One of them happens to be that I never seem to have to wash a dish when she is around. I will put a dish in the sink and go off to check something, and the next thing I know, the dish has been wash, dried, and laid on the counter. (She still doesn't trust herself to put things away in my kitchen fearing that it won't be in the right place. ) My mom is the best. All those who are fortunate enough to know her, would readily agree.

The stockings were hung by the fake fireplace with care with hopes that St. Nick would surely find them there. And just incase the old man couldn't find them, Hudson was right there to point them out to him. Hudson perched himself in Grandad's arms and the two of them camped out underneath the hung stockings for the night. Each were secretly dreaming of the treats which would surely be overflowing from them come tomorrow morning.

The children were not nestled all snug in their beds, and the only thing dancing was the pain in my head. Now, I believe the next few lines in the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem, involve someone wearing a 'kerchief and cap' to bed and since Nate usually goes to bed without pants, we will just stop the poem right there since all those pictures would be inappropriate for a family blog. So we will simply move on to our esteemed guests. On Christmas Eve we always get together and enjoy and evening of hors d'oeuvres. This year, Mark and Charlene brought over Scott and Great Grandma Burk for the evening. Them, along with my parents and Tony created a full house. Hudson being the merry ol' soul that he is, made the rounds between all the guests, sampling from their plates, and shaking his belly like a bowl full of jelly.

While stuffing our faces with dips, shrimp, and other delicious finger foods, we heard a knock on the door (or rather the wall, since I couldn't convince anyone to go outside and ring the doorbell.) There placed on the rug next to the front door, were two brightly wrapped packages brought by two of Santa's Elves. Bryn raced to packages and then turned around to ask, "How did they get inside the house and why didn't we see them?" Apparently the brazen little things think they can just enter my house on a whim because they work for the big guy. Over near the Oakridge County Club (where Mark and Charlene live) in the classier part of town, the elves had better manners and used the doorbell before leaving their surprises. We must remember this since we have a very smart three and a half year old who never forgets a thing living under our roof. I told her that we didn't hear or see them because elves are very tiny and move stealth-like. Yes, I did just use the word "stealth-like" with my little girl which brought a smirk from her father. Oh the lies we tell to keep the Christmas magic alive!

Inside the presents, were the Christmas Eve jammies our kids get each year. Throwing modesty to the wolves, our kids stripped down before the wrapping paper could even make it into the garbage sack. They quickly got in their jammies and posed for a few pictures with the sets of grandparents before they were tucked into bed. Thankfully, they fall asleep easily since Santa and his Elves still have much to do in they way of wrapping presents and refurbishing an old rocking chair. Off to the workshop we go.