Christmas Eve 2014

My family always celebrates Christmas Eve at my mom's parents. We always eat sauerkraut, sausage, and zopf (swiss holiday bread). And we always act out the Nativity. This year, both of my girls got to be in the nativity.

Last year, Andrew took Penny home for bed before the Nativity, so this was her first time too. Andrew, who really dislikes dressing up, was a good sport and accepted a role as one of the wise men. Penny was a little angel, while Eloise, played baby Jesus.

Now, Eloise, on a good day, isn't very cooperative, and our visit to Utah made that even worse (She might have gotten the nickname "Little Horrible" while we were there..) so I warned Mary (played by my cousin, Jane) that she would probably be naughty, but she was so enthusiastic about Eloise playing baby Jesus that I let her. She did a remarkable job keeping her happy.

I was excited that my cousin Amy was able to come for part of the evening. Her daughter Ellie is a few months older than Penny and they played so well together. I wish we lived closer to each other. The girls got to be angels together and gave each other hugs and kisses.

One of my older cousins had the job of holding up the star. Penny begged to have a turn playing the star. It was quite humorous to see how seriously she took her new job.

 Her little arm started to get tired, but Penny didn't let it stop her.

After the nativity ended, Penny kept carrying around the star. Someone began playing a quiet Christmas song on the piano and Penny took that as her cue to go be a star again. She tripped over herself in her haste to return to her spot and stick up the star once more.

We ended the evening opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa. They always give the perfect present! Penny got a new stuffed kitty that has hardly left her side.