Christmas Eve

Last year’s Christmas Eve we were in Ireland…crazy to think that was 12 months ago. Oh the anxiety that trip brought, traveling with 3 children under 7…but it was amazing. 
What a difference a year makes!

My family didn’t really have any “Christmas Eve traditions”…well other than we got to open 1 present, the only present from my parents the night before Santa came. Yosh didn’t do that, but they baked and decorated xmas cookies. Bernie wasn’t big into baking, cooking, all that kinda stuff haha.  But Yosh loves it…so we now try and continue his family tradition.

We visited both our angels…Uncle Paul, who is spending his 16th Christmas in heaven, and Papa.
It was a very chilly day…so unusual for us southern californian’s. We are always spoiled with great, warm weather.  But we went, said a prayer, put flowers down and told Uncle Paul Merry Christmas.
Weird to think what my life would be like is Paul was still alive. I hate thinking of the what-if’s…it does NOTHING for me but make me sad and earn for that fantasy life that will never be.

And this was Papa’s first Christmas in Heaven.  It was so weird thinking that he wasn’t go to be coming over the next day.  He LOVED Christmas. He spoiled his kids and then spoiled his grandkids.

Seems as though we are kind of starting our own X-mas Eve tradition of going out to eat for lunch…I LOVE this tradition. We went to Outback for lunch, I’m sure the waitresses hate people coming in on a holiday but its a great day to go out to eat! We then came home and decorated the cookies that daddy had baked before leaving

 

Getting the kids ready for Santa was so fun!! Owen kept saying over and over again how he needed to be bed early so Santa would come. And Ella just couldn’t contain her excitement thinking about all the potential presents she was going to be opening.

 

Posing these 3 kids is so hard. I just usually try and get Owen to hold Maggie is one place…because Maggie doesn’t mind Owen too much but if Ella goes near her she flipped. Little rascal!

After we got the kids to bed with ZERO problems, Mama and Daddy were able to sit on the couch, chat and watch daddy’s favorite Xmas movie, “Scrooged”.

So no matter how sad we were missing Papa, we had to collect ourselves and get ready for Santa’s arrival. Our kids were depending on us and our smiles in the morning!