Graeber Family: A Holly Jolly Christmas Eve

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A Holly Jolly Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve off with our typical family tradition....each kid opening a present first thing in the morning! So at 7:00 the kids piled up in our bed and opened their first present of the day...emergency vehicles! Haha. Would you believe Grafton really loves trucks, cars, sirens, horns, trains, etc just as much as James does?! They were ecstatic over their present and the day was started off with a joyful bang!

We spent some fun lazy time in the morning, made an impromptu trip to Walmart and Kroger in the midst of crowds and chaos, put together the "big" toy for the kids, and enjoyed the company of DeeDee, Uncle Scott, Carly and Zella. We had a fantastic dinner, opened some fabulous gifts, and had blast watching the children's faces as they ripped open present after present. Oh how wonderful it is to experience Christmas through the eyes of your children.

At the end of the night, way passed bedtime, we decided to remind ourselves again what this celebration is really all about. We put candles on a cake, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and let the kids blow them out. It was a sweet way to draw a close to the night....one of those "keeping it real" moments that gave us a chance to stop and reflect on the amazing birth of our Savior.

As the kids went to sleep and the house grew quiet, Eric and I began to set toys out and arrange presents perfectly for the children to see in the morning. We played Christmas music and when "Silent Night" came on I couldn't help but stop what I was doing and just listen. "Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, All is bright"- In that little, quiet town of Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, a baby's cry broke the silence of that night....and the exhausted yet excited parents stared in amazement at their savior, knowing that the world would never be the same again. Can you imagine the feeling and wonder of that night?! No amount of excitement or anticipation that we can feel this night could begin to compare to that special night years and years ago. Oh how marvelous. Oh how wonderful. Praise the Lord for that Silent Night...Praise the Lord for sending his Son!

1st present...bright and early in the morning!