Christmas Eve

Rich had to work half a day on Christmas Eve, so we started our holiday when he got home. It was such a beautiful day that we went for a walk on the trail. The trail was quiet and pretty empty. We saw a woodpecker, a deer, and some mistletoe. Since it is a tradition, Rich gave Ava a kiss under the mistletoe and then Luca gave Rich a kiss.

That evening we got into our new P.J.'s, had some hot chocolate, and watched Luke II. It is a tradition for us to watch this video which depicts the birth of Christ because it helps us remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. We do believe in Santa Claus, but we know he is not the reason we celebrate Christmas. He shares the spirit of Christmas (love, joy, and giving), but these gifts are from Christ. It is important to us that Ava knows Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ and the hope, love, and charity he gave to us. He is our Savior and example.

After our video we let Ava crawl around and get good and tired for the night ahead. She played with the presents and ornaments on the tree. Rich also put her in her gigantic stocking for some fun pictures. Before putting Ava to bed we put out some cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.