A Worthy Reason to Break Tradition

Every year on Christmas Eve, the kids get to sleep in the living room, their sleeping bags unrolled and spread close to the Christmas tree.  And every year, I sleep in the living room, too--not on the floor, but on the couch--soaking in the beauty of the lights, the joy of anticipation, and the peace of those moments.  I ALWAYS do this.

But not this year.

The reason has everything to do with this little guy.

Since Benjamin isn't yet sleeping through the night, I knew it would be wiser of me to sleep in my bed so I could hear him and attend to his needs right away when he awakened.  So that's what I did, and it was fine.  I missed the fun of Christmas Eve in the living room, but Benjamin is well worth it!  And it's likely that by next year--and the years after that--I'll be back to sleeping in the living room like usual.  It was no big deal to sacrifice one year of that for the sake of my littlest sweetheart!  :)

Our Christmas Eve was simple this year--although I guess it really always is.  We ate potato soup and garlic cheese biscuits and finished our meal with a yummy cinnamon roll ring that our next-door neighbors had made and brought over for us.  And then, as is our custom, we gave each child (except Benjamin) one gift.

For Moriah, it was a white stuffed cat that I had gotten second-hand months ago and saved for this Christmas.

Moriah loves cats; and since I'm allergic to them if I spend too much time around them, this kind of cat is the only kind we'll be having anytime soon.  ;-)

We gave Shav a...

...oh, hello, Benjamin, how did you sneak in here again?...  ;-)

...Star Wars sticker book.

Tobin, who had outgrown his sleeper from last year and didn't have any other ones, received...

...a Darth Vader sleeper...

...and a Star Wars book that he can read.

We gave David...

...a pen that has a camera in it (to prepare him for his future career as a spy).  ;-)

For Josiah, I decided at the last minute to switch out the gift I had been planning to give him on Christmas Eve...

...for this one: a Percy Jackson book that our friends who stayed with us recently sent for Josiah (because I thought he would enjoy having it to read on Christmas Eve by the light of the tree lights).  :)

After the gifts, it was time for the kids to get into their pajamas, and Moriah got to wear this special nightgown that she had been saving especially for this night.

It was still early enough that I knew the kids wouldn't be falling asleep anytime soon, so I printed out Christmas coloring pages for Tobin, Shav, and Moriah to do while Josiah and David read.

Then I let them all watch a short, sweet movie called The Snowman before finally saying that it was bedtime.  As you might expect, they did not all fall asleep immediately.  ;-)  I don't know who was first to succumb to slumber's pull--maybe Shav, since he, having claimed a spot on the little couch, was probably the most comfortable.  :)  But I do know who was the last: dear little Moriah.  It was well after 11:00 when she finally gave in and let sleep take her.  :)  And then I briefly left my kitchen duties so I could creep around the living room and took a few pictures to remember this night by.  :)

It wasn't a "normal" Christmas Eve for me; but despite its differences, it was still a sweet, sweet time.  And hopefully next year, I'll be back on the couch!  :)