Christmas Eve contemplations...

It's one of my absolute favorite nights of the year for so many reasons.  The nostalgia of Christmas Eve is so prevalent this evening, especially as we were tracking Santa on NORAD, setting out the cookies, and reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas all before getting the kids tucked into bed and off to dreamland.  Okay, so we never tracked Santa on NORAD as kids, but the rest of the stuff was pretty much standard.

Since our kids are still young, Randy and I take advantage of Christmas Eve to create our own 'couple's tradtition' and have filet and crab.  The kids would love it I'm sure, (Brynn especially), however they're also equally satisfied by Kraft mac n' cheese and Tyson chicken nuggets (dinosaur-shaped, obviously).  That happened to be their meal of choice this evening, to which I happily obliged, since it required little effort on my part and I knew that Mr. and Mrs. Claus would be up later than our usual getting things ready for tomorrow (and, apparently, blogging ;).

After the kids were sleeping, I was finalizing the last of the dinner preparations, and just smiling to myself as I recalled Brynn's reaction to bedtime this evening.  A typical bedtime routine involves tears, but tonight she was so excited to close her adorable doe eyes because she saw where Santa was heading (thank you NORAD).  While we were enjoying our meal, Randy and I had a chance to have conversation without risk of being interupted.  We could discuss whatever we wanted!  Of course, our conversation shifted at some point to the kids and their joy and excitement over the entire concept of Christmas. 

I remember being so excited every Christmas Eve night, as the anticipation of what awaited me beneath the tree practically boiled over.  I never dared leave my bed, for fear that Santa wouldn't stop by on his whirlwind trip around the world.  Gav and B are pretty much the same way...Gav often tells me that he can't sleep well (mental note to metion this to the pediatrician at his next check-up), but tonight he told me, "I'm going to make sure I sleep, cause Santa won't stop if I'm awake.".  B had her eyes closed from the moment her little ringlets hit the pillow.  Both of them have promised to wake us before heading down the stairs, so it will be interesting to see who wakes up first...them, or the little one who enjoys using my bladder as a personal trampoline, generally at 5:30 am.  Whomever it is...the kids will be pleased by the generosity of the big guy in the red suit, as well as family members from all over the tree.

I'd like to write more, however I anticipate a very early morning followed by a long (and potentially noisy!) day.  So tonight, we extend our most sincere Christmas blessings to you and your family.  It's time to nibble some cookies and drink some of milk before heading to bed to wait for the pitter-patter of excited little feet!  Merry Christmas!