Christmas Eve

My dad is very passionate about traditions. So despite the freezing temperatues on Christmas eve, all of my extended family gathered together at my parents house and loaded up on the trailer for some good ole' fashioned caroling. I used Bentley as an excuse to ride inside the truck this year and it was really quite enjoyable! We did ride on the trailer for a couple of the stops, but once Bentley's lips started turning blue we headed back to the heated truck.

So cold
Nana and Papa
Cooper and Brittany

We always end the caroling back at my parents house where we enjoy treats and hot chocolate. Once all the family left, we got together and read the nativity story in Luke. My mom then read us a few stories and we ended the evening by writing down our "Gift to Christ." This is typically a spiritual gift that we promise to work on during the next year (i.e. gratitude, prayer,etc).

My parents have been housing missionaries in their home for almost two years now, so they also spent the evening with us and after we finished with some of our traditions my parents surprised them with some of their own family traditions. My mom had called their families beforehand to find out what some of their traditions were and it was actually a lot of fun to share those with them and help them feel a little more comfortable as they were away from their families during Christmas.