Christmas Eve

I love the magical feeling on Christmas Eve. It's a time where things can be forgotten and everything lines up just right. For a brief moment we can forget about the things that keep us up at night with worry(at least me anyway). It was an extra welcome feeling this year, since the last several months have been pushing me to the very edge of sadness. Such a huge part of my absence on this blog. Maybe someday, when I feel more brave, I'll talk about it. Instead, I'll share our fun we had on Christmas eve. We met up with some of my family at my parents home for dinner. The Browning side really comes out in all of us when it comes to preparing meals and this night made no exceptions. It just wouldn't be a party without at least 2 entrees, 6-7 sides, and too many desserts to count. Instead of acting out the Christmas story in the scriptures, my parents entertained us with new traditions. My dad conducted Christmas tunes performed with water glasses, I was impressed at how each glass was a perfect "pitch". This was a fun thing that had us laughing. Then the kids all lined up to listen to my dad(aka papa) talk about the Christmas story in Luke with emphasis on the gifts that the 3 wise men brought. We all were given the special gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh after we learned more about what they were used for back in the day. It was a lot of fun to do something different and in all honesty I really had no idea what frankincense and myrrh were. I thought it was neat to talk about it. My favorite part of Christmas eve as a kid soon followed, opening the jammies. The kids all modeled the festive sleepwear and were willing to perform their talents for us. We topped the night off singing a few Christmas carols before we went home and tucked the girls in all snug in their beds!