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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas Eve

After days and days of preparation and anticipation that hallowed day is upon us. The culmination of parties, decorations, and retailer's holiday flair, which has been on the shelves for months now, will all come together in that glorious date we call Christmas.

I have wanted to add some photo updates from our Christmas adventures, but I always seem to blog at work. I don't have copies of all my pictures on this computer so it makes it quite difficult. I hope to get some pictures up over the holiday weekend.

Tonight is the big night for our family. Since I was a child we have always opened our gifts Christmas Eve. We now have a tradition of going to dinner Christmas Eve at a local restaurant called Italianni's. They have wonderful Italian food in a romantic old school atmosphere. It's the kind of place that feels a little fancier than your everday chains, but has that comfortable neighborhood feel. Afterward we go home and gather in the front living room and read the story of the birth of Jesus. We then do the usual and open gifts and let the kids and adults play around with all the new toys. We usually end up watching a movie that someone received. At 11 pm my dad, Chris , and I head out for a candle light service at a local Lutheran church. This is perhaps one of my favorite traditions. After all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas it is almost sacred to drive out into the empty streets. Everything is quiet and calm. We head into the church surrounded by the faint glow of candles and twinkling lights. The sound of carols fill the air and suddenly I forget about the list of things I needed to do or the gift I forgot to buy. As we participate in the liturgy my spirit is lifted as we verbally affirm the truths of our faith. Some may find this pratice rigorous and monotonous, but there are times when this unification of a body of believers is especially meaningful.
After services we always spend the night at my parents to be together Christmas morning for our stockings. Tomorrow we will go home late in the morning to prepare Christmas dinner at home, and Chris' family will be over. I am pretty excited. We are cooking prime rib which I believe will be delicious!

Merry Christmas Everyone!