Christmas Recap

Pomegranates, couscous, grapes, pistachios, pine nuts, raw almonds, goat milk, grape juice, dried figs and apricots, goat cheese, pita bread, dates and lamb chops (not pictured).

Growing up in Ohio we had some friends that introduced us to the idea of a Shepherds' Dinner. It has become our family's Christmas Eve tradition. We typically have simple fare (but more elaborate than what the shepherds probably actually ate) fruit, nuts, bread (usually pitas or something like it), lamb, goat milk, grape juice and other similar things. Afterwards we read the account of the Savior's birth from Luke 2 in the New Testament and have the children reenact the nativity. 

Our Shepherd's Dinner this year was just our family. That cold I've had is still sticking around and although I feel much better it has moved into my chest and my immune system just seems to be begging me to take it easy in general so we kept it simple. I didn't even bother with having the family dress up in Shepherd's garb because it would have required extra effort that I just didn't have the energy for. Still, it was a really nice time and the food was delicious. 

Christmas Morning came early after the four and a half hours of sleep I got. My kids are not allowed to wake us up before 6:00am but when you don't get to bed until nearly 2:00am that still isn't much of a long winter's nap.

No matter, we had a wonderful Christmas morning. Santa Claus was good to my kids. Favorite items: Stetch--Telescope, Monkey--MP3 player, Tank--Legos, Specs--Skateboard. We have been having the most fun with the Wii that the grandparents sent though. I am slightly addicted to playing Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, but only when one of my kids play with me. I haven't tried the Shaun White skateboarding game yet but it looks pretty fun too.

I got a Wii Fit Plus, a new printer (ours died last week), a couple of sweaters, some socks, a book (Make the Bread, Buy the Butter) and a DVD (Breakfast at Tiffany's).

We had breakfast casserole, sticky buns, orange juice and eggnog for breakfast.

We headed to church at 11:00 and all of us had a hard time staying awake after our late night and early morning, but even though we were tired, I couldn't help but thinking about how there was no more fitting way to celebrate the birth of Jesus than to go worship and remember him.

The afternoon consisted of a nap, lots of playing with new toys and games, a leisurely supper and chatting with family on the phone and via Google video chat.

I just couldn't do it yesterday, so we had our fancy Christmas dinner tonight.

We are still basking in the glow of a fun family Christmas. 

What did Santa Claus bring you?