Christmas Eve Memories!

For Christmas Eve each year I love to go to my mom and dad and decorate cookies, watch a christmas movie and exchange gifts. We decided to all meet at 6 and have dinner. Dad preped and cooked and did an amazing job on the food.

It was so yummy....he made christmas cake, and ham and turkey, we had rolls, and I brought some sugar cookies and the stuff to decorate them. There was lots of other treats too like pumkin pie etc.

We have a cute video of Shailey laughing for those who don't know she is Brandon and Sabrina's baby girl she is about 1 and 1/2. She is such a sweet little girl. She loves everyone and, well they are just really lucky to have such a good little girl! I know there is alot of back ground noise but her laugh is just so cute.

Some of us got into our new christmas jammies and watch Fred Clause, other's decorated Sugar Cookies to leave for Santa. I think that everyone had a really great time. The party ended around 10 and then we (my family) headed to bennington to look at all of the christmas lights...then it was home to bed.....I am rude and forgot to take a pic of Jentz and JosLynn all tucked in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads but I did get one of Andrew......

It Turned Out to Be a really great night. I love Christmas Eve for some reason it is my favorite day....there is still excitement, and you get to open a few presents, but you get to do all of the christmasy stuff that I love. One of the neatest things that my family does that we have a beautiful red box that gets passed around year to year. This is the fourth year we have been doing it. My husband recieved it this year and he was so touched. You see when someone goes through a trial and they pull through or when they have really set their mind to something and achieved that goal....or when they have been especially kind, well these are some of the many reasons they would recieve the box. My dad got it last year because of how hard he fought to not let the cancer take him from us....so this year my Josh got it for being so helpful to my parents. I am sorry if that makes me so proud.....but it does and it is true. Josh truely loves my parents and is more than willing to help them with anything that they need. I think in a world that make so many feel unappreciated for the little stuff it is so nice to get recognized for what we do for others. Josh said it was the best gift that he had ever got for Christmas, plus dad threw in a remote control car that Josh races with Drew's remote everyday and he things that is really awsome....because he really wanted one....I laughed and asked why it wasn't on his list.....but those are the kinds of things that I look forward to at Christmas time. I love to give presents and see the joy and happiness in their faces as they open their suprise. I tend to go over board especially with my own family......I guess it is just in my nature to give. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. Oh and I almost forgot.....the best gift I got this year was this.......

This is a sucker tree. When I was a little girl there was a kind man that lived in Bennington named Ben Bunderson and he made sucker trees for everyone in Bennington. So he brought the trees with a sack of suckers, then the next year he brought a sack of suckers and for many years as long as I can remember until he got to old to do it he would bring a bag of suckers for our sucker tree. So my dad made me a sucker tree.... I was so excited, I couldn't believe it and this....THIS is the best Christmas present that I have ever gotten. Thanks dad....I love it and I love you!