Well, the children are indeed nestled all snug in their beds and Santa and Mrs. Claus are done with official duties and will soon turn in. They kept it fairly simple this year so it didn't take long to fill stockings and set presents out by the tree. Santa is currently enjoying some of Mrs. Claus' chocolate chip cookies that the kids set out earlier, so he's feeling pretty jolly!
We enjoyed a lovely afternoon with family and friends with two very excited kids making everything extra merry! Trev "read" us the Christmas story (which was an abbreviated but sweet version including a lot of lines like this...Hi Mary, you are going to have a baby. Hi, Shepherds. You need to go to Bethlehem and see the baby. Hi, Wise Men. You need to follow the star to see Jesus. Bye.). They led us in song and had us guessing Christmas charades. We exchanged gifts and there was some serious excitement going on. It was fun - I love Christmas Eve!
My candles burned for hours and even though it feels more like Spring Break than Christmas Break outside, I let apple cider simmer with mulling spices and cinnamon sticks in the crock pot, so my house still spells of spice and comfort. My mom brought over a pot of chili and I made several new recipes that ended up being delicious - I promise to share them soon! One was for Glazed Tea Cake. I added a peppermint twist to it and it was just what the Elves ordered. Sweet divinity!
After our guests left the kids threw reindeer food in the yard that they each made in their class at school, then we tucked them in for the night. I have never seen Trevor so eager to go to sleep - he was begging to go to bed, and was out like a light! That boy has been excited for weeks! It's hard to believe the day he has been waiting for is almost here.
The past few days as my Christmas music has played, I have been going back to a line from Hark The Herald Angels Sing....
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.
God and sinners reconciled. Four words that very succinctly sum up the meaning of Christmas. We had a sin problem, so God sent us a Savior. Through Jesus we, as imperfect sinners, can be reconciled with a perfect God. He was born - then later died and rose again - so that we can have life eternally with God, despite our sinful humanity. His whole purpose in leaving Heaven to come to earth was so that through believing in Him as our perfect sacrifice, we can one day leave earth and spend eternity with God in Heaven. We needed Him. We couldn't do it on our own. He changed everything for us. He reconciled us with the Father (2 Corinthians 5:18). He was born to be our Savior. (Luke 2:11). I stand in awe of that.
I feel overwhelmingly blessed tonight to be reconciled with God. To have a Reason to celebrate. To have sparkly lights and presents under the tree and a home filled with family and love. It's all because of Jesus, the greatest gift and manifestation of love the world ever has and ever will know.
We celebrate Him.
We worship Him.
We adore Him.
We love Him.
He loves us.
He loves you.
Merry Christmas Eve,
Jennifer
Merry Christmas! Beautiful pictures!
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