Christmas Eve

Traditionally, we spend Christmas Eve with Dan's family. I used to put on a "production" dinner, but it's a much simpler affair now. This year we went over to Dan's parents' house and met up with his parents, Aunt Liz, Lynn, Dave and his family, and our niece Emily and her family. Julie and I brought soups, Lynn brought chips, Emily brought bread and fudge (she makes awesome raspberry fudge), Liz brought more chips, and Bona made breadsticks, a cheeseball, and pumpkin pie. After a political discussion free dinner, we gathered in the living room for the traditional Christmas hymn play/sing-a-long. We had Parley on the organ, Bona on recorder, Dan and David on violins, Robert on guitar, our brass section with Nolan on trumpet and Joel on French horn, and Jonathan on B-flat clarinet/A-clarinet/saxophone. Everyone else was supposed to be singing while the littlest ones kept themselves occupied. It was loud. Really loud. And sometimes not too harmonious. I had to go into the hall and Lynn had to go into a back bedroom and shut the door. After we sang every verse of every hymn, starting at 201 through 214, David read Luke 2 and then it was time to go. Miles was so wiped out from no nap and a busy evening, he actually slept in his own bed!