Christmas Eve: Dressed Up

We had one of the most fun Christmas holidays ever, thanks very much to the visit from Auntie Dot, Uncle Don and Baby Alex.  It was really special to have Squirmy and Baby Alex celebrate their first Christmas together, and just plain fun to have Auntie Dot and Uncle Don around.  The kidlets were also delighted that their favorite canine wonder came along as well.  Christmas was the perfect mixture of relaxation and excitement.

I am so proud and tickled pink to report that we all got to church for Christmas Eve services on time.  Early, in fact.  This was a huge, huge thing for me, because in the past we have arrived at Christmas Eve services in shifts (I am usually singing in the choir and have to be there early) frazzled, late, gasping for breath, and some of us end up seated out in the lobby or standing, or something.  There are bazillions of people at Christmas Eve services in our church, which is exciting and wonderful.  We always go to the early service at 4:00.  This year I was DETERMINED that I would not end up frazzled and crying and overwhelmed, unable to appreciate Christmas Eve church.  So I started getting the kidlets ready early.  Hours before church started.  I had just enough time to get everyone dressed and take pictures for Grandma Robbie, enough time to give everyone instructions about finding all their shoes right then, as I was leaving for choir so there wouldn’t be any last minute shoe searching (it gets us every time) and left in just enough time to make it to church choir warm-ups.  I was so delighted that the whole crew of my family arrived fifteen minutes before the service started, and we all got to sit together!  Hooray!

Christmas Eve church services are always nice, I think, always special in a their own way each year.  Sometimes I tend to tune out common Christmas carols.  Each year I always seem to have a new favorite, obscure Christmas carol that touches me a bit more than the others, but some of the more common carols I hear so much that I forget to pay attention.  Near the end of the church service this Christmas Eve, the congregation sang “Silent Night,” of course.  “Silent Night” is the staple of the Christmas Eve service no matter where you go to church.  But as we were singing along, right about the time we were beginning the second verse, I was just flooded with the realization that I have sung “Silent Night” every SINGLE Christmas Eve for my whole entire life (or listened to it in my infancy).  And that was special.  I was suddenly overwhelmed by all sorts of Christmas memory flashes tied to Silent Night:  memories of my Grandma Edna, and her consistent presence on Christmas Eve throughout my childhood, and her joy at coming to all my childhood Christmas programs, memories of singing “Silent Night” from the front of the church of my youth with the church choir as a teenager, memories of being terrified as a child of the real candles with real flames and their little paper plate skirts, memories of singing “Silent Night” from the offstage with my college concert choir, and I could go on and on.  It was kind of breathtaking.

Without further ado, here are some more dress up pictures of the kidlets:

Only Auntie Dot, curly hair advocate extraordinaire, could pull off something as spectacular as The Banana’s elegant up-do.  The Banana was very pleased with her fancy hair.  Auntie Dot can always make this little girl who is so reluctant to like her curly hair feel good about her twining locks.

Both big sisters asked for a special Christmas picture with Squirmy.  He cutely obliged.