Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas in Florida this year! It was nice to have a quiet Christmas, as we've been busier during this season than we are usually (I think this is in part to me having a job with more hours, and not being able to have free time to relax like I used to). 

I spent the first half of Christmas Eve at work. It was really busy and really warm, so I couldn't wear my ugly Christmas sweater that we were all encouraged to wear that day. Carson picked me up from work and we went home to relax for a little bit before we went to church that evening. 

Our church had two Christmas Eve services, and we decided to go to the first one at 4:30pm. It was a beautiful and reflective service, and I love candlelight services. We sang carols and listened to Scripture being read, then the children's pastor gave a children's message and then our pastor gave a message for the adults. It was appropriate and encouraged us to remember how all of this really is about Christ coming so that he could die for our sins. At the end, the lights were dimmed and we sang "Silent Night" as we held candles. The fourth and fifth graders were invited to come up and be the ones who lit candles for each row, and you could tell that they were just overjoyed with that responsibility. 

After the service, Carson and I picked up a pizza for dinner and headed home. Several presents had arrived, and the boxes weren't marked so I accidentally opened them. I got a coloring book from my sister in law that we enjoyed using as we watched While You Were Sleeping.

We'd had a busy week with Carson's family in town, so I took that evening as a time to not just relax but also to catch up on laundry and a little tidying. Carson fell asleep on the couch as I worked, so Fixer Upper on Netflix kept me company until quite late.

It was too warm to wear flannel to bed, so I laid out our festive Christmas PJs for the morning