Christmas Eve was a fun day.  I spent the morning baking pies and Christmas cookies.  Then we went to the family service at church that afternoon.  We normally go to the later, more traditional service.  But with Ashley this year, we figured that wouldn’t be a good idea.  So it was our first time going to the family service (i.e. child-friendly) and it was a lot of fun.  Ashley did wonderfully!  She sat in my lap the whole time and just looked around at everyone.  It was so crowded they had to put people in an overflow room!  She listened to the children sing and even started singing some herself.  She was especially mesmerized by the candles when we all lit them and sang “Silent Night”.  We were so proud of her!  She was very patient and well behaved during the whole service!  Our pastor reminded everyone the reason for the season and in conclusion, wished everyone a Merry CHRISTmas.  We then went outside to find her angel and saw that it was right next to the manger like last year.  Yay!

Then off to Grandma and Grandaddy Murray’s we went!  We always spend Christmas Eve with Van’s parents.  Check out the picture from last year below.  Ashley has grown a bit, hasn’t she?  This year was much more entertaining.  She tore into the presents and ate the food.  Her favorite was Grandma Murray’s pumpkin pie.  Yum!  The big hit this year was some Pip Squeakers (shoes) that they gave her for Christmas.  She loves them!  They squeak when she walks.  She walked around their house just laughing at herself.  She would only take a couple steps though (unassisted), and then get down to crawl.  She likes walking while holding your hand.  And she’s an expert at cruising!

After a fun time at the grandparents house, we went home to sleep so Santa could arrive!