Christmas

The day before Christmas Eve, December 23rd, I found myself with little to do. Everything had been pretty hectic and busy up until that point. Suddenly, I didn't have anything else I had to do. I was able to spend a good chunk of the day reading, which was dreamy and glorious. That is one of my very favorite ways to relax. In the midst of a busy season, it was such a treat. 

Mabel got into a bunch of Kit-Kats and got herself very sick. Here she is on the mend snuggling with Bella's elephant. 

Christmas Eve

Now that Andy isn't a pastor and we don't attend a Moravian church anymore, Christmas Eve definitely felt different this year. We initially intended to attend the Christmas Eve service at Hope Moravian, but in the days leading up to it, Andy started to feel like it might be somewhat difficult for him. I also felt like, if we attended there, he would still feel the need to show up as "Pastor Andy" instead of just as Andy. So, we decided to go to a different church that evening. 

We ended up at the church where Sam's (Bella's boyfriend) Dad is a pastor at. I had to take this selfie with Andy because it was the first Christmas Eve in over twenty years that we got to sit together. 

I enjoyed seeing how another church celebrates Christmas Eve, but I did find myself feeling sad and missing our church family and the traditions of our Moravian Christmas Eve service.  It was nice, however, to be with Sam's family and I really enjoyed the music at this service. They also had a spot for family photos afterward.

Cute couple alert!

"Santa" didn't come until after 5am because these Kilps kids stay up way too late. Even though our kids are older, I still love for them to go to sleep with an empty tree and wake up to presents. 

Christmas Morning

Christmas "morning" didn't start until about noon since these boys like to sleep in on Christmas vacation.

Christmas Day is typically a lazy day and I love it. After presents, Bella and I played Guess Who, we all watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, and then we played some cards. This year, we are back to our regular holiday travels of heading up to Wisconsin the day after Christmas. I love how this makes Christmas last a whole week! A lot about Christmas felt very different this year, but I'm so thankful that some of the most important things have stayed the same.