Christmas Eve 2008

Betsy and I spent the day here at our house preparing a Christmas Eve Meal. We make a huge turkey, mash potatoes, squash casserole, bread stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, a rum cake, pecan pie and crescent rolls. We used the good China, and Betsy brought her nice glasses and sparkling apple cider, which we added frozen cranberries to. It was all delicious and we had a nice quiet family meal. Chester carved the turkey and gave Mark a lesson in how to carve it correctly. Afterwards we all sat around to hear Betsy read some Christmas stories. Then, the kids all opened one gift. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the kids with their new toys and just hanging out. They will come back in the morning to open gifts and spend the day with us for Christmas. Mark and Abbie spent the day wrapping gifts, but we still have a lot of work to get ready so I am off for more wrapping and breakfast preparations. I think in all, we did make one mistake in not buying Chester his own set of magnetix like we got for Avery. The engineer in Chester went wild over them and he got down on the floor to play with Avery. Betsy had to drag him away so we could all call it a night and get some rest. It was a wonderful evening, and the most fun I have ever had spending a day in the kitchen. But, wow, my feet hurt!