Christmas Eve

Well, today is technically my favorite day of the whole year. I have always loved Christmas Eve. The building excitement, the services, the gatherings of family and friends, and the anticipation of Christmas morning.

I can't wait to see Addie open her presents tomorrow morning. She has been so good about not touching the gifts under the tree. The idea was, if she gets used to them there, when we visit others, she won't bother their gifts.

Today, Lord willing, we will be spending time with Miss Cathy and her family (on Sunday when Addie saw Cathy, she squealed and went running to her with a hug and kiss), attending the Christmas Eve service at our church, and then having my parents-in-law, grandparents-in-law, and Mom's brother and his wife over after the service for dessert and coffee.

Edit: I wrote this post a few days ago and scheduleed it to come up at 7:00 AM. However, late last night we found out some sad news about an extended family member, and our plans for today have changed.

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On another note, I want to recommend a must-see movie to you. It is from The Perfect Stranger series (which are also must-see movies). The movie is called The Perfect Gift. The entire series is based on the idea that Jesus has a face to face conversation during present times with someone who has absolutely no faith in Him, does not reveal Himself as being Jesus, and answers all of their faith related questions. By the end of the movie, the person has developed a faith in Christ and then realizes Who they have been speaking to the entire time. I have just sat and cried at the end of the each movie. The writer does an amazing job with the conversations and answers. It is an extremely powerful series. The Perfect Gift follows the same idea, however, this movie involves more than one unbelieving character and also deals with the issue of the holidays versus Christmas.

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Coming up in the New Year, my friend Kristi and I will be reading The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer. On Thursdays we will be having a Book Club type day where will both be sharing our thoughts on the chapter read that week (we are both mommies of toddlers and she also has one that is still under a year, so one chapter a week is doable for us). If you would like to read the book as well to follow along with us, we would love for you to join us.

We have also begun our Saturday Recipe Swap. Every Saturday we will be posting a recipe that is tried and true. In all honesty, my recipes are not actually my own. I get them from cookbooks, magazines (Miss Nancy, thank you for the magazines! The Bacon Cheeseburger Soup from Cooking with Paula Deen was a huge hit!), and online. However, I adjust the recipes to add the maximum amount of flavor.

Tomorrow's post will not be about us in any way shape or form. It is Jesus's birthday, and I want to make sure that He remains the center of attention and that everything is all about Him (right now I am really wishing I could reach up into Heaven to give Him a hug...and one for Mom, too). There is a song link posted for tomorrow.

On the 26th, Lord willing, I will be sharing a few of my favorite photos from Christmas Day and a recipe for the Saturday Recipe Swap. So with that, I want to wish you and yours the Merriest Christmas. Today's song is another by Avalon. Jesus, Born on This Day