Christmas EVE!
The Little Nies were a little hyper,
and when I say little, I mean a whole lot hyper.
Our afternoon plans included seeing the new Star Wars movie in the theater,
and the excitement for that AND Christmas was overwhelming.
Then they got on my phone and downloaded a Star Wars
app and made thousands of photos of themselves, like so:
When it was time, we finally got them all in the car
and ran last-minute Christmas errands.
We also stopped by our favorite bakery,
The Sweet Tooth Fairy for some delicious treats
to enjoy over the Christmas weekend.
Thank goodness for those treats; it's so nice to
always have something super yummy on hand!
Luckily, we finished our Hygge Star Wars marathon just in time.
We all loved the new film, and even Lottie watched
the entire thing in her own seat without her binkie!
After the movie, we met with some of my family for dinner.
As we said our goodbyes into the parking lot,
we were greeted with a beautiful pink sky.
It was so quiet and peaceful!
As a Utah girl, I knew that this kind of sky usually means a
storm is incoming!!!
We drove home, lit our luminaries, and gave
The Little Nies their Christmas pajamas.
I got matching one-piece pjs for Claire, Jane, Oliver, and Nicholas.
Sadly, I couldn't find matching pajamas for Lottie.
She didn't care; I could tell she could feel the energy of
her siblings because she was so happy and pleasant.
As a family, we gathered together to read and reflect on the story of
Christ's birth and the Nativity in the scriptures.
We took the time to discuss the significance of this beautiful event.
After the reading, we ushered the children off to bed.
I closed the door and put bells on the handle to
keep them from wandering around or peeking.
Claire texted me a few photos of them all in bed together:
Mr. Nielson and I spent several hours working on gifts and wrapping; it has become my favorite part of Christmas Eve.
We made sure to have all the necessary supplies - wrapping paper, ribbons,
scissors, and tape - within arm's reach, and we took turns picking out the
perfect wrapping paper for each gift.
It was such a joy to spend that time with Mr. Nielson,
and I intentionally didn't wrap everything before Christmas Eve
so we could have that special time together.
It's now become a tradition that we both look forward to every year.
We finally got to bed around 1:45; the house was quiet, and the snow
was piling up outside. It was amazing. Truly a beautiful Christmas miracle!
At 3:30 a.m., I woke up to running pitter-patter feet upstairs above my bedroom.
It took me a few minutes to realize
it was The Little Nies AWAKE! Did I mention it was 3:30 a.m.?!
I called Claire's phone and told her to get to bed
immediately!
I pretended to be angry, but deep down, I empathized with her completely.
After the phone call, I couldn't go back to bed.
I stayed awake, watching the snow fall outside the window.
My bedroom was illuminated by the glow of the snow,
creating such a magical ambiance.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!
