Christmas Eve

I had this Christmas picture on my fridge for a while and then realized that Darren's position is perfect for comparison with his ultrasound profile picture. I wish I could have zoomed in on the Christmas one, but how cute is that?!

Christmas Eve was magical. I started things out with this Apple Pie French Toast breakfast. You prep it the night before, yes, with a can of apple pie filling between slices, let it soak overnight, and then bake in the morning. It was really rich, but delicious! And actually, it was even better in the days to follow. Yum!

For dinner, Ryan brought back the Rouladin from last year. Super delicious stuff! And our guests seemed to like it too. :) We had the Checkettes over, as well as Oma and Opa. The Checkettes were outbound for some internships out of state within a few days of Christmas, so we didn't want to miss the opportunity to have them over. We love that family so much. You can't ask for better people. Seriously. 

Once again we reenacted a haphazard version of the Nativity. It was great! There was less squabbling over the baby Jesus this year, so that's a bonus. Haha!

Devry and Leo were Mary and Joseph again. Pierscen was the angel and Ryan was a shepherd. 

Opa, Asael and Emily were our three kings. 

We enjoyed yummy fudge dessert with egg nog ice cream and took lots of pictures.

Oh yeah! This year at dinner also included crickets and caviar. Blech! Think I'm joking? Nope. Ryan and Asael were talking about alternative sources of protein and so Ryan went and purchased a variety of different flavored crickets. I wasn't going to try one, but peer pressure goes a long way. It wasn't horrible. The caviar... well, that was a gift given at the Christmas party Ryan attended. It came from Marshall's for about $3. Scary, right? He thought it was such a great idea, he went out and bought some too. Yes, we all sampled it. Shudder. No thank you. 

We love these kids so much. Pierscen and Devry are really going to miss them!

Please, oh please let there be a job in her ABQ for this amazing family when they are done with their internships. Wherever they end up, the people there will be blessed to have them. But I really hope they stay here. People really don't get any better than this family. Love them so. 

Our boys, born one week apart. Darren is older only because of scheduled c-section. Yet another reason they need to move back. These boys will be best friends!