Santa came!

FromGreer, we made our way down to Sumter to celebrate Christmas Eve night with the Eaves family. We made it just in time for the Candlelight Service at church, and it was so special sharing this service with Banks. This was his first candlelight service, and I loved seeing his face light up when we began singing Away in a Manger. "Hey, I know that one!" he said proudly. It was great having the whole family in one pew (until Eli started babbling too much and Jonathan took him out for half the service.... we take what we can get!).

At several points on Christmas Eve, we called NORAD to check on Santa's whereabouts. We were given strict instructions by the good folks tracking Santa that all small children needed to go to bed early - so off to bed they went as soon as we got home from church!

Before bed on Christmas Eve, we have to read the Polar Express! My mom read the story to us growing up and it's such a joy to share this Christmas tradition with my sweet babies too!

Banks wanted to leave "letters" for Santa! So that's what we did! We left all the letters we know how to make right now. Banks was so sweet working on these letters. We went through a lot of paper because if he messed up, we had to start all over again! Santa left a sweet note saying he hoped next year Banks would be able to write the whole alphabet! We will see!

Santa sure was sweet to our children! Banks was so excited to finally get that "video game for little boys and little girls" that he had been asking for (Leapster Explorer)! He was also super excited about his first real golf clubs and bow/arrow set! The first thing he said about the bow and arrow was that he could only play that with daddy.... smart boy! Eli was glad to get his very own little green chair, and a stuffed puppy named Scout that sings his favorite songs and even knows his name!

The pitter patter of little baby feet were a precious sound that morning as they raced down the hall to see what Santa brought... and you can imagine the giggles and squeals that filled the next hour!

So very blessed.