Christmas Eve Mass

Well, it has always been a tradition to have a picture of the girls and I in front of the Christmas tree right before Christmas Eve Mass. Well, let me just tell you, I'm not in this picture, . . . and it's a miracle that it was taken at all! We were running out the door to try to stop at the Honeybaked Ham store before getting to Mass more than an hour early to get a seat. Meanwhile, Brian was still at work and wouldn't be able to meet us until five (the time Mass was supposed to start). And even then, when I entered the Honeybaked Ham store, everyone in there was yelling, "Where's my ham!?! Where's my ham!?!" Because the store "closed" at 3, even though all other pieces of info said it closed at 5. Well, thank God for my printed "reservation." Yes, I walked out of there with a Christmas ham, . . . and I felt just like Leroy Herdman when I took it to Church. Ha! Being there so early, I literally made ham sandwiches for the girls to eat in the interim. It worked like a charm. The girls were SO good!!! Leia Rose even gave me a good laugh when I looked down at her newest creation on the Magna-Doodle. I said, "Oh, Leia! That that's a really beautiful fence!!!" Leia Rose replied, "It's not a fence, Mamma, it's villi, . . . you know, from our small intestine." Ha!


And I just thank the Lord for this beautiful Mass! There we so many times when I was either holding Leia Rose or putting my arms around Annie as she stood on the top of the pew in front of me while we were standing, and thinking, "This is truly the greatest joy in life. Celebrating the birth of Christ with my two children and my husband!" The joy was complete when, right in the middle of the Nativity Christmas Pageant, Annie started singing "Silent Night" at full volume. Everyone around us was smiling and tearing. It was wonderful!