Christmas Eve

Wow, am I a bit behind in my holiday blogging this year, but at least it's finally getting done. The kids had off the whole week leading up to Christmas, which is normally something I would have looked forward to, but the house was such a mess and still under construction that week, and all sorts of contractors coming and going, the week was not very relaxing or festive. A week or so before, I had put aside all hope of somehow preparing Seven Fishes for our Christmas Eve celebration and now with the contractors still doing major work, and the fact that I could not put anything away in the cabinets or pre-cook or prep anything, I realized there was no way that I could even manage to cook dinner of any kind of a crowd. I was devastated, really. When we started building this kitchen in June, I had big plans for Christmas Eve--Feast of the Seven Fishes with all our family and friends. I had planned the menu and was so excited for it. Not only was Christmas Eve dinner not a reality, Christmas baking and cooking with the kids, which always brings us all so much joy, was also  not a reality.

By the 23rd, I was left with a "functioning" kitchen. All appliances were installed and working. Most of the cabinets were hung. We were missing like five doors and my pantry had no shelves. Painting, backsplash and molding needed to be done, but we were functioning. So, I spent the entire day of the 23rd cleaning up drywall and saw dust that just encased the kitchen and pretty much the entire house. The first floor was white, not with snow. David drove up to PA to get his mother and they were home late. By the evening of the 23rd, I had washed the cabinets and adjusted all their shelves and put away the glassware in the wine bar, my everyday dishes and two pots and a few cooking utensils. I was up until about 1:00 cleaning. The 24th, David got to work cleaning the dust and dirt out of the family room, the room I did not get to on Friday. I got busy cooking in my kitchen for the first time, but I still had to find some cooking essentials packed away in the many boxes of kitchen supplies in the basement. I made a cheesecake in my new ovens and it turned out perfectly. I also prepped the crab cakes, prepped the tenderloin roast, made the shallot sauce for the roast and made cranberries. The kids were angels and played nicely together.

After lunch, I got them a bath and ready for church. I got a shower and ready for church and we headed up to church at about 2:45. Mass was at 4:00, but they were all in the Christmas Pageant, so we had to arrive early. I also wanted to get a good seat. Seats were reserved for families whose children were in the pageant, but we wanted the closest seat we could get because the closer we are, the better the children can concentrate and pay attention. Plus, they like to see everything and if packed rows of big people are in front of them, they are very upset that they can't see. So, we got a seat in the second row. We prayed for a bit, looked at the manger scene, admired all the decorations and then finally went to get on their costumes.

Isabelle was an angel with a small speaking part. She also got to hold the shining star. Nathaniel and Gabriel were shepherds and Jeremiah was a sheep, and not just any sheep: he was a cute sheep and James, the seminarian, dubbed him "Father Sheep" for the night. Father Sheep promptly fell asleep on me after getting on his costume.

David and his mother arrived closer to 4:00 and we settled in for Mass. It was packed. People were crammed in shoulder to shoulder in the pews and people were standing 3 deep along the perimiter of the church, which is quite large and kind of shaped like a cross, with a main aisle and two wide side aisles.

Jeremiah woke up, but was still sleepy and all the kids were super good, as expected. Then, when it was time to bring up the gifts, the angels and shepherds got to bring them up and the kids were really excited about that. Before the closing prayer and final blessing, the children in the pageant got to do their thing and all the kids did a super job.

Jeremiah sat there and looked as cute as could be. He kept playing with his ears and making them fall off. Gabriel and Nathaniel were great shepherds and Isabelle did a great job with his angel role and speaking part. She was most excited about getting to carry the star though.

The kids stayed up on the altar and waited for the final blessing. The children were all supposed to walk in the recessional and all the kids except Jeremiah and one other little sheep lined up in the recessional according to plan. Jeremiah just sat on the altar, like he was right at home and had no plans on leaving. Fortunately, the priest knows who he is (Jeremiah is a bit of star around our church), and he went to go "shepherd" him from the altar to the recessional. It was pretty cute.

Mass was over by about 5:30 and we went home, where I finished preparing dinner for Christmas Eve. It was just us, a quiet night, but we had a lovely dinner together. We read the Gospel of Luke and talked about Jesus' birth. Moma was pretty tired after dinner, so she went to bed. It took a while to get the kids in bed. Then, David and I got busy putting out all the gifts and finishing up the stockings.

I had invited my friend and her family to join us at Mass, but they had another obligation, but she said she would be interested in Midnight Mass if I wanted to go with her. So, about 11:15, I went to pick her up and we drove back to church for Midnight Mass. The choir and orchestra were amazing and it was a beautiful Mass, though I have to admit I was pretty tired. I was glad to go with her though and I have to admit it was much more enjoyable than the children's Mass. It was crowded, but not shoulder to shoulder in the pews and we could have gotten there as late as 15 minutes before Mass and gotten a decent seat. In a couple years, I think the kids will be old enough for this Mass.

So, that was our Christmas Eve. Other than at Mass, I did not take any pictures. In fact, I have been generally bad about taking pictures recently and must do better with that. Stay tuned for the Christmas recap.