Merry Christmas Eve

It's Carrie and I's sixth Christmas together.

We've had enough practice that I think we've got it down.

That wasn't always the case.

1st Christmas - 

Carrie and I started dating in July. By December we were fools in love (well, at least I was a fool). Christmas Eve came and we wen't together, though. 

Carrie had to work the late shift.

I decided to drive down and surprise her.

She was so surprised she ran out the back door while I waited up front with flowers. I didn't even learn she was gone until half an hour of sitting and looking pretty later!

At the time we were dating, Carrie was a veterinary tech at a referral and critical care veterinary hospital near Richmond. When I arrived at the hospital's front desk, my future wife was covered in animal decorations that shall not be named. In a moment of "He's HERE!?!?" she ran out the back door to rush home and clean up before I could see her in a soiled state. 

"You're never going to let me live this down are you?" Carrie asked.

"Nope!" I smiled. "It's much too funny!"

And it is. I love telling this story!

2nd Christmas (our first married one) -

This time it's all my fault.

My family liked to attend a midnight Christmas Eve service when I lived with them. Carrie and I, newly wed, decided to continue the tradition.

However, there was a couple of Christmas parties and lots of people around. Carrie wanted to take a short nap and rest up before the service. I drove over in advance while she slumbered.

As the time for the service neared, I started to get nervous that Carrie wasn't at my parents. I called her phone over and over, but there was no reply. I left a voice mail saying "we're on our way to the church; I hope to see you there!" and we headed out.

A more apt name for the 'midnight service' may have been the 'candlelight service.'

Carrie thought the service started at midnight. In fact, it ended at midnight Christmas morning.

She overslept, woke up, listened to my voicemail and became very upset that she messed up our first Christmas together. 

A miss-communication. It lead to some heartache, but we patched things up by 2:00 or 3:00 AM at the latest. It was one of those mutually unintended slips that when you make it through them they strengthen your marriage (aka: "Remember when we made it through that?! It's all uphill from here on out!"

3rd Christmas (Shane's first) - 

I started blogging by this one. Basically, Shane was itty-bitty and Carrie was having a hard time recovering from childbirth. We stayed at home and family visited. It was dramatic for us in that we were suddenly entrusted with new life and scrambling to not mess it up. If you've never been entrusted with a newborn you are solely responsible for, you won't understand the immensity of feelings/tasks that come with it.

It was stressful, but I felt an improvement from the year before. We were all together -- a new family.

Every Christmas I have two wishes - to honor Jesus' birth and to be with my family.

That's it.

I won't lie - a good present is icing on the cake, but if it's not opened around loved ones the day feels lacking.

4th Christmas (Shane's first he's old enough to do anything!) -

Shortly before Christmas, I lit a hot pocket on fire and Carrie made me buy Portal 2.

Shortly after Christmas, Carrie beat Portal 2.

You can guess how some of the time in between was filled.

This year we made a big effort to spend time with both sets of grandparents. Christmas Eve was spent with my family. Then we packed up and drove down to Carrie's parents house so we could wake up and spend Christmas Day with them. We started a new tradition there: a picture with Shane at Carrie's parents. For the first picture, it was only Shane and I.

5th Christmas (Shane's talking!) -

For the second picture, it was Shane, Carrie and I. This Christmas (the sixth) we'll add in Grandma or Grandpa. We only have two pictures so far, but it's neat seeing the progression and Shane's growth. 

I love it.

Carrie's idea of a Christmas present was a get away for the two of us while Shane spent quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. 

I may have written a few posts about the journey. I was a semi-pro blogger by that point! 

The middle post had pictures. I hadn't entered the smart-phone revolution yet.

6th Christmas (The here and now) -

That brings us up to tonight. Carrie has to work Thursday and Friday, so we won't be able to visit Grandma and Grandpa until the weekend. I'm looking forward to taking our behind-the-couch-family-photo to keep our tradition intact.

In an awesome twist, some of my family will be coming to our house to celebrate on Christmas Day. Carrie is cooking her apple pie soup and planning on making mint cupcakes and a loaf of something or other.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Carrie spent the morning at IKEA with Genevieve while Shane and I took care of the house. We hired Nana's maids for a one time keep-the-company-is-coming-stress-levels-low for Carrie and Roxy got a professional bath. We got to ride a shuttle to the Christmas Eve service (Shane loved it) and I would post something about the message, but they haven't posted it online yet. We watched an episode of Dirty Jobs together after Shane went down and Carrie's asleep on the couch as I type. 

The final thought -

Christmas really isn't about us in the end. We live it and I tell our stories from my lens, but Kevin Sorbo posted a story on his blog last year I really liked.

I think it sums the holiday up nicely, but it's not short.

Merry Christmas Eve to all!