Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we spent the majority of the day in downtown Boston for church service and dinner.  But before heading out, we took a few family pictures with Oma and Opa.  The kids enjoyed deciding what they wanted to wear and were quite giddy (especially Victoria) to FINALLY wear what we had purchased.

It will always crack me up how Victoria innately knows how to pose for pictures!  She was so excited to wear those sparkly shoes as well but didn't like how they hurt her feet with all the walking we did.  Welcome to the pain of fashion!

That afternoon, the church held their Christmas pageant.  We have never been a part of this pageant since joining at this was held during the pandemic.  So it was a bit thrilling to see the differences that this church does compared to our past church.  There were a few adults who had parts too... one was Caesar Augustus and the inn keeper.  The entire church was used which made us having to turn around a few times.  But my most favorite was when Joseph pulled Mary in a wagon decorated as a donkey.

Gabriel knew her lines and made a most impactful performance.  I think the elevation helped a bit too!

The three wise men followed the star of Bethlehem.... also an entertaining touch!

After the children's pageant was over, we walked to Fogo de Chao - a Brazilian steakhouse.  We very much enjoyed the selection and the family who sat across from us.  We kept eyeing what each one had and would stop waiters if it sounded / looked good.

Rather than meat, this waitress was offering making fresh mixed drinks.  Dad and I split a strawberry, hibiscus, and rum cocktail.  While very yummy, we saw how much sugar went into making this.  Only one drink at a time, please.

After eating, it was back to church for the evening service.  The children were also involved by leading the congregation off with a song sang in a round.  Children were stationed in the four corners of the church and sang in a round representing the angels proclaiming the birth of Jesus from the four corners of the world.  This is something I hope they continue to do each year as was beautiful and meaningful as the same time.

My favorite time in the Christmas Eve service is when the lights are turned down low and we sing Silent Night to candlelight.  This year we all had real candles which made one little girl nervous she would catch something on fire.