Christmas 2023, part 1

I wanted to share a bit about our first round of Christmas celebrations. We spent Christmas Eve and Day close to home, with Nicholas' family. And then, my family is visiting us in early January, at which time we will celebrate Christmas with them!

On Christmas Eve, we woke up and I finished up some last-minute sourdough baking, and then we went to church for an 11:15 Christmas Eve service. It was wonderful! What good news of great joy with celebrating the arrival of Christ! We saw friends and family at church, Finn slept on Nicholas for the whole service, and Cooper loved the kid's program.

After church, we went home to tidy up and finish getting biscuits and gravy and fried eggs ready for lunch, since we hosted my father- and sister-in-law and her boyfriend. I tried a new-to-me sourdough biscuit recipe (I opted for an overnight ferment in the fridge after prepping the dough a day in advance) and we absolutely loved them. After lunch, we opened stockings, and then the boys were busy playing and we had coffee and treats. Nicholas and Cooper put together a wooden knife he got in his stocking, after applying Odie's oil to it. Cooper was so excited about it.

I made sourdough Finnish cardamom bread (our favorite treat) and gluten-free chocolate crinkle cookies, subbing in peppermint extract for the vanilla, and adding cinnamon for a chocolate/mint/cinnamon flavor combination.

It was a really nice afternoon! And we enjoyed hosting in our new home.

On Christmas Day, the boys woke up early, so we relaxed for a bit with a Christmas movie and I baked sourdough cinnamon rolls that I prepped the day before. We read the Christmas story in Cooper's The Jesus Storybook Bible and then we exchanged gifts with just the four of us. Cooper was thrilled to get a basketball that he asked for, and I sewed him a tiny foldover pouch, following this YouTube tutorial, enlarging it slightly so that his wooden knife would fit inside. Finn received some wooden and silicone mushrooms that can be taken apart and put back together, and all three boys received new slippers. I got a beautiful calendar, and a few organic cotton and wool clothing items.

After tidying up and baking some sourdough dinner rolls, we drove over to my father-in-law's home for lunch and gifts. Lunch was delicious (thank you, Katelyn). After exchanging gifts, the boy's played with some of the items they received; rock excavation kits and toy puzzles and a dump truck were all popular! Later, we had dessert, and my SIL made coffee and Nicholas and I raw milk lattes. I did a little knitting, the boys had a bath, and then we headed home.

Christmas celebrations have been so sweet so far, and I'm looking forward to celebrating with my family, shortly!