Christmas Eve 2010

I am happy to report that our Christmas Eve celebration was considerably more upbeat this year than it was last year. If you go back and read last year's post, we were total Debbie Downers. Anything we said turned into a negative! This year was not like that and it could possibly be because we had Abbie and Nina there and they just make everything seem more positive.
Wayne came home from the city just in time to go to church. We went to mass at St. Cletus (in the gym) and had one of our very favorite priests as the presider. I also saw one of my students that just "graduated" from our program and that was so special! And Jack received many compliments on his new Christmas pants that he got from Bob, which of course, he loved :). In between mass and Jenny's, we opened our presents to each other. Wayne was THRILLED to receive an authentic Julius Peppers throwback jersey from Sally! So fun. These jerseys are almost impossible to find and Sally happened to be at the right place at the right time.

We got to Jenny and Jay's around 5 pm. It was such a fun night! We were so glad that Karen came this year; (As mentioned in a previous post, Karen is Mom and Sue's neighbor and very best friend of Sue; Karen's mom died on Dec 1.) Abbie and Nina were adorable! The gift swap was fun and all in all, it was a very festive, light hearted evening. One special moment was when Jenny gave each of us a framed picture of one of our favorite Dane moments. It was taken in Dallas at Tom and Ann's during one of our family vacations. This picture totally captures the essence of Dane.

 

Jack looking at one of our favorite photos

Speaking of Dane, we always talk about how much Nina reminds us of Dane at that age. Jenny put their Christmas card up by a portrait of Arne, Dane and Kjell when Dane was about the age Nina is now. It is hard to see because of the flash, but the similarities are amazing. So comforting to us all.

Here are some more pictures from the evening:

Jack's Christmas pants

Wayne, Marmar and Sally

Pretty aerial view of party

Sisters!

Da Bears

Karen with her steal from the gift exchange (behind Wayne and Marmar)

Nina and Abbie, wearing the coats that Wayne got them

Thanks to Jenny and Jay for hosting an awesome Christmas Eve!