Christmas in Spokane part 2--Christmas Eve

We had an awesome Christmas Eve. After a delicious dinner, we went out to the farm's store so the kids could take turns at the pinata, which is a long-standing Christmas tradition in my family. Apparently, we don't get enough candy in our stockings the next day, so our dietary sugar needs must be supplemented the night before via the pinata.

I forgot to mention earlier that there are two foreign exchange students living with the Fallstroms this year. Maira is from Ecuador, and Marcela is from Brazil. They were both so nice and incredibly fun to be around. Below, Maira helped Finley take her turn at the pinata.

Pretty sure that if you put a large stick in Isaac's hands, he's going to start whacking at something or someone, whether there is a pinata nearby or no.

Sareny got a few good hits in.

Isaac and Jese became fast friends. They had a lot of fun running around and playing together.

While Finney isn't exactly smiling, she is letting Maira hold her, so that is saying something!

The group: Blake, Sareny, Katlin, Zack, Marcela, Jese, Finley, Maira, Gabriella, Isaac. I don't remember why, but Keith's sister Marla didn't join us for the festivities. And even if she had, I seriously doubt she would have let me take her picture.

My favorite part of Christmas Eve--the children acting out the nativity. It is just so sweet and precious. Thanks to Nancy's ample supply of fabric, we were able to wardrobe the actors pretty well.

Finley was a shepard. (really, there are only 2 girl roles in this story, the angel and Mary. Although in real life, I'm pretty sure the angel was a man.)

Isaac was also a shepard.

And guess who Sareny was??

I think this is the silliest picture of the whole trip. I love it!

Once again, Daddy was enlisted as a donkey, and Jese was Joseph.

The kids were so serious about their parts and took their roles very seriously.

The angel Katlin came to tell the shepards the wondrous news. We enlisted Uncle Noel to be another shepard.

Everyone was so tender with the Baby Jesus.

We had two wisemen, Marcela and Maira.

I love in this picture how Jese is holding the baby's hand. It is just so sweet.

Most of the cast, including Tyler as the star.

I thought this was a really beautiful reenactment of the Christmas story.

Afterwards, we did a really fun white elephant gift exchange. Some of the gifts were pretty hilarious. I won the much coveted jester hat (which I'm not kidding was really cool,) but since I knew Marla really wanted it, I traded it to her for some cocoa, mugs, and some other nice things.

Our little family finished off the night by driving around a nearby neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. In addition to our kids, we also took Jese, Katlin, and Maira along for the ride. In Ecuador, people don't put lights up on their houses, and Maira really enjoyed the elaborate lights displays. We stopped at the especially cool ones so she could take a picture of them. It really was a magical Christmas Eve.