Christmas Eve is a big deal in our house. We eat a meal, then while the adults are cleaning up the kids are usually in the back rooms putting together a variety show. This year Tory played "Fur Elise" and "The Carol of the Bells". My nieces Emily and Nataley did a dance to a Hannah Montana song and my nephew Brent sang a song he learned in church. After the talent show everybody winds down and my mother tells the story of the Jesse tree. The Jesse tree is a miniature Christmas tree that tells the story of Jesus from Creation through to his Second Coming. It includes the major stories of the Old Testament and one or two from the New Testament. More than anything it traces the scarlet thread of Redemption through history. After the Jesse tree we go around the room and everyone shares what God has done throughout the last year. Finally we take communion as a family. The tradition of communion and sharing began when I was a teenager and included all my aunts, uncles and cousins. Now that our family has grown and my grandparents have died we've continued that tradition with my sisters and their husbands and children.