December 25

Merry Christmas! Today proved a busy one indeed. The kids got up this morning at an utterly reasonable (really!) time to raid their stockings and the gifts left under the tree. They were, as it happened, especially delighted with the gifts they'd chosen for one another; Abby practically leapt up to grab Brady after she'd unwrapped his pick for her: a big, stuffed My Little Pony. (She carried it around all day long.)

After we enjoyed some cinnamon rolls (thanks Pillsbury!), we headed up to my Uncle John's house to see some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and then we returned to grandma's house for dinner with grandma, mom and her Harvey, both of my brothers, my sister-in-law, my niece, my nephew, and of course, our little fam. We had a lovely time chatting and eating a nice meal put together by my mom and just hanging out.

It was a day filled with family and food, and that's always a blessing. Family may not be perfect all the time and my heart absolutely ached over Logan's absence --I don't cry often these days, but the dam broke this evening for a little while after the day's events had drawn to a close-- it's still a blessing to have them with us.