December 23

I really enjoy the family time leading up to Christmas.

Isaac still needed to find a gift for Adam, so after I returned from my morning sojourn to the Mother Ship, he and I headed off to shop. Since we were at Costco (which may or may not be related to said-gift's origin) over the lunch hour, we picked up food, and I'm sure we were quite the sight leaving with our armfuls of hot dogs and sodas from the food court. (Working at the Dairy has greatly improved his ability to carry multiple beverages at once.)

Then this evening, after Abby finished her jog, Adam and Isaac got home from shopping, and Brady biked back from hanging out with some friends at the park, we all (including Lambie and Bearbs) piled into the car, picked up Subway and McDonalds for dinner, and ventured around Livermore and Pleasanton looking at Christmas lights. It was fun to sit and listen to the banter as it emanated from the back seat; to hear them relating to one another as teens (and a young adult) is a blessing, even if I only understand about half of what they're saying.

Finally, we closed out the day's events with a viewing of The Santa Clause 3 over gingerbread cookies.

I know that not everyone has the time or the family makeup to have days like this one, so I am grateful to God that I do. This life is far from perfect --I miss my Logan more than usual this time of year-- but days spent sharing traditional activities with Adam and Abby and Isaac and Brady make it much sweeter than it would otherwise be.