December 24

During our at-home years, Christmas Eve always includes a trip to Adam's parents' house to celebrate. There's a good meal and time to chat and gift-opening. And for the past several years, there's been an incarnation of this photo taken:

The kiddos had fun playing with their younger cousins and there were plenty of amusing moments as the afternoon progressed, from the trio of ugly Christmas sweaters Adam's mom gifted Adam, his dad, and his brother (which they immediately tried on, being the excellent sports they are) to my brand new Boston Red Sox tree ornament. (For the record, I greatly dislike the Red Sox, but Adam's mom inadvertently transposed the Red Sox and the Orioles (since they're "both teams back east"). I don't even care -- I know that I'll laugh every time I look at that ornament, and that's a very good thing).

Family is far from perfect, but it's a blessing anyway.