Christmas 2012 was held at our house this year.  We had the majority of our immediate family.  We were missing one of my sisters and her husband plus Linda’s sister and her family.  Otherwise, both sets of parents and the Lynette’s family spent the holiday with us.

I worked the ER for the 3 days leading up to Christmas and was pretty much spent by the time I came home to enjoy time with the family.  However, we enjoyed hours of conversation each night.

Christmas morning was originally going to have the Catholic side at Mass and the Baptist side at one of the local Baptist churches.  However, with Linda playing organ, me singing, and both girls playing flute or violin, the Baptists arrived like a Christmas miracle and filed into the pew with Linda’s parents.  I couldn’t think of a more beautiful way to spend Christmas morning at church – looking out at my whole family in one pew while I was leading all of the Christmas hymns and singing Panis Angelicus was priceless.

After Mass, the kids could wait no longer and we then opened gifts.  What a wonderful time that was.

Dinner was prepared by Linda with some dishes provided by both mothers and Lynette.  The food was fabulous and the cookie extravaganza was over-the-top.  How Linda outdoes herself each year with cookies, we’ll never know.

The day finally ended with a visit from my childhood best friend, Lynn, with his wife and two kids. What a great visit that was – as it’s been nearly 4 years since we last saw each other.  What a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.  God truly blesses us!