We missed Christmas and all the celebrations because of COVID and have been awaiting the day when we could get together with the family. We left all our decorations up in the house in anticipation of that time. One brother flew in for a visit this weekend, so we took advantage of the opportunity. The rest of the family who lives close came over. We started with Christmas dinner. It was a great idea to purchase a fully prepared meal that required minimal attention and was delicious. After dinner we got my other brother, nephew, and his wife on Zoom and opened presents. My mom and I purchased pajama pants for everyone. My mom also had the idea of giving my dad’s cufflinks to the guys. That was a beautiful sentiment. People wrote memories about my dad and put them in his stocking. When my mom is ready, she will read them and keep them away to look at again. After our Christmas, we counted down and toasted to the new year. Then we celebrated both of my sisters’ birthdays. My daughter in law made another of her amazing cakes and my brother got some balloons that had confetti in them. It was super fun when my sisters popped them and colored paper flew everywhere. My sister made heart shaped and lip shaped cookies, so we celebrated Valentine’s day as well. It was a lot of fun and a lot of celebration in one afternoon. Most of all, it was wonderful to get together with the family and laugh, cry, hug, and catch up.

I Found God today celebrating as much as we could with the family.