Well, another Christmas has come and gone. This was the best one in a long time. Nothing major made it so special, just a bunch of smaller things. First off, our 19 yo son stuck around and hung out with us a lot more than usual, possibly because 2 of his buddies lost their moms in the past month--I think it really hit him. So sad, these boys are so young to deal with that. It made dh and I very happy to have him around a lot more though. Second, although money is still pretty tight this Christmas wasn't as frugal as ours have normally been. We were able to buy the kids many things that they wanted and needed. It was wonderful to see their faces when they saw the piles of gifts this morning--still small by most standards but a bonanza to them. And finally, we were able to spend more time with family this year. We spent Christmas Eve at dh's mom's with about 40 others, and today at my sister's, with our family & her dh's family. Good people, good food, good times had by all.
Tomorrow we will attend the funeral of dh's 86 yo uncle. We will miss him do much. It was hard to lose him just a few days before Christmas, but we will celebrate his life. Uncle Mikey was the kindest, most gentle, generous, and joyful person you could ever meet. I'm blessed to have known him for 25 years.