Holiday visits

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the time spent with family and friends. Although we could see many of these people nearly any time as our immediate family and close friends are all located within 5-6 hours of our home, the reality is that life often gets in the way of that. Sometimes, weeks or months pass between visits despite the best of intents to see each other often.

Christmas (and then the time afterwards when kids are home from school and family is often in town) often enables us to catch up and spend time with the people who matter most in our lives. We spent Christmas day with my parents and my brother's family. We were also blessed with other visitors throughout the holiday season.

For the second straight year, Mike's brother stopped by our home for an overnight visit on his drive between Minneapolis and Denver. He helped the kids put together their gingerbread houses and challenged all of them to games of chess. (All three kids are part of their school's chess club. They love it!)

We have very good friends who live just a half hour away, and yet we struggle to get together as often as we'd like. (Mike and I have known them for a very long time. Jenny and I met in grade school and became good friends in junior high while Mike met Brian in college. Mike and I actually met at their wedding!) In December, we were able to get together twice.

First Mike and the boys went to dinner and a Creighton basketball game with them right before Christmas. (K and I had to back out at the last minute because she got sick.)

Then we had them over for dinner one night after Christmas.

One of my favorite visits during Christmas was getting to see my grandpa's brother. Jerry recently moved back to Iowa following the death of his wife, and he was able to come over for a meal at my mom's house the day after Christmas. I was very close to my grandpa, who passed away when I was a senior in college. I've always been sad that Mike and the kids were not able to know him at all. Jerry reminds me so much of him, and it was a great treat to be able to talk to him and have the kids meet him this year.

My favorite photo from the holidays is this picture of my family on Christmas morning:

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Visit The Long Road to China for Favorite Photo Friday.