Our Christmas

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ”  

― Norman Vincent Peale

1. Christmas Eve with Patricio's entire family on his dad's side, which consists of Abuelito and Abuelita (grandparents), seven aunts and uncles, and a whole gaggle of cousins (six of which are Patricio's siblings). It's quite an affair.

Maybe it's just the time of year - all that warm and fuzziness in regards to loved ones - but it really hit me as I was going through these photos that this is my family. Even before Patricio and I were dating I was always warmly welcomed to dinners and met with love by all. In a family where family means everything, it means a lot to feel accepted as one of their own without question or reservation.






2. Christmas morning with just us and the cats, opening presents on the couch. Then brunch with Patricio's dad and siblings, where we enjoyed watching Sacha and Nathan's little monster, Dash, play in the yard in the snow (video here).






3. While the Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day brunch are a yearly tradition with Patricio's family, my family varies their activities year to year. But this year was significant because we spent it with my Uncle Robin (dad's brother, and my namesake) and his family (it was quite a shock to see that my cousins are now nearly teenagers). My grandmother passed away last month, and I think that it instilled this urgency to spend time with loved ones.

I might sound like a broken record, but how special is Christmas to bring such distant hearts together again?

4. We drove home in poor weather and caught the last showing of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (which was not as great as I hoped, but still a special way to end it all).

This Christmas really was a great one. If you've made it this far, I leave you with this particularly magical moment by the tree, brought to you by Sacha: