It is the day after Christmas. Many will start to celebrate the New Year, some will await the summer, and others will begin counting down the days until the next Christmas. And while summer is my favorite season, and although I am excited for the New Year to commence--I’m not done with Christmas quite yet. It’s not the Christmas music, eating sweets, not having school or even the gifts that I wish would last longer, but the time that I have with my family.

You see, my siblings and I are getting to the point in our lives where childhood comes to an end, and our adult lives begin. I know we will always be there for each other, but that doesn’t mean life can't get in the way at times. As adults, we start new adventures; we make big decisions, and we continue to grow.

So right now, Christmas is the perfect time for us to spend together.

I love decorating our home with homemade paper chains and snowflakes. I love that for the past few years we have gone to the theaters to see a movie before Christmas. I love that we spend hours watching our favorite movies. I love that we have dance parties. I love that we gather around to sing and listen to music. I love that we make new traditions every year. Lastly, I love that no matter what it going on in our busy lives, we make time to be with each other.

My oldest sister is married now and she has new family to spend the holidays with, my older brother will be leaving home for six months for a missions trip, my youngest sister is going to be a senior in high school and will be heading off for college soon, my younger brother is the tallest of us all, and I am on the path to becoming a teacher.

It is crazy how time flys.

My family means the world to me. Not only because they put up with me, but because they are my best friends; they are not afraid to be weird; they are honest; they make me laugh; they are patient with me; they support me; they make me cry; they encourage me; they challenge me daily; and they bring so much joy to my life. It doesn’t matter if we don’t always see eye to eye because for now and into eternity, my family will always have a special place in my heart.

This Christmas I not only want to celebrate the gift that God has given us all; his son, but I want to celebrate the gift that he has personally given to me: my family. I don’t know how I got to be so lucky, but I do know that things do happen for a reason. What a blessing it is, that for some reason... God gave me the family that I have.

Merry Chrismas.