Merry Christmas!

As I write this on Christmas Eve, I cannot help but think of the fun and joy we'll have tonight and tomorrow with our families and friends.

I'm grateful that both Sam's family and mine put special importance on being together whenever the opportunity arises, but especially at the holidays.

We'll host our Christmas Eve open house tonight, and tomorrow will have brunch with my family and dinner with Sam's. It will be hectic, loud (in some places - lol), fun and joyous. I hope you will have the same!

Even though we need no reminding, here are some quotes about family and friends - and why they're so important.

“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.” ~ Desmond Tutu

“The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.” ~ Kendall Hailey

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.” ~ Richard Bach

"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." ~ Robert Frost

“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” ~ Edna Buchanan

"The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing." ~ Unknown

"A family in harmony will prosper in everything." ~ Chinese proverb

"Family is the most important thing in the world." ~ Princess Diana