Even though I would have loved to have Matt's family entered into the crazy excitement on Christmas morning, I was so happy for them. After 3 1/2 months of being separated, they were finally together as a family. They deserved their little slice of togetherness---alone at their apartment.
Likewise, Iz deserved to spend Christmas with his family. They deserved a chance to meet baby Kate. Iz couldn't wait to spend Christmas Eve with the extended family on his mom's side. They have an annual white elephant gift exchange. Israel worked for weeks before they left recording a CD of Christmas songs entitled Izzalicious! Sarah designed the cover, and he couldn't wait for the fun to begin:
Katelyn got to meet her six first cousins on her daddy's side, and she got in on the white elephant gift exchange---she won the hat:
Christmas morning, Katelyn, Iz, and Sarah got to spend some time with Kate's "abuela" opening presents:
Among other things Katelyn got to experience her first candy cane, meet her grandfather and her great-grandmother for the first time, and experience snow for the first time! The family had to do another round of family picutres---lucky them:
Toni and Mike spent their first Christmas as a married couple in North Las Vegas with their cute Ariana. Toni is a fantastic cook, so they invited airmen friends over for dinner, who otherwise would have been alone. Warms my heart to see my kids (by birth or by marriage) doing such wonderful things for others. Ariana got to help make cookies for Santa and left him a note. Of course, she was on his nice list---she's a wonderful little girl. Hopefully, we'll get to share a Christmas with them soon.
It was a good Christmas no matter how you looked at it.
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