Family ties

This evening, my family and I received an invitation to spend Christmas Eve with some other families from church. Being a military family, most Christmases are spent away from our "blood" relatives, so this invitation is such a welcome and special thing for us. 2 of the families who will be there are long-time friends who have a longstanding tradition of spending Christmas Eve together. 2 of us are military families, and the other couple just moved to the area this past summer. We are really looking forward to spending the evening with all of these people who are part of our larger family. And now I have even more incentive to get all of the presents wrapped before Christmas Eve night!