With baby Kimble’s surgery a success, the cousins have gone to spend the holidays in Seattle with their parents, leaving the rest of us without our sweet buddies for Christmas.  So we had a pre-Christmas party before they left, with a kid gift exchange (and some from the aunties and grandparents, too, of course… and the knitted hats pictured above were made by me), tree decorating, caroling and dessert-eating.  With Matt being gone and the rest of the family all currently in a state of one crisis or another, this Christmas is a strange one to be sure.  But the kids are so looking forward to opening their gifts, and I am thankful that we can enjoy this time with our extended family this year.  I hope your holiday is a happy one.