I love this time of year for celebrating God's great gift with family.  Growing up we had big & loud family gatherings, and even as a young child I anticipated the fellowship of the gatherings more than any gift. It's that time again, and my family was gathering for Christmas celebration at my brother's home.  The problem is, his house is about 5000 miles away!  The blessing is that some of the family that I gather with as a kid, is now also far from their roots, but close to us.  So the family still gathered on the same day, in two smaller groups with a wide gap in time & location.  The gratitude towards God and love to one another is the same, one that I hope I can pass on to my kids as well.