You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.

This year's Christmas season rushed by in a blurrrrrrr.

Party after party, gifts piling up on the desks, well-wishes via hugs and SMSes, precious moments filled with joy and love.... thank goodness for cameras to capture the memories.

Miss Santa Samantha & I @ FX Christmas party

crazy times with Henry's new camera

partayyying on the dance floor~~

So after company christmas party on Wednesday, relatives gathering for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner cum gift exchange, and hanging out with friends at ECP on Christmas day, we rounded off the Christmas fun-fare with our own little family gift exchange on Sunday evening. Just us. All 10 of us.

Priceless. <3

The mountain of gifts under the Christmas Tree was formidable. Our youngest member, Avril, signaled the start of the exchange by ripping into her gift.

Tom & Ben got cool matching OP tees from Mom!

A sweet bag for a sweet gal

WAN-HUNDRED COLOR PENS!!! From Tom! To me! *screams*

The camera was snapping non-stop as we opened gift after gift, but my die-die favorite picture of the night, after the delighted yelling from various corners of the room had died down, has to be of the six of us siblings and Amber in Dive-Junkie tees, our present to ourselves!:):):)

Christmas Day and the story behind it, that of the perfect Author of love sending a Savior to us, has been brightly glossed over by commercialism and Santa Clause, but the true spirit of Christmas-the spirit of giving in love, remains a warm glow in our hearts.

As Amy Carmichael said, "You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."

Christmas will always be one of my favorite holidays of the year.

**She had a half-day at work, ate lunch with siao bai, baked lemon meringue pie, and is heading out for the New Year countdown shortly. Life is awesome**