Since my sister's graduation from nursing school fell in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my family decided that it made the most sense to celebrate Christmas early while everyone was on the West Coast anyway. After all, it isn't the calendar day that really matters but the time spent with family.

This Christmas time with my family was especially special because it marked the first holiday for my sister and her new husband in their new home. She put up a Christmas tree and put up stockings on their fireplace and everything looked so nice.

My sister proudly whipped up homemade sugar cookies in her kitchen and was eager to host turkey dinner.

I remember how excited I was when my family came to visit my then-husband and I in our new home. Those days now seem so long ago.

It was nice because my grandparents live near my sister and they were able to share the holidays with us. My grandmother has been battling health ailments and is no longer able to travel long distances, so it was so nice having them there.

My cousin, who is only six months older than me, and her husband also stopped by with their little one-year-old boy. It was good to see them and I forced myself to push aside any feelings of envy. I'm so glad to see my cousin happy, but we'd always imagined that we would be married around the same time and that our children would grow up together — almost like siblings — like her and I had growing up. As I've learned, there are some things that you just can't plan.

Overall, it was a great time spent with family.