As I sat closely snuggled up to my daughter on a couch in our family room once the last person left our home after Christmas, unfortunately and embarrassingly, I didn't feel contentment. Not a single drop of joy or fulfillment. Instead of smiling and thinking over the many memories made in the last week while our home was stuffed wall-to-wall with people, food, and beautiful gifts, and the air was filled with laughter, rather loud singing by an ecstatic 7-yr-old with a brand new karaoke machine and mic stand, and giggles from a joyful 3-yr-old discovering all of his new gifts, I was left feeling really, really lonely. My heart ached because I knew the little girl nestled next to me was feeling the exact same way. We missed family.     A few short hours earlier I was catching up on emails from my brand new mac mini that my awesome hubby gave me, but could hardly dig through the shopping emails retailers were pumping out quicker than Krispy Kreme does with hot and ready donuts