Read it!

We read it for our book club.. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end. Seriously. And yes, the title is really that long.

Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store

I found this excellent FREE book to download. It's all about the true meaning of Christmas, with President Hunter's 22 things to do this Christmas. I'm in the process of reading it..

John Hilton writes, "This past year I wrote a book about how to get more of the true meaning of Christmas in our lives. It didn’t make it in print for this season, but Deseret Book has graciously made a free electronic copy of this available here. They are requiring site registration, but it will be available through Christmas.

Mary's Christmas

For some reason today, I let lots of little things get me stressed and upset. So after a little bit of cleaning and when the baby stopped crying and went to sleep, I sat down and read an article out of the Ensign. It wasn't anything particularly special, just soothing. I got to ponder for a minute and remembered what I'd been thinking about a few days earlier--about Mary.

I've always thought about Mary especially during Christmastime, I guess because I'm a woman and I like to think about how she felt during this special time. She was young, probably younger than me, engaged to a good man who could have left her, living meagerly, heavy with child and traveling on a donkey(!!), gave birth in a stable without doctors or medication (well, that part I can understand now), and told by an angel that her child would be the Savior. Of all these things, the last thing would intimidate me the most. We're told Mary was a 'chosen vessel' and 'highly favored of God.' To me, she must have been as perfect as a woman could be to be the mother of Christ.

I'm grateful for the chance to be a mother this Christmastime to my own special angel. I know all woman have the innate ability to be nurturers and 'mothers' even without children. I'm grateful for my own mother who nurtured and taught me well. The other day while changing Sarah's diaper and clothes, I thought I wonder if Sarah will ever remember this and realize how much I do for her...and then, the humbling thought came in response, Wow, my mom did the same thing for me. How can I ever thank her enough? So one of my goals this Christmas is to follow the examples of love and charity..from Mary, to my mother, to the Savior himself. That's what Christmas is all about.

To be home

We had a great time in Utah be it is so wonderful to be back home. Sarah is eating squash! and loving it..we're also trying to 'cry to sleep' method with her.. it's hit and miss at the moment. I was itching to decorate for Christmas too. I'm excited to see the rest of my family for Christmas in a few weeks.. but until then, we're just glad to be home.

PS: I've been trying to recreate my blog friends list but for one reason or another..I'm having trouble getting to your sites.. if you could post your blog site for me, that would help a ton! Thanks

Temple Square Lights

We went down to Temple Square on Black Friday to see the lights. I forgot how much I loved seeing them! They have MILLIONS of lights and a nativity set up around the temple. This is the tree in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Sarah fell asleep..so adorable!