A Year In Review

Tonight I went on a date with my best friend Kristen. She and I have been friends since my sophomore year in high school. Every time I come home, she and I go on a "date" to Baskin Robbins and we catch-up with each other. As I thought about our date last year, I realized how much has changed in my life this past year. On our date a year ago, she strongly encouraged me to move out of the place I'd lived for about 6 years or so. I told her I'd think about it. Little did I know that I really would and that conversation would lead to some major changes in my life in a very short time period.

It's hard to believe that I've only been living with my grandma for 8 months. It feels like SO MUCH LONGER! So much has happened....

As soon as I walked into my apartment door when I returned from Christmas break, I knew I needed to move out. Very soon after that, my mom called to tell me my grandma was in the hospital with congested heart failure. It was at that moment I knew where I was to move. It wasn't easy for me to make the move for MANY reasons, but I know that it was the right thing to do not only for my grandma's sake, but for mine as well. It has been VERY difficult, but I've learned so much about myself and my life. It also has been a great blessing for me, in more ways than I can enumerate.

I moved in with my grandma in April. Shortly after I moved in, part of the basement flooded and my grandma got a pacemaker put in. We had lots of visitors come and stay with us throughout the summer, mostly family coming to visit grandma, which was good for her. In June, my ward got organized into a Young Single Adult stake, which has greatly improved the ward and my opportunities of making friends and enjoyable moments here. It keeps getting better and better in that regard. In July, I was in the Nauvoo Pageant for two weeks--some of the best two weeks of my life thus far! Work wise, I started out the year in Provo going house to house in the Homebase program of Head Start and then in August I was moved to the Pleasant Grove center in the regular classroom program. It's nice to live only about two and a half miles from work!!

It may not seem like much to anyone else, but as I look back, it's amazing how far I've come this year and I hope that many great things will happen this coming year. My main goal this year is to truly use my savings account as a savings account that I don't touch except for emergencies. I want to begin saving money so that in 4-5 years I can put a down-payment on my own house. That's the plan anyway.

I Believe in Santa Claus

Today we had a really great Relief Society lesson on the symbols of Christmas where the teacher read some children books and had us look up scriptures and talk about the different symbols we see all around us at Christmas time. Before she started reading "I Believe in Santa Claus," she asked us if we all believed in Santa. I said yes, but I thought why I did for the rest of the lesson. I do believe in Santa and I will try to explain why, although I pretty sure what I'm thinking won't quite translate into words exactly.

To preface this, I'm not writing all this to boast or whatever, I just want to share an experience that has helped me gain a better understanding of what Christmas is really all about.

This past week I had the opportunity to deliver presents to a family who otherwise would not have been able to provide Christmas for their children this year. It was a tender moment to step into their house and give them two big bags of things that their children needed and wanted for Christmas- clothes, books, and toys. It was a humbling experience that I won't soon forget and hope to repeat next year. They kept telling me that I was their angel. They gave me a loaf of apple bread and a card. Part of the card said, "We want to sincerely thank you for your generosity in this time of need. Without your help, my children would not have received gifts. You are our Santa Claus in this Christmas."

Later, I was watching a Christmas movie when I started to wonder where all the letters to Santa actually go each year. So, I googled it and learned that in 1912 someone in the postal service started an organization called "Operation Santa Claus." Basically, when a letter doesn't have a complete address to Alaska or it just says North Pole on it, the letters are sorted out for "Operation Santa Claus." Postal employees open the letters and sort out the ones who are in most need. Then, people can come to the post office and look through letters and choose up to 10 letters to "answer" by buying gifts and then taking them to the post office to have them sent. Not all post offices do it, but I thought it was incredible that people could and would do that!

So, when the teacher asked if I believed in Santa, I said Yes. I said yes because there are Santas all over who are willing to give a little of what they have to answer the prayers and needs and wants of other people in need. I had the opportunity to be Santa this year and it was the best feeling in the world. Isn't that the spirit of Christmas?

I know not many actually read my blog, but I want to challenge those who do to be a Santa for someone this Christmas. It doesn't have to be answering a "Dear Santa" letter or "Sub for Santa" thing. People are in need all around us, in fact, I bet you live with at least one person who qualifies. Do something for them.

Simple things...

1. Going to temple square and bearing testimony to a friend of the Atonement as we looked at the Christus statue.
2. Laughing and hanging out with friends.
3. Watching Christmas lights that are synchronized to music.
4. Providing Christmas for a family in need.
5. Gift card from work.
6. Teaching, loving, and caring for, being hugged by and playing with sweet little children
7. Things to look forward to
8. Showers
9. Snow that doesn't stick to the ground for very long.
10. Watching the Christmas classics.

'Tis The Season

The Christmas season is FINALLY here and I'm loving it! Here are pictures from my recent adventures:

First snow, and with the warm weather, we still have roses!

Mom's Christmas village with new Hogwarts Express!

Friends in PG and I all went to Temple Square to see the lights. Had a little adventure taking the Trax to get there, but it was tons for fun for all of us.

My Christmas village!

Birthday party with all my friends

My home teacher and I hosted at the Festival of Trees and had a blast.

Tangled gingerbread house, incredible!

Weasley House

Class pets Ozzy and Teddy. They laid eggs and the first one hatched on my birthday!

Phase 6 Complete

My brother emailed the pictures of phase 5 of Christmas decorating being completed, which was garland on the fence of our house. So, that make finally putting up my Christmas village phase 6! It looks really great this year all lit up! I haven't lit my village houses in years! I just noticed all the exclamation points I've used and thought to change them, but I'm actually that excited about this! Okay, I'll stop... maybe. I will post pictures of my village on here soon!

I'm excited that tonight in just a few minutes I'm going to see the lights on Temple Square with some friends in my ward.

On Monday it's my birthday! I'm super excited to show my friends my village and decorations downstairs. Not many people actually come to my place, so it's usually just me that gets to enjoy them. Having cheesecake, Martinelli's, and grasshopper mint cookies... Mmmmm....

Today I also went shopping for my Sub for Santa family. I am grateful I can make Christmas happen for at least a couple kids this year. It's my first time doing it, so it's kind of fun and interesting.

Time to end this random post and go to Temple Square!