twas the week before christmas

and all through the house, every christin was stirring and shaking the boughs
the stockings were hung on the banister with care with presents appearing everyday without spare

creativity end.

my "christmas break" is here, off and running!
kids and christmas makes my life so happy, have i mentioned i love my job?! its been a major theme of all my delights of the week. helping kids be able to say things like "santa, christmas, lights, and four-wheelers" has been such a delight. i mean honestly, what can be better than helping a child learn how to say (intelligibly) what they want for christmas to santa and have santa finally understand! yep. its that awesome! a few delights from the week before christmas are as follows:

• i delight in thoughtful, kind co-workers who teach me so much and are ever so kind
• i delight in having my best friend in town and 8:30 am gatherings. 5 months apart is too many!
• i delight in finally being able to make 'the wilton rose'...ah ah!!!
• i delight in happy happy children!
• i delight in christin, without whom this time of the year would be less exciting
• i delight in the christ child whom this season is all about
• i delight in christmas lights and how they make me feel little all over again
• i delight in christmases past, particularly the christmases i spent as a missionary that bring such happy memories to mind
• i delight  in lunch with friends who i don't get to see enough
• i delight in a friend who can play my favorite song on the piano and let me sing it again and again and again
• i delight in my christmas tree and the history of its ornaments
• i delight in the anticipation of a new year and the memories of the past
• i delight in meeting up with a good friend and having one of those heart to heart chats 
• i delight in seeing the excitement of my cousin's children over dollar christmas trees, paleontology kits and soccer balls
• i delight in hearing lb sing christmas songs off key like they're on key
• i delight in a hazelnut carmel steamer
• i delight in craig being excited over the presents that keep appearing in the stockings
• i delight in sleep
• i delight in socks
• i delight in making plans, big plans for the new year
• i delight in the christmas season!

theme of the week: collecting lessons

delights of the week

• hearing the words "well done" at the perfect moment
• being entertained by the 'couple' in my cake decorating class--i guess its one way you can develop talents together
• seeing temple square from a new view and wandering city creek with my dad
• loving my ward and singing to some of my favorite older people
• breaking out all the winter gear--from the thermals, gloves, and wool socks to the scarves, canada boots and pea coats
• setting up my christmas decorations
• coming home to a clean and bright room
• the last class of institute for the semester. i'm so grateful i've made it a priority this semester.
• a trip to the salt lake temple and a wander around temple square (pansies, christmas lights and all), as well as a stroll through the church history museum
• reading lots and lots of out of the book of mormon everyday to meet my year end challenge 
• getting christmas cards in the mail
• talking on the phone to an old roommate and good friend
• leaving work at a descent time
• laminator
• taking time snuggle with my sissy, loving that she finally used the word "instead" correctly (now if we could only get down 'without' and 'except'), laughing every time she uses the word "amazing" when looking at christmas lights
• christin maintaining her 80-90% success rate in guessing the gender of people's babies
• using fondant, something i don't plan on doing again--at least for the time being
• seeing the family christmas card in print--beautiful!
• eating the best philly cheese steak of my life and loving that it is two blocks from where i work
• love love loved a million tiny but fantastic things my kiddos did this week--they're so awesome!
• getting all my christmas shopping/crafting/etc for my family all done! (except the buttons and buttonhole--pics to come)
• being inspired during fast and testimony meeting
• having the best research group ever
• getting a new electric blanket after the old one died
• my ipad, i love what it allows me to provide for my kiddos
• eating ice cream and looking at christmas lights
• listening to the best mormon tabernacle christmas concert ever--sing choirs of angels...love brian stokes mitchell--over and over and over again
• making delicious soup for my family for dinner

its been a pretty delightful week. i love christmas. maybe i love it even a little bit more this year, if that is possible? one of the things i am most grateful for this time of year is the opportunity i had to spend two christmases away as a missionary. it makes christmas mean something a bit more. i wouldn't trade those years and those experiences for anything--ever, but it does make me ever so grateful to spend the holidays with family. the song is right...there is no place like home for the holidays.

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lessons of the week

what are you building when only god sees? 

"we all need to choose to act in the right role at the right time" 

hearing "well done" at the end of a long day, it should be the goal everyday