I delight in being home for the holidays.

these folks are no longer my neighbors but i have enjoyed their decorations for EVERY holiday...they're hardcore

Well I'm playing the catch up game but the end of the story is--I'm home for Christmas and couldn't be happier. The past week has been incredible--incredibly stressful and incredibly joyful!

• I finished my last final ever. Boy does that feel good to say.
• Christin slept over at my apartment
• Went to Provo with LB, saw Grandpa and visited BYU (and Cabelas)
• Craig slept over (it was his first sleepover and boy did we have a blast! I hope we can do it again! Nothing compares to quality time with my amazing brother!
• Ate red iguana, went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert and saw the lights at temple square, drank hatch's hot chocolate AND drove around looking at Christmas lights with Mary (and we did it all while NOT discussing homework)
• Moved home
• Went to church at my Salt Lake ward where I sang in the choir and felt the spirit of Christmas so strong
• Hung out with my awesome neighbors
• Feasted with friends--always an entertaining experience
• Organized all the stuff in my life--its way too much stuff
• Did some Christmas shopping
• Watched Christmas movies
• Bowled with 'the gang'
• Organized a semester's worth of papers
• Burned a pile full of PHI info and bank documents--why is that so refreshing?

The point is, there is no place like home for the holidays. Eating meals with other people. Playing two games of Skip-bo over lunch. Praying and delighting as a family. Living in a house with heat and insulation! Finding joy watching Craig and Christin find Clyde, the family elf, every morning. Listening to the canada geese land in the back field. Playing with Ruby--worlds cutest puppy. Singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer with LB, world's cutest sis. Moving furniture around and creating a scarf rack with dear dear dad. Enjoying a trip into Sam's Club (for the first time EVER) with my big brother Craig. Watching Mom smell all the different types of perfumes Dad and I "potentially" picked out for her for Christmas. I have so much to be grateful for and so much to delight in. What have you delighted in lately?

I delight in celebrating Halloween "Christmas-style."

This is as Halloweeny as I get. And its only because its for a good cause. (Don't you LOVE how amazing the clouds are in this picture!)

I love Fall and I love the month of October. I love walking down the candy aisle at the grocery store, I love the carmel apple wraps, the pumpkins, the cornstalks, and the autumn colored peanut m&ms. I love fruit stands clearing out the summer's crop of squash, goards, pumpkins, and peppers. I love colored leaves, sweaters, scarves, blue skies, and mountains. I love trick-or-treaters and even cute costumes. But by the time Halloween night comes, all I want to do is stay home, bake something with pumpkin in it, and listen to Christmas music.

That's exactly what I did tonight. Oh and I did some homework too. Lucky me!

Happy Halloween!

I delight in November 2010.

November is one of my favorite months. Its been good to me this year and I want to share with you some brief experiences and delights I've had in this good month.

• Recognizing how complicated I make things sometimes and how unnecessary that is.
• Speak now. And say what you mean to say. Taylor and John say it best. Lots of potential issues could be resolved this way.
• One of the best decisions I made this month is the decision to step away from facebook. Its something I've thought long and hard about and its the right thing for me for right now. I say that because I want you to know that I don't think facebook is inherently bad and I don't judge anyone who uses it. For all I know the time will come when I'll come back to it but for now my choice is made. That being said, I do intend to be better at my personal communications with those I love and care about. And I do mean personal communication...letter writing is a lost art, phone calls out of the blue never go out of style and dropping by someones house needs to make a comeback.
• November taught me a thing or two about answers to prayers and how the spirit speaks to me.
• I've very much missed my mission this month because this is my first November being back in the hussle and bussel of things. I'm grateful to have a renewed perspective from those two years away of what matters in this season.
• 24...24 times in 24 hours. I've been waiting years for that.
• 18 days of being 24 with my big brother.
• I delighted a lot in my family this month. Good news from Dads doctors. Christin's cute card creation for my birthday. Craig showed me his 'secret place'--his safe spot in the church building. And Mom, bringing me a load of soup and oranges when I was sick.
• Finally eating at the long awaited Ganesh with Nat on my birthday. And running around downtown Ogden in a santa suit with her. An event I'll never forget.
• Spiritual experiences while reading the book of Isaiah.
• Sharing a great thanksgiving with my family and hearing all the things they're grateful for.
• Singing in the choir.
• Black Friday traditions.
• Snow.
• Being able to love, lift, and smile.
• Advent making with C & C.
• Amazing clinic experiences.
• And my final delight--not eating any more turkey sandwiches.