December 2013

This was such a fun month for our family.  December normally feels hectic because I’m so good at overscheduling things, but this year I feel that I finally struck the right balance.  Last year I wrote a note to myself saying exactly what to do and what not to, and I followed it pretty well.

First thing I did: I waited till the first weekend in December to put the Christmas tree up.  In the past I put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and by the time Christmas came, I was so sick of looking at it.

I got most of my present shopping done in November.  So December was just a matter of mailing and wrapping.

Emma and I made cards and it became a fun little activity for the both of us.  I didn’t get cards out to all of my friends, but I did get most of my family and most of my friends that live in other states.

We participated in meaningful activities, some more meaningful than others.

First meaningful activity: Emma had her first dance recital and it was adorable! Thankfully the whole program was only an hour long.

We listened to the First Presidency Christmas message.   And went to the Festival of Nativities in Bellevue.  I was in charge of the music at our ward’s live nativity and sang in it with a friend.  We went to our ward’s Christmas brunch and the Primary children reenacted the nativity while singing a song a woman in our ward wrote. This is a picture from the Festival of Nativities in Bellevue.  Emma did not want to dress up as the angel.

Ben took me to listen to the Bellevue Chamber Chorus where they performed Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, several Renaissance pieces, a Peruvian carol, a Spanish carol, and a Swedish carol.  Music definitely makes the season for me, and our local classical radio station King FM played Christmas music nonstop.

We managed to take a family Christmas photo.

We had a quiet dinner at home on Christmas Eve.

And Christmas morning, we talked to my sister Lauren in Cape Verde via Skype for 3 hours.  Then we went downstairs and opened presents.

The day after Christmas we met with my brother’s family at a bouncy house for the girls to run around.

Earlier in the month, Emma and I went to see a version of the Nutcracker that was cut to an hour.  An hour was perfect.  We took Emma to listen to the Seattle Symphony play the soundtrack to the The Snowman while showing the movie.  The movie is silent but at the Symphony they had a narrator.  I think they could have done without the narrator and let us listen to the music.  And they had another holiday concert for children that Emma enjoyed.

But the real magic of Christmas came to me while I was focusing on the Savior’s birth and what it means for all of us.  I’m so thankful for this year, that we are all relatively healthy, that we live in a safe town, and Ben has a good job.  I’m thankful for my home and that we’ve been safe on the roads and as we have traveled.  I’m thankful for all of my family, and for the Savior.  I’m grateful for my testimony of the restored gospel and of a Heavenly Father who loves us and has a plan for us.  I’m thankful for the Plan of Salvation and that we are here on earth to experience disappointments and joy, and to grow through them.  I hope all of my friends have a great 2014!