Behind on Posts!

There's a lot I could write about, and I feel like writing tonight. I thought I would at least say that I'm still alive. How was your Christmas? :) Oh, Shboogoo turned 13 months old on Christmas Eve and she can walk FAST! Her first two teeth came in on December 15th. D and I still need to search through our camera cards to see if we can find pictures of her birthday party. Although we did watch the videos of that day, we haven't posted any pictures on our flickr site.

This has been kind of a crazy December for our family. We haven't written a Christmas letter yet but have appreciated receiving some letters and cards. D took his last final on Dec. 14; he had tough classes and we're glad he gets a break [only 5 and half years of schooling left!]. Since then he has been closing most nights at the pizza place (he's a driver), getting home around 2 am instead of 9 or 10 pm. Other crazy or busy things:

• D's mom got hurt at work; she has to lie down most of the time and didn't receive a Christmas bonus.
  
• My little sister is getting married January 11 and I still need to help with one of her bridal showers and find a mauve dress for myself. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good and exciting thing! She found the perfect guy for her.
  
• Two of our close friends (two families) are moving really far away. We're going to miss you!
  
• For Christmas we drove around to see our 4 households of parents and then had to backtrack a bit. We managed to leave my phone at Mom's, D's jeans in the dryer at other Mom's, and ham in the fridge at Dad's!
• I used a confusing recipe tonight and got a little sick from eating a few bites of it because the beef wasn't fully cooked. I was supposed to brown it before baking the whole thing. Fortunately I was the only one who tried it. I am not the best cook, but I'm learning.
  

I've really enjoyed reading and pondering, during the last few days, some of the prophecies in the Book of Mormon about Christ's birth -- some from the index under Jesus Christ, First Coming of. I love 1 Nephi 11, Mosiah 3, and Helaman 14. The gospel is true, and that's why Christmas is special to me. "Jesus is the reason for the season." These are lyrics to one of my favorite songs about Him:

One Star
(Cherie Call)

One star, one manger,
One child, one tiny little life
So meek in the arms of His mother,
Could this be our Savior from evil and strife
One soul in a stable,
With the beasts He created with His hands
Now sleeps in the hay and dreams of one plan

Five loaves, two fishes,
Five thousand hungry people fed
Two hands, one voice,
To make the blind to see and to raise the dead
One life selflessly given,
Bruised and torn in the hands of angry men
Every nation redeemed by one man

We like sheep have all gone astray
We’ve turned every one to his own way
And He like a lamb was the sacrifice
So we can return to our Father someday

Every land, every nation
Every rock, every leaf on every tree
Trembles to know the name of their creator
Spirits numbered as the sands of the sea
One voice, when you lift it,
Reaches onward, travels far
Let it ring on the wind as it speaks of one star

Temple Square Lights and Music

On the Prophet Joseph Smith's 202nd birthday, we took Shboogoo to Temple Square for the first time! We also were with our friends Julie and Alex and their 2-year-old girl. It was definitely worth braving the cold! Our pictures with people in them (unposed only) didn't turn out well at all, but I like these two a lot; D was the photographer.



The back of the Christmas on Temple Square booklet says this:

More than any other season of the year, Christmas inspires glorious music. Something inside each of us resonates to the promise of joy and peace embodied in the babe of Bethlehem, the infant Savior born to be our King. Words alone cannot adequately express our wonder, awe, and gratitude. Hearts too full for speech find their truest expression in the carols, hymns, and joyous songs of Christmas. Whether you have come to Temple Square this Christmas to perform or to listen--or both--may the music you hear and the sights you see in this historic setting bring you closer to our Savior Jesus Christ, "Him whose birth the angels sing."

I agree with all of that. We didn't get to see any of the Christmas on Temple Square performances, but later I read through the printed schedule anyway. There were school and institute choirs listed that I used to belong to, as well as directors I met for other reasons. I remembered gratefully the musical (particularly choir) experiences I have had. Music is very important and powerful.

Tagged

Sarah and Camille both tagged me. For now I will do Camille's, because it's shorter! Here are six things about me that you might not know.

1. I (honestly) like to do the dishes. It's probably my favorite chore, which is good because it needs to be done pretty much every day. I think it became my favorite during the 2001-2002 year at college when I had a part-time job as a dishwasher.

2. I love to run. Love it. I jogged outside today for a little bit. Running is one of those things that can be hard to start doing, and the first 2 or 3 minutes of the run are the hardest. In junior high and high school I really didn't like having to run in gym and once had redo it to make the time limit. But after high school, beginning with my friend Laura F's motivation, I have exercised more. For me, running gets more fun the more I do it. The furthest I have gone is 4 miles. I want to train for a half-marathon in the near future.

3. I don't mind going the dentist. I have been going to the same one my whole life. The clean-teeth feeling is wonderful. Fortunately my teeth have good enamel and I have not had a cavity since I was 8. (Maybe this one's kind of boring, but I have to come up with 6 things.)

4. I always thought 21 or 22 would be a good age for me to get married. And I guess I was right. I ended up marrying at 22 and a half. I love being married to D.

5. I like the fact that I have not always lived in this state. Actually, I was born in Costa Rica and then lived in Brazil before ever coming here. Sadly, I don't remember much of those places and I am not bilingual.

6. D and I quote Home Alone all year round. Sometimes it's just sparked by something said in a similar tone of voice. "The cars are still here; they didn't go to the airport." "You're not at all worried about Kevin?" My other favorite Christmas movies are Mr. Kreuger's Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas ("That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown"), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Okay, I am tagging Sarah, Jackie and "Precious".