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