December Update

Feels like time to blog again. Things are going swimmingly. I finished and turned in my final final paper todat at 6:33 pm. I am officially done with school work indefinitely. To celebrate I went to sconecutters and got dinner and a peanut butter cup shake then watched "A Christmas Story" and went to bed early! Unfortunately, now it's 12:45 and I'm wide awake and have heartburn, but it was worth it. In other news, I finished watching all 11 seasons of MASH again. I just absolutely love that show and it amazes me how touching it can be sometimes, and I'll just sit at work listening to it and have tears roll down my cheeks, that's how good it is.
I have been reading a lot of conference talks lately, just from this last conference. There are so many great talks. One thing I have found in a lot of the talks is the idea that "things like this are common in the church." They're talking about revelation, or feeling the spirit, or those cool stories Pres. Monson always tells about being in the right place at the right time to bless someone's life. There were several great talks on following the spirit and the love and law of God. One talk from the priesthood session really stuck out to me. It was the first one by Elder Ballard about fathers and sons. It was awesome to be sitting with dad and it made me realize how awesome dad is. I don't know the exact number but I was realizing that for most of my life dad has been in some leadership calling or another. I don't think I've ever heard him complain about church service, he just humbly does his duty. You are all aware that I've done a lot of stupid things and dad was the bishop I got to confess things to before my mission and he never showed an ounce of anything but love and concern. There was another talk in the priesthood session about being ready when the calls comes, by Pres. Eyring. Dad has always been that example for me. Whenever, whomever, wherever... doesn't matter, he'll be there if he can to help. So, thanks dad for your amazing example, for your years of sacrifice and service.
Well I guess that will be all for now. I hope everyone is taking the time to find areas for growth in our lives whether it's building new relationships or strenghtening old ones, or just coming to know the savior better, I hope we're all working on something. I don't know what life will bring the next couple months, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm hopeful for the future and I'm hopeful for your futures. Our family has really grown the last couple years, matured. I was noticing at Sunday dinner that I can't imagine a better family, that 20 people can get together and not have any fights or serious contention and could sing carols and hymns together. I just can't imagine a happier time. So thank you all for helping make this Christmas season memorable already. Know that I pray for you individually and sincerely care for each of you. Merry Christmas.

Open invitation

Hey all, it's time for another poetry topic. This time it's going to be open to everyone with no contest or voting. The theme is simply Christmas, so whatever Christmas means to you, or should me, or used to mean etc. And, (I love starting sentences with and) just post them in your own blogs as soon as you get them written so that we can all read them throughout the season. I would encourage the kids to write one as well, or if they don't want to write a poem poem then have them draw a picture or tell you a story or whatever you would like to do, heck, they're your kids. I think this will be a fun one, I don't think I've ever written about Christmas, or really ever even thought about what Christmas means to me. Good luck, I'm anxious to see what we all can come up with. Don't be afraid to write, to stretch yourself a little bit. Take your time if you need to, start with some basic ideas, like a lump of clay, and then slow mold it into what you would like to say. I've written a lot of cigarette ash trays in my life, but every now and then a bowl or a vase will appear so you just never know. Write two or three, submit them all. Maybe we'll make a book out of all of them eventually. What are you still reading this for? Go write!!