Christmas Newsletter

Here is our Christmas newsletter! (Click on it for a larger image.) Update on our trip to Wisconsin coming soon. Have a very Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Activities

A little update on what we've been doing in December:

1. We went to the mall a couple weeks ago, and I got an early Christmas present. There was this dress at Romy that I'd been eyeing for months. My mother-in-law offered to buy it for me last month, but I turned her down since it wasn't a need and she had already helped us out so much. When Justin and I went, I decided to see if the dress was still there to show Justin something I wanted for Christmas. It was on sale for $7.99! Definitely a tender mercy. Of course, I bought it.


We also saw these cute puppies spooning together! Awwww! And I got my engagement ring fixed for free. We went to that same jewelry repair shop a few weeks ago and got completely ignored. I decided we should try again. I asked the guy how much it would cost to get my ring fixed: it's had a loose prong for a long time. Another jewelry store had told me $15 and a week. This guy took it from me and got it fixed in a few minutes for free! Another tender mercy.


2. Our ward had a Christmas party last Saturday. We had a huge potluck dinner with lots of great food that went fast. Our bishop compared and contrasted Santa and Christ, the Primary kids sang some songs that few people listened to (I was a little upset), and then we left when Santa was coming. During the dinner, we sat by a family that is investigating the Church. They are moving, so I hope they like their new ward and get baptized.

3. The next day our stake had a community Christmas concert at the stake center. I was unaware of how they selected the musicians, because if I had known of auditions or requests, I would have done a flute duet or something. It was a beautiful, reverent concert. It made me miss the huge one my home stake does every year at the Escondido Center for the Arts. I did a flute trio for that when I was 17.

4. On Monday we saw the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple for FHE. It was wonderful!

We went inside the Visitor's Center and watched a short video of Christ's birth, saw an International Nativity Display, and watched all the new Church commercials. The nativity scenes were so ornate! There is such talent and beauty in every culture.

For more pictures, click here.

New Calling

Yesterday was my first day as Nursery Coordinator, and let me tell you, it's a lot more work than you think! We have to:

• find parents of crying and stinky kids (biggest challenge for me since I've been in Primary the past year and don't know anyone!)
• buy and prepare snacks
• wash sippy cups
• clean the toys (every ward takes turns, and guess whose turn it was yesterday afternoon for almost two hours? and that was with the teachers' help!)
• set up the rooms with tables and chairs
• put everything away after church
• make copies for and give supplies to teachers
• find substitutes
• update the roll lists (we have just as much turnover as a BYU ward)
• assign kids to classes
• help out teachers in any way needed

I will be busy, busy, busy every Sunday for two hours. The other coordinator, Primary first counselor, and I are meeting Wednesday morning to organize everything. And we're hoping for a third coordinator.

I don't mind this new calling at all, but I must admit that I am disappointed that I still won't be going to Sunday School or Relief Society for who knows how long.

I have now realized the real world is not BYU. At BYU I had multiple opportunites for spiritual involvement and personal development: devotionals, religion classes, service activities, religious literature and media everywhere, lots of ward and stake activities, etc. The environment is clean and uplifting, and the people are happy and strong.

Now I am basically on my own. I don't even have church to fall back on anymore for adult interaction. I didn't realize how important they were to my spirituality until they were taken away. This realization has motivated me to start doing visiting teaching again, to start my unsuccessful Mormon Light blog, and to be better about FHE, personal scripture study, and temple attendance. But I really can't wait to attend those meetings again!

Jewelry

There is something innate in a woman that draws her to beautiful jewelry. I especially love necklaces. I have a lot of plain and low-cut tops that could use some adornment, and I think I have a pretty neck (is that a weird thing to say?). I also like earrings, although my ears aren't pierced. (I want them to be, but it's not at the top of my priority list.) Rings are gorgeous, as long as there are not too many and they are not really big. The only jewelry I don't like to wear is bracelets, because they dangle uncomfortably on my wrist since my wrist is small.

The jewelry below is from an Etsy shop for which my friend is doing another giveaway. What I love about her reviews and giveaways is that I don't have to search for all this lovely jewelry. Although not everything she likes is my taste, some or at least one thing from the shop is. Here's what I like from New Fashioned Whispers:

Another reason why I like her giveaways is that blogging about them reveals my tastes and personality to my readers, who hopefully will someday include my posterity. Thanks, Ashley, for sharing great stuff on your blog!

Goodbye, Sunbeams

Yesterday was our last day teaching Sunbeams. We found out right before going to Primary. Justin's new calling is Deacon's Quorum Advisor, and I am now a nursery coordinator (not sure what that is--something about bringing the snacks). I don't know if this means I will be in nursery or if I will get to go to Sunday School and Relief Society. I'll let you know when I call to find out! Our ward isn't very good about preparing you for callings; they kind of just throw you to the lions, like they did that fateful Sunday they called us to teach Sunbeams.

Anyway, here are some funny things our kids have said and done throughout the year:

1. Jacob, the most innocent-minded kid, showed me a small circle on the paper he was coloring and said, "Look! He has a penis!"
2. Another time he walked into class and I asked him how he was doing. He replied very seriously, "Yesterday I had diarrhea." I laughed, which surprised him, so I made a straight face and told him I was glad he was feeling better.
3. Early in the year Jacob grabbed a girl's hand and said they were going to be best friends. Then a couple weeks ago he did the same thing to a boy. I was surprised that particular boy let him!
4. Charly, the little girl whose hand Jacob grabbed, was the Little Miss Perfect/tattletale in our class. One Sunday we took a walk down the halls to the foyer. Some boys climbed on the couches and she said, "You're not supposed to put your shoes on the couch!"
5. Another day, out of nowhere, Charly boastingly said to me, "My dad is stronger than your-- [pause as she looked at Justin] than him!"
6. Benson was the shy, very quiet boy in the class. One Sunday his mom helped me out since Justin was sick, and I sent her a thank-you card in the mail. She later told me Benson carried it around the house with him all that day! I think he had a crush on me. haha.
7. Parker is the craziest handful, but extremely funny. He likes to eat his boogers and tell us to eat them too. He always smacks himself, falls off his chair, and hurts himself in some way. He also is very opinionated. He was sitting on Justin's lap one day and felt his beard stubble. "Ouch! That's sharp. Next week I don't want sharp!" The next week he felt my chin: "Is this one sharp? Nope, not sharp!"
8. Just yesterday, William lost his tooth in the middle of Primary. I gave it to his mother, who took him away for a while to make sure he was ok. He came back and sat down looking really sad. "Are you ok?" I asked him. He gave me the most defeated look and said, "I have to go to the doctor."
9. Sam is the one with a halo held up by devil horns. He can be sweet and reverent one second and bratty and rebellious the next. Last week I had the scriptures hidden under Justin's coat and I asked the kids to guess what was hidden. Sam shouted out, "Skateboards!" I answered no and gave a clue: "It's kinda hard." "Oh!" Sam shouted again. "Then it's a coconut!" I tried one last time: "It's something you read." Sam got it. "The scriptures!"
10. The other Sunbeam class has a really cute girl, who, when asked what kind of mom she wants to be, said, "A doctor!"

There have been 7 other kids in our class throughout this year, for a total of 13 kids we've taught (the most being 10 at once; we ended with 9), but I can't remember anything funny they said. I will miss them all--their sweet smiles, energy, excitement, and eagerness to pray and help out. But I definitely won't miss all the crankiness, brattiness, and hyperness!