How Do You Put December in a Nutshell?

I just know I'll leave so much out, but I have to at least try.

December was a season of peace and joy.

It was incredibly stressful, busy, crazy, but we were blessed with a spirit of peace.

I am so glad it is over, but I am so glad I got to live it.

First of all, it came way too early this year!  Those late Thanksgivings make it surprise you.
I got decorations up the Monday after Thanksgiving and it made me feel already behind because it was December 2nd.  We even got some lights up on the outside of the house, which was fun for a change.

That weekend was already pretty busy.  I had a practice for a special number in Choralais on Friday night.  Saturday morning was the ward breakfast, but Brandon and I missed it because we were at a  Speech and Debate tournament in Ogden.  There was a huge winter storm warning.  I stayed up late watching the weather and finally decided to just go for it.  I knew if we had to we could stay at Kim's.  The way there the roads were pretty clear.  My friend Elisa came with us, so that was really fun.  I love having someone to talk to while I drive.  We got to do some judging together and just had a nice time visiting.  The kids all did really well, with a few in our group being really surprised that they placed.

There were a few inches of snow on the car when we left.  They cancelled the last round of the tournament so we could get on the road before dark.  I drove slowly, and it wasn't too bad, but there were a few patches where people were sliding all over the freeway.  It was a miracle we didn't see an accident.  I am not someone who has ever liked to drive, so by the time we got home late that evening, I was pretty exhausted.

The next night was my Choralais concert.  It went really well.  It is so much fun to sing for the Lord.  I just love Christmas music.  Dallin brought the kids in time to hear my special number.  We didn't know that he was supposed to say the closing prayer.  When they announced it, he wasn't there and I didn't know if he was coming for sure.  It had been a crazy busy day with church responsibilities, etc.  Someone who knew us saw him come stand in the foyer and gave him the message.  He thought it was a practical joke, but eventually was convinced and walked up and gave a prayer in his street clothes and winter coat!  I was really impressed with the support the choir members gave to Nathan's Eagle project.  I'm impressed with their commitment.  They are great ladies who love to sing, even if it doesn't sound the best.

During that next week, my visiting teaching companion who is our bishop's wife and our neighbor asked me to help her finish up her daughter's wedding dress.  I was excited and honored to be able to help.  She has been sending this dress back and forth to Hawaii where her daughter attends college.  It has been a pretty stressful project for her because the dress is really fitted, so she wanted me to be there for the trying on.  I went over late in the evening that her daughter and fiancee got into town.  It was pretty special to be there with the family in such a festive mood.  Unfortunately the dress didn't fit.  We had to take quite a bit of the lace off and take out some seams.  It got past the point that we could help so we left it with her.  When I checked back in the following evening, there was still a lot of lace to be sewn back on.  The lining was not attached and there were a couple of other small things that needed to be done.  It was all hand sewing so I brought it home and watched Little Women with Dallin while I finished it.  I was glad to do it.  It was the only Christmas movie I got to watch this year.  I felt pretty special that I got to be a part of it that way.  I took it back over to them at like 2:00am.  They were still up and Melissa tried it on and it was beautiful!  I was so glad that they could go to bed because they needed to be at the temple early that morning.  This all happened after Nate's choir concert which was really nice.  Ruby was kind enough to babysit so Dallin and Brandon and I could go.

Friday was a big push to get the fundraiser finished.  We knew Nathan had to finish it the next day and we weren't going to be there so we did as much as we could on Friday.  We attended the wedding reception that night and got to see the dress and all the fun decorations.  It was the first time a lot of my kids have ever been to a reception and they loved it.  The people in charge of the Mexico trip just happened to be closely related to our Bishop, so they were at the wedding and Dallin talked to them for a LONG time.  I finally took the kids home and went back for him because they were so done!

The next day, Choralais was singing at the Joseph Smith Memorial building in Salt Lake.  Since it was on the same day as the Mo Tab concert, we decided to see if we could get in.  We brought Ruby with us as a reward for all of her awesome babysitting.  We got to take her out to lunch before we got there.  After I sang, we went down to the Lion House and got there just in time to beat the rush.  We ordered our food and put it in to-go containers and headed over to the stand-by line.  It had already begun to form and it was only 5:00.  The concert wasn't to start until 8:00.  Dallin hid our food in the snow under some bushes because we weren't sure what they would have us do with it.  Once we got in and were seated at around 6:30, they let us come and go as needed.  I stayed and held our seats while Dallin and Ruby went and explored temple square.  When they came back, I took a walk and enjoyed the wonderful light display.  We made it in to the concert and were seated just as it began.  It was amazing!  They told the story of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol.  They just really know how to do Christmas.  I love it more than any other Christmas thing.

We went to the Oakridge pageant where the handicapped kids do a Christmas play.  I always have a neat feeling at that, and I am glad our kids get to see it.  I always feel such a special place for the families that care for those children.

The rest was a blur of preparing for 3 major events, making millions of cookies, and finding ourselves at Christmas.  But Christmas is its own story.