Christmas Wishes

Hey all!

Christmas was wonderful. We did all the traditional things our family requires: Christmas Eve at Mom's complete with dinner and Jill's yummy Cranberry cake with a double-yummy sauce on it, opening one gift--always the one from mom, and the white elephant gift exchange. Christmas day followed with more traditions of going to Jill's house for lunch and dinner, working feverishly on a puzzle, touring the kids' stash of presents from Santa, visiting and enjoying one another's company.

Couple of funnies:

1. My mom gave Chandler (my 7-year-old nephew) the wrong present to open Christmas Eve. She bought a bubble gum dispenser for him and everyone knew he would love it! Everyone watched with anticipation as he opened his "fabulous" gift. We laughed heartily when he opened it and it was dish towels--to be given to his mom, Jill. I caught it on movie mode on my camera--Check it out below!! Mom's reaction was classic--first the exclamation and then the speedy removal of the erroneous gift from Chandler's lap. He actually really loved his real gift--the bubble gum dispenser.



2. I am officially kicked out the house. With the move of my mom to a new and quite small home, my stuff got the boot and I had the joy of doing it. That is not supposed to happen until I get married!! My sister, Teri, and I went through all of my stuffed animals, dolls, high school paraphernalia, baby clothes and baby blankets, kindergarten and elementary school pictures--basically we did what we could to give as much as possible to the DI and then condensed what was left. At first, I was pretty liberal with what I gave to the DI, but as time passed I became more attached to all the stuff. So I filled up my trunk, my backseat, and the entire back portion of Teri's Tahoe (well, you could still see out the back windows in the Tahoe and my car--so it wasn't that horrible). That is one more chapter of my life closed--the mobility chapter. I found joy in the security of being able to pack up my car and move to another place whenever I felt like it. C'mon! The past four years of living in the same place is an anomaly-- when I was still in college I moved every 8 months. Of course, I have accrued some stuff here and so that has increased my number of car loads, but now this finishes it. Especially now that my mom sent her old kitchen table down with me. I probably wouldn't move too far away from Provo now that I have this awesome new job, but what if I get bored of my ward? Or the boys in my ward? Or my roommates?

3. Everyone kept asking me why I was wearing my glasses. "Are you trying to look smart?" While several people have accused me of that--including one of the interviewers for my new job--that is not the case. This is another big announcement: I am getting Lasik this coming Wednesday, January 3rd. Yes. I will be able to see the stars as I fall asleep when camping out under the stars. I will be able to see the alarm clock when I wake up at the crack of dawn to go to the gym. I will be able to go scuba diving and clear my mask without freaking out. I will be able to race down the slopes without my eyes watering. And that is exactly what I focus on to actually go through with it--that and I am counting on the Valium to do the magic that everyone says it will: wipe out my anxiety about the actual procedure. The thought of the procedure grosses me out and makes me nervous. So, I focus on the results and the incredibly low probability that anything will go wrong. If my sister Robyn, who is the "Nervous Nelly" of the family, can do it and come out with perfect results, I can do it--because we have nearly the same genes! My mom and Teri are going to come down and baby me while I heal. Yeah for family!

Other than the couple of funnies, Christmas was wonderful. It is always my favorite to get together with my family. My mom, dad, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews and all of my extended family are the joy of my life. My Christmas wish for everyone of you is that you have family to surround you, love you, cherish you, tease you, give you hugs and kisses, and be there for you.