The Holidays are Upon Us

It's getting kind of crazy with the Holidays now upon us. Things are getting pretty busy for me.

I started my new position at work this past Wednesday. What a change it has been. I have gone from a very intense and difficult position, at times, to one that is definitely more relaxed and a little mundane. But I am grateful for the opportunity and will probably be assigned more tasks after the Holidays, when vacations and time off will be over for my new teammates. They don't want to start teaching me things and then not have anyone around to answer questions I may have.

This has been a pretty good week. I went to see the musical Annie on Friday night with some friends at the local community theater. It was AWESOME. The cast was AMAZING. The girls who played the orphans were fantastic. An enjoyable evening with friends. I couldn't have asked for a better Friday night. Then yesterday was a typical crazy Saturday for me. Cleaning, laundry, errands, etc. Then last night we had a Christmas dinner for our Ward Choir at the directors home. What a wonderful evening. She is from Korea and made us an authentic Korean dinner. It was wonderful. She is such a great cook. Another wonderful evening. I also made three double batches of fudge yesterday. It was an extremely busy Saturday, but I made it through.

Today has been a good day. We had a good Testimony Meeting. The kids in Primary like what I am doing for singing time this month. I am trying to remind them of the gifts that our Father in Heaven and Jesus have given to us. I am hoping that it will help them to focus a little more on what Christmas is all about and not just the commercialism of it all. Tonight I had the Haynes family over for the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional. That was fun. I love to have people over, but don't very often. What good friends they are.

This week is going to be pretty crazy. A very busy week. I think I have something every night this week except for Friday. So, I am going to stop writing now and head to bed so I can try and get some rest.

So Many Things to be Grateful For

Wow!!! Thanksgiving has come and gone. Hard to believe. I have so many things to be grateful for. I am so blessed. Sometimes I don't know or understand why I have so many blessings and wonderful people in my life. I am a very lucky girl who is loved by her Heavenly Father and many others.

The work week went well. It was a quick one since I only worked 3 days because of the Holiday. On Thursday I went to a movie with my good friend, Kelly and her boys. We went and saw the new Disney film, "Tangled". Kelly and I liked it but there may have been a little too much princess stuff for the boys. They did however enjoy the popcorn and treats. Then in the afternoon I went to the Romrell's and enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with them and the Keil's. What a wonderful time I had. I always get plenty of laughs and smiles when I spend time with them. So much fun. I then came home and talked with my Dad and brother, Tim. Such a wonderful Thanksgiving it was.

On Friday I just did some things here around my apartment and went and visited a Sister in my Ward. And Saturday was just as relaxing. I was able to get some things done in preparation for Primary and ended the evening by going to Ward Temple night with the Randall's. Brother Randall is quite the story teller and had me laughing our entire drive home. What a wonderful couple they are. So sweet and I am sure they are still in love with each other as much as they were the day they got married if not more so.

Today, church was good. The kids in Primary seemed to really enjoy the activity I had for them during our singing time, which is good, because we most likely will continue to do it every week until Christmas. Then this evening I went to say good-bye to Jonathan. He leaves for his mission this week. He will be serving in the Phoenix Arizona Mission. He will be missed, but he is going to be an awesome missionary and I know that he will be doing the Lord's work. He will be back before we know it.

So thankful for this time in my life. Life may not always be easy, but I know that my Father in Heaven and Savior are aware of me, that They know me by name, and that They are ever watchful of me. I feel Their love for me every single day of my life.

I love you all and miss so many of you. I am grateful for our modern technology we have today that allows us to keep in contact with one another.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Nativity I set up last week. I love it, Dad. It is so beautiful. Thank you so much for giving it to me.

When Kelly saw it on Friday she said that all of Bethlehem was there. She thought it was beautiful, too.

This is going to be an interesting week. I start my new position at work on Wednesday. A little bit nervous about it, but definitely more excited than nervous. I'll let you know how it goes.

It's Been an Interesting Week

Well, this has been an interesting week to say the least. I started the week by going to jury duty. There were 600 jurors called that day and they announced they needed 700, so some of the people had the potential to have to go into 2 jury pools. I was not one of them, thank goodness. I did get called into one however. It is a good thing they did not select me though because there would have been a conflict of interest. It turns out that the company that was being sued is one of our customers my company finances. It was a bit inconvenient to have to go to jury duty, but I did find it interesting. It was kind of cool to actually see the way it works. I am very grateful to be living in this country and have the government that we have, even though it is pretty messed up at times. I am grateful that if I ever had to go to court that I would have the option to have a trial by jury.

Then it was back to work on Tuesday. It was a good day back, except that I fell on the stairs and banged up my knee pretty bad. It is now all sorts of pretty colors and has a good sized scab on it from where I hit the stair. I am getting around much easier now, but it still hurts some. All the swelling is gone though.

On Thursday I gave a brief talk in our Relief Society extra meeting in my ward about my battles with depression. I think that it went pretty well. I am glad that I am able to share my story with others and I hope that in some small way that it will be able to help someone know that they are not alone if they are struggling like I do at times.

Yesterday I broke tradition and put up the Christmas decorations one week early. Growing up we always put them up the Friday after Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't wait. The Precious Moment nativity that my Dad got me is just gorgeous and I could not wait to put it out this year. (I will post a picture soon.) I know I am slighting Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't help myself.

This coming week will go by fast. It is a short work week because of Thanksgiving. I took Friday off, so I will be able to enjoy a 4 day weekend. I cannot believe that the Holidays are upon us already. Where has this year gone?

Today was a good day at church. We had some great talks in Sacrament and I love my calling in Primary. The kids can always make me smile and laugh. Well, that is all for now.

My New Blog

I have decided to try keeping a blog. The reason is so that my family and friends can have a closer look into my life. Sometimes I feel disconnected from them - especially those back home in Chicago. I am hoping that this will be a way for me to share more of the daily/weekly things that happen in my life with them.