How the girls are spending their days after Christmas...

Christmas

We had such a wonderful Christmas. On Friday morning, the Prasse family (our good friends from Fayetteville) came to visit us. They stayed all day Friday, spent the night, hung out at the mall with us on Saturday and then left at about 3 p.m. We had so much fun with them. Friday day we spent all day catching up. Deborah, me , and Gabby (their 9 yr. old daughter) went shopping, the boys (I mean men) stayed home and watched Katelund and James (we have decided that we are going to prearrange Katelund and James' wedding) while they played X-box and watched Jimmy' special ops training movie of his tazing experience (he had to get tazed and taze others in order to be certified). Then that evening we got a babysitter for the kids and took them out Friday night to our favorite restaurant here in Fayetteville, Flat Rock. Saturday morning, we go up early and went to the mall. Cory had to be there to help solve problems if they arose, so he walked around with his walkie-talkie and got us all free massages, discounts, and hook-ups on free car strollers for the kids. We also fulfilled Katelund's Christmas wish, to get her ears pierced. We were so sad when we had to say good-bye. We love and miss the Prasses SOOOO much!!!!

On Christmas Eve, we only had sacrament meeting. There were some great speakers and then some musical numbers. I actually had a part in each one because I was in the the "ward chamber" (it is a group of 8 of us that the bishop calls the ward chamber choir). I felt so lucky to be part of it because they are all AMAZING singers and the songs sounded GREAT!!! I only wish Gladdis (sp?) Knight had been there to hear it (I guess she didn't come here for Christmas this year). Anyways, then I led the primary in 2 Christmas songs.

After church, we went and had dinner at the Curriden's house. Afterwards, all the kids (and both sets of missionaries) acted out the nativity and then we all went caroling around the neighborhood. We had a great time!!! The Curriden kids LOVE Cory and were constantly wanting him to play with them. Katelund and Cloey followed their dog around the house all night and I just loved spending Christmas Eve with some of our ward family.

Christmas day was wonderful but it was a little bit lonesome. I loved being with my family but I really missed having a lot of people around. I spent the evening giving Cory his Christmas gift, the best body massage ever and an incredible pedicure. He loved it!!!! As I was talking to Cory during his massage, I told him how sad I am that the Christmas season is over. But then he so sweetly reminded me that the Christmas season is all about the spirit of Christ and that is something that should be with us all year long.

If you look closely in the picture below of Katelund, you can kindof see her new earings. They are little gold studs. She LOVES them!!! She tells me that she feels like a princess.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Our Savior's Love

Yesterday my visiting teaching partner and I had all of the sisters that we visit teach over to my house. I had made neck warmers for each of them, so we heated them up put them around their necks and read the Forgotten Carols to them (along with the music from the CD). While they listened and relaxed, my partner served them cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate while I read. And then while she read, I gave each of them a manicure or pedicure. It was so much fun!!! They loved it but I think that I love it even more. One of the sisters had never had a manicure in her life. I gave her the best one I could possibly do. It is amazing how when you serve people you start to feel such an incredible overwhelming amount of love for them!!!! I am so thankful for the Relief Society organization that provides and encourages service to other sisters. I am very lucky that two of the sisters that I visit teach, I am also very good friends with, one of them is Austyn, my running partner. Yesterday as we were running, we were discussing how so many times we tend to look at the blessings from the Lord coming in financial ways, but probably someday when we look back retrospectively we will see so many other blessings that came through good health, wonderful friends, safety, etc... I know that one of the blessings from the Lord that I have received is the ability to feel the Savior's love for others, and as I feel that, I find it very easy to love them and want to serve them. I think that blessing is probably a natural gift in most women, but I am so thankful for it, because it helps me to better understand the atonement, the great need for charity, and the magnitude and significance of our Savior's love.

Waiting Prayers

The other day I sat down with the girls to say prayers at lunch. I asked Katelund if she wanted to pray. She said sure and then she bowed her head, folded her arms, closed her eyes, and....sat there for a little while. Then she opened her eyes and began eating and Cloey and I were sitting there wondering what that was all about. I said, "Katelund you didn't pray." She said, "Yes I did Mommy, it was a waiting prayer". I thought it was so funny but the more I have thought about it I think that she taught me something very profound. I think that it would be really good every once in a while to just fold our arms, bow our heads, close our eyes, and wait for the Lord's answers/inspiration to come.

Cloey's Boots

Yesterday I was getting the girls dressed to go to the work-out room (they walk on the treadmills while I run). Anyways, I was trying to put Cloey's tennis shoes on her and she was throwing a fit because she didn't want me to put them on her. She ran to her closet and I realized what the tantrum was all about. She wanted to wear her black boots. It was so cute!! She puts them on all the time to walk around the house in. I think she loves them so much because everyone makes such a big deal out of them when she wears them to church.

Precious Moments

Katelund has been saying and doing some of the cutest things lately that have just really been melting my heart. Here are a couple that she said or did today...

In her prayer today at lunch she said, "Please bless the missionaries and help us to be missionaries too."

While I was making dinner tonight, Cloey came up to me and was pulling at my pants because she wanted me to read her a book (this is her new thing that she is now doing all day long). I asked Katelund if she would read the book to her. I didn't think that she really would, I just kindof said it. To my surprise, she sat down on the floor with Cloey and began to read her the book perfectly. She then read about four other books to her that apparently she knows by memory. The teacher and mother in me was beaming from ear to ear!!! Cloey was loving it, but not as much as I was!!!!

Today as I was cleaning Katelund's room "with her", she started to walk out the door. I asked her where she was going and she said, "I'm just going to go read my scriptures for a little bit." It was so adorable!!!!

MY COMPUTER IS FIXED!!!!

I am so excited, we finally have our computer up and running again (thanks to Cory's home teaching companion). The other week at Enrichment, the sister that was teaching asked everyone who writes regularly in their journal to raise their hands. I was so proud of the fact that I could raise my hand because I consider blogging as my journal writing.

This last week I finished making my Christmas cards and I sewed 10 Christmas presents. I felt like such a "Martha Stewart" this week. I slacked off a little in my running because I had some really bad cramps but I made up for it by accomplishing some great projects. I decided this weekend that I really like to sew. There is nothing like the feeling after you have sewn something all by yourself and it looks good.

I am just on such a high lately. I am just so happy in my life. Are things perfect? No, and they never will be in mortality, but I am finding that they older I get and the more I grow spiritually, the happier I become with who I am and how my life is going. It is so easy to become upset over the little insignificant misfortunes that life brings, but when I have an eternal perspective it is so easy to deal with the hard times through rose-colored glasses.

I had such a wonderful birthday last week. I couldn't believe how many random people in my ward called, wrote a letter, or just wished me a happy birthday. Last night as we were at our ward Christmas party and I was walking around from table to table talking to people and saying hello, I realized how much I am beginning to love my ward here in Asheville. I wasn't sure that the day would ever come where I would feel like this ward even compared to our Fayetteville ward, but the day has surely come. Heavenly Father is so wise and loving by setting our church up in ward units where together we become a family as we learn how to serve, forgive, lead, follow, and love one another.

Tonight we had the missionaries over for dinner and I had invited my neighbor , Beth, to come over also. She ended up not coming. I was so disappointed. I was so excited after we talked for so long about the gospel, and after she had gone to the Christmas devotional and told me she wanted to come to church with us. Cory was trying to cheer me up and telling me that I needed to keep loving her and planting seeds so that the Spirit will prompt her when it is time. I know that he is right, I was just so excited about sharing the gospel with her. It is like having the most valuable precious thing in the world and just yearning to share it with others and have them feel the same way about it. I will just keep being her friend (which is very easy because she is an incredible girl) and pray for the Spirit to work within her heart.

Catch-Up

It has been awhile since I have posted, and for that I am so sorry. It is a little tough to get to get access to a computer these days.

Anyways, I have so much to catch up on and so little time...
First, I just want to say what an incredible Thanksgiving I had. I had such a wonderful month and I was overwhelmed with such an amazing amount of gratitude in my heart!!! I was also very excited to compete in my very first race. Although it was only a 5k, it was a major accomplishment for me because it "has only just begun"...I am planning on racing in a 1/2 marathon with my friend Austyn on April 28th in Virgina. I am so excited and I have a lot of work and training ahead of me.

I am getting so excited about Christmas this year. I am excited about the fun traditions that we are beginning in our family, the Christmas music that I'll have playing constantly in our home, and the time I have to reflect upon the greatest gift given to mankind, our Redeemer, Savior, and King.

Well I have to go but I will continue this blog tomorrow.