Five semesters down and only two more to go until this girl is a certified teacher! Boom baby. That feels so good. And yet it's pretty scary too. I am only 20 years old and I am now a senior in college. Weird. I am excited to begin my teaching journey however. I have a feeling that I will have a lot of ups and downs, but that's the beauty of any career. So, with finals wrapping up...let the fun begin! It's Christmastime and time to LIVE. IT. UP. Except actually, who needs finals to be over to have fun? The last week or so has been quite exciting. Scratch that...extremely exciting. Let me expound.
Two Sundays ago, on December 4, the First Presidency had their annual Christmas Devotional held at the Conference Center in SLC. I had a few friends that wanted to go down to Salt Lake to attend, but we didn't have tickets. So we packed up in Holden's car, "Pocahontas" and hit the road hoping to get a few standby tickets and sit somewhere in the back.
When we got there, the workers on Temple Square were trying this new little "system" of getting standby folks into the Conference Center. We had to take a number card and wait in the Tabernacle. So at 5:55 pm, we were still sitting there (being number 250-254) waiting to get a ticket. My hope was completely gone at this point and I decided that I would be completely content watching it from the coziness of the Tabernacle.
But fortune was in our favor that night, because we FINALLY got our hands on some tickets. We literally bolted from the Tabernacle and booked it across the street to the Conference Center. We did the whole security/bag check dealio and were figuring out which way to go to get to the balcony when a nice lady stopped us and asked us to please come with her. She opened a door on the ground level and told us that there were a few seats that they needed to fill.
I was completely under the impression that we would just tuck back into one of the back rows, which would have still been sweet because we were on the ground level. But nope. That wasn't her plan. She walked us up the right-center isle, removed the rope that separates everyone from the General Authorities and sat us on the FOURTH ROW. The 4th row. F.O.U.R.T.H. Oh did I mention we were on the 4th row?! We were among family members of the G.A.'s as well as sitting among them. President Packer was directly in front of us as well as the rest of the 12 and other emeritus General Authorities. Afterwards we were chatting with Elder Dellenbach, who Holden once met in Alaska a few years back. What a delightful couple the Dellenbachs are. I hope that my husband and I are as sharp and endearing as those two were.
So basically to make a long story short, we had the coolest experience. We went from being ticket-less to sitting with General Authorities. The devotional was incredible. The words were comforting and inspiring. The music was thrilling. My favorite Christmas song that the choir sings is The First Noel and they sang it that night. I admit that I shed a few tears. After the devotional, we walked around Temple Square and looked at the lights. I can't think of many things that I enjoy more about this time of year than seeing the lights on Temple Square. It was such a perfect evening!
Then to top off an already bomb.com night, we made a little pit stop in Hooper, Holden's home town. It reminded me of Newton or Benson...a small little farming community with homes spread pretty far apart. And let me tell you, they know how to put up some quality Christmas lights in that little town. Holy smokes! Check this out...
Seriously, this is something you would see in Who-ville.
Here are three more things that have added to my weeks of fun.
First: Roommate Date Night.
Every month we do a roommate date night. It's tradition. So for December, Whitney joined our group and got everyone tickets to our Christmas Show at Pickleville. After the show, we went back to the apartment, had hot chocolate and cinnamon cake and played some Disney charades. It was so much fun! I'm so glad that Whit got to be a part of the fun that we have as roomies every month.
Next: Ward Service Auction
My calling in my ward is the Service Activities Co-chair. Basically, this is the Activities Committee Chairman, but since the Church got rid of Activities Committees, they called it something else. And the focus of this calling is to reach out and get those who are a little less-active involved in the activities while performing service. So for December, we held a big service auction and it was a HUGE success! We had soup and bread bowls for dinner, had the service auction in the back and even had a special visit from Santa Claus (aka: the bishop). I was hoping we would raise maybe $200 dollars and we ended up with about $900. It was incredible! The money that we raised all went towards getting gifts for a Sub-For-Santa. I am so grateful for a great student ward with an incredible bishopric.
Finally: Dying my hair
I have been in serious need of a hair coloring. This summer I went blonde, then went dark again come school time. But the brown was beginning to fade, creating a bit of a reddish/auburn color. So it was time to get it done again. But I am a poor college student and especially around Christmas, I just didn't have money to get my hair done at the salon. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I am a firm believer that if you want something done, just do it yourself. So that's precisely what I did, with the help of Whitney. I went to Sally's, bought some color and tools and then Whit and I created our own little hair salon in my bathroom. It was pretty scary, I'm not going to lie. I was worried. But Whitney could make big bucks doing what she did for me last Friday. I was so incredibly pleased with the outcome.
First: Roommate Date Night.
Every month we do a roommate date night. It's tradition. So for December, Whitney joined our group and got everyone tickets to our Christmas Show at Pickleville. After the show, we went back to the apartment, had hot chocolate and cinnamon cake and played some Disney charades. It was so much fun! I'm so glad that Whit got to be a part of the fun that we have as roomies every month.
My darling roommates
The whole group
Hillary's date. Wow. I'm still a little speechless.
A few of us sipping our hot cocoa.
Next: Ward Service Auction
My calling in my ward is the Service Activities Co-chair. Basically, this is the Activities Committee Chairman, but since the Church got rid of Activities Committees, they called it something else. And the focus of this calling is to reach out and get those who are a little less-active involved in the activities while performing service. So for December, we held a big service auction and it was a HUGE success! We had soup and bread bowls for dinner, had the service auction in the back and even had a special visit from Santa Claus (aka: the bishop). I was hoping we would raise maybe $200 dollars and we ended up with about $900. It was incredible! The money that we raised all went towards getting gifts for a Sub-For-Santa. I am so grateful for a great student ward with an incredible bishopric.
Finally: Dying my hair
I have been in serious need of a hair coloring. This summer I went blonde, then went dark again come school time. But the brown was beginning to fade, creating a bit of a reddish/auburn color. So it was time to get it done again. But I am a poor college student and especially around Christmas, I just didn't have money to get my hair done at the salon. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I am a firm believer that if you want something done, just do it yourself. So that's precisely what I did, with the help of Whitney. I went to Sally's, bought some color and tools and then Whit and I created our own little hair salon in my bathroom. It was pretty scary, I'm not going to lie. I was worried. But Whitney could make big bucks doing what she did for me last Friday. I was so incredibly pleased with the outcome.
I don't have any pictures of the final results yet. Pictures to come in the future.
I have learned that despite crazy schedules and stressful weeks, like finals week, there can still be many moments for fun. And half of it is just recognizing those fun and beautiful moments through the drab of every day life. I am definitely looking forward to no homework or school responsibilities for the next three weeks however. Christmas break has never sounded so nice!
So hasta la vista USU, finals week and homework.
Hello Christmas!
Hello Christmas!
1 comment:
wish i would have known you were at the christmas devotional cause i was too!! ugh. we could have played. missed you at the family party my dear.
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