Chapter 17

Yesterday my good friend, Bonnie taught Relief Society- it was a really great, meaningful lesson for me. It was about charity, and how loving God is the Great Commandment. I learned a lot from this lesson- it was from Conference, Elder Wirthlin, but the main thing I learned was that if I don't put Heavenly Father first, then my life will be out of balance. I cannot do everything, and not all things at once, either. That is comforting! I sometimes think I can be "superwoman" and do all I want and need to do each and every day! Well, every now and then I am reminded that I can't and I owe that to Bonnie yesterday! I very much appreciated the topic of charity and the pure love of Christ. I do try to be like Him each day, and truth be told, I am not always that good at it. I know that I need to be more loving to those around me, even those I don't really want around me! That may sound simple to some people, but not to me. I want to be angry sometimes! I want to be mad and yell and get it out, but I know that is not the "most Christlike way". I am working on that. Thanks to Bonnie for reminding me of the things that matter most in life. I know what is most important, and that is to keep the commandments so that I can return to live with my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with my family one day. I need to remember that in the "big picture" the "little things" I seem to worry about aren't what's important. Loving God and loving others through service, is. Sometimes it is the little things that count the most!

On a Thanksgiving note, we had a really fantastic day! We had a great meal with my parents and an overall relaxing day with family! As we sat at the dinner table, we had each person say what they are thankful for. Alex said, "family". Leah said, "my parents", (we paid her to say that! Just kidding, she is so sweet!). I said, "the beautiful season and weather", Dana said, "the Buckeyes beat Michigan!". My mom said, "that everyone is healthy and happy". And my dad said, "my grandkids". That was a really fun way to begin dinner, and I am thankful for all that and so much more. We ate and ate and ate some more, then we went home and had more pie! Did I mention it was a great day?!

Then on Friday, Black Friday, I did not venture out in the morning, we stayed in and decorated our house for Christmas! I love getting out the Christmas stuff! I found out that I had purchased some items I had forgotten about- new dishes, new ornaments, new decorations that are so great! My great friend Shanti made this for me last year, and I love it! My house is full of Christmas! I love it! I would sit by our little tree all day if I could! Here is a pic of what it looks like today-it may not look like this tomorrow, since Celeste likes to re-arrange whenever she can! But, I so love that it is a "kid's tree", meaning we let them decorate it (well, I did have to help so they wouldn't all be in the same spot), and that it is full of kid's ornaments! I love the cutesy, kiddish things that fill each and every branch! They love looking at their decorations and they love the tree!

I love Christmas and I love the spirit I feel this time of year- it is unlike any other time of the year for me- it is a reverent, serene, and peaceful time, despite the hustle and bustle of shoppers. I did hit Target and Kohl's late on Friday, just to pick up a few things, and you would have thought the stores were giving stuff away- it was still busy! I couldn't believe that so many people were still out shopping! The doorbusters were long gone, though I didn't think they were that great of deals anyway, but people were still there! Crazy, I mean, I love to shop, but I don't shop on that day! (Well, not that early, anyway!)