I was pretty nervous about spending Christmas without my dad, especially so far from home. Being in the less familiar, I thought, would make me miss him even more. Luckily, I think it worked out to be the opposite, and I didn't have to experience as many painful reminders of the loss. It also helped that we had a really fun and relaxing time with family. Here are some of the reasons why:
1.) It was sooo nice to put life on hold for a week. I literally left my cares at home. No legal papers or primary roles! It was a much-needed and appreciate break.
2.) My two nephews. They are the best; I just adore them. They are both so smart and handsome. The three year old is at a really fun age where he loves to talk and pretend. He told me all about his friend Morty the cat and Santa Claus coming down the chimney and all kinds of other things, all while we were hiding in a cave (a blanket over our heads) avoiding the bats and bugs. But don't worry, he built a bug-getter out of legos, so we were safe.
The toddler (now 18 months) is a shier guy but still so fun to be around. My two favorites about him are that his favorite animal is a moose and that he wants to do everything his big brother does. If you ask him what sound a moose makes, he just makes this "uuughh" grunting sound. He also got the cutest little moose pajamas from Santa. His older brother is just the coolest guy in his eyes, and he follows him around copying him. If his brother jumps on Uncle Krizzle, he does it too.
Of course, being the bad picture-takers we are, I forgot to take pictures of them. Dumb, I know.
3.) Puppies! My mother-in-law breeds dogs, so we had dogs everywhere. One of her females had a new litter of puppies. Even though they were still in the stage where they look a little like gerbils, they were still very sweet.
The dogs really love being with people and love to nestle into a nice, warm lap. I loved that. Ryan kept asking me who my favorite was, and I kept saying I couldn't decide. Now that I'm home and looking at the pictures again, the newest little female was my favorite. She's such a naughty little girl that she's squirming in all of the pictures Ryan tried to take.
4.) My mother- and sister-in-law. They both tried extra hard to help me feel at home, and I really did appreciate it.
5.) LOTHT t-shirts! I admit I was a little slow figuring out why my brothers-in-law bought me a shirt with a fish on it but finally realized it was a blue barracuda. Ryan and I both wore them on the plane ride home. When we stepped off the plane some guy shouts "Blue barracudas! Right on!" I was both proud and mortified to have attention called to us in such a public place. Here is a picture of all of us wearing our shirts. In case you're wondering, we're scared because we just got caught by the temple guard (Ryan's favorite part of the show).
Overall, it was a great Christmas.
I've been contemplating Easter and Christ and His Resurrection more frequently over the past few weeks. Even though I've felt strongly to post something, I haven't been able to put words to what I feel. So I'm not going to try. Instead I'm going to post the words of others. Elder Holland has a way of touching me deep to my core. It was during one of his talks that I felt a strong impression that led to my marriage. His talk this conference was especially touching to me as he spoke of our Savior.
