8, 7, 6, 5, 4, NOW 3 More Days till Christmas!

I know that's a cheap move for a holiday countdown, but give me a break. Jared has forgiven me for the same negligence I've given the sock advent calendar, so I'm sure you all (you same three) can find it in your hearts, too. This holiday ambition sure can get the best of you sometimes. The good news is I've caught up on the calendar, and just about all my other projects, too. More importantly, and most needed however, we had our first annual Error Christmas Devotional.

Of course I bit off more than I could chew that day and was super frazzled with preparations to make the night perfect. I MAY have even been so distracted with it all that I was a little grumpy before we actually got started. And MAYBE the over-the-top efforts weren't actually worth it because it didn't turn out perfect anyway and I just ended up grumpy. But although we MIGHT not have had the "special dinner" till 8:00 (and it MIGHT have been a little over-cooked and MIGHT have set off the smoke detector), and we MIGHT have put Grant to bed before we even started, I managed to regain my perspective, accept it for what it was, and have a really special night with Jared.

We started with a prayer and Christmas song, and then I shared this talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. His message focused on the simplicity and humility of the first Christmas, and on the perspective of the Savior's earthly parents the night of his birth--perspective I have new appreciation for as a new mother myself. It's so humbling, and almost unbelievable to remember the lowly circumstances to which the Savior of the world was born. It's a great reminder to us of what we should be focusing on during this time. I'm so grateful for the Savior, and so happy that when He comes again it will be in all His glory. We looked at different art depictions of the first Christmas, sang more songs, and then Jared shared a message about the different symbols of Christmas. We talked about the gifts we wanted to give the Savior this year, wrote them down, and put them in a specially wrapped box under the tree. It was just the two of us, but turned out to be a really great dose of true Christmas spirit for us. We definitely hope to keep this tradition.