december package

so my dallin is almost home. so what do you send when he'll just have to haul back? i wasn't going to not send anything!
so i sent mostly candy and treats, chocolate, brownie mix, hot chocolate. you know. christmas stuff.
then i have his real christmas gifts here wrapped under our tree.
i think i'm pretty clever. i'm doing the same thing for his birthday next month!

christmas catch up

this year's christmas was great!
i generally have an issue with christmas, i love all the prep work and the excitement and warmth and decorations and hustle and bustle dec 1-dec 23. love it. and i looove christmas eve. in fact i would rather have christmas eve be christmas. as soon as christmas is over, everything goes back to boring and cold, the decorations come down and make me feel emptier than ever. well thats my blah for today, but enough of that.
i love all my family's traditions. they really make christmas eve/christmas what they are. i love spending so much time with my family!
we all got a haul this year, everything we asked for. i love to watch my family open my gifts i like to see their reaction and see if it matches my excitement for them. we had a lot of really thoughtful things this year. we drew cousins on both sides to give to, and that was so fun to see what we could think of to get to know them better, and on one side, to make for them. i was impressed with all the cousins and what we came up with!
i'm also grateful for my friends, and the special things they thought of for me.

cousin braden and me in our nativity scene costumes! he was a wise man and i was an angel :)

my favorite cookie to make for christmas is ginger snaps dipped in white chocolate. with mom! i think we've only been doing it for a couple years, but i want to make it a tradition. they're just so good!

love my mama :)

yum :)

this christmas eve was also special because exactly 50 years ago, on a cold christmas eve, my sweet grandpa doug asked my sweet grandma char to be his eternal companion. so we had some trivia to see who knew most about their relationship and their early years together. it was so fun to hear those stories and to see how strong their love still is.

the very best part of this christmas was getting a short but amazing skype with my love! he's home in 27 days from today!! i'm so lucky to have him. i loved not saying goodbye, but saying 'love you see you soon ' :) :)

my handsome missionary :) coming home so sooon :)

39 days left

i have 39 days left! i can do that :) easy. i am so proud of my babe he is doing so well and is so busy serving the Lord!
i love this picture. last winter and this winter i have changed my phone wallpaper and screensavers and desktops to this picture, loving the memories of last christmas with my dallin and the beautiful night seeing the lights at temple square in 2010! i hold tight to this picture and can't wait until next year when we can see the lights together again :) until then, i will stare at this cute picture and pretend we're going there this year hahaha :)

49 days left

this is insane. 49 days left?? forty nine until dallin gets home??
and today was week 98 of macaroni.
6 more weeks. what the.
ONE more fast sunday.
and in 20 days i will be talking to him on the phone for christmas!!
absolutely amazing. every two hours i realize again that time has flown. i'm so grateful for him and all he does for me. and for the power of prayer. always having a prayer in my heart is what gets me through my loneliest days. i'm so thankful for the spirit and for my Heavenly Father. time has gone swimmingly, and i know it's because this is right. and it will be worth the wait.
loves xoxo