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i wrote to a coworker this morning… “we made it!” i (along with others) have been looking forward to this time off for months. there is a lot on my “to do” list during this break, not to mention christmas. i’m loving it. tonight, we’re getting together with the group of friends we always hang out with and are doing dinner at chili’s and then heading back to the house to give out some gifts.

sadly enough, i woke up with a super sore throat and drainage to boot. i’ve been trying to be quiet today, as it hurts to talk. and it has proven to be a difficulty… i like to talk a lot. decongestants don’t seem to be working all that well. i’m planning to take some strong stuff before bed tonight… i am hoping that it will kick this stuff in the pants and i’ll wake up feeling super good in the morning. *crosses fingers*

tomorrow, we are cleaning the house and getting things ready for christmas. in the evening, my family and a couple of church missionaries are coming over for dinner and gifts. it’s going to be a lot of fun. the evening is going to kick off a lot later than what we thought originally due to my brother’s work schedule, but we’ll do what we can. on christmas day, jeromy’s family are coming over. we’re going to try to make it over to my mom’s in the evening to say hello.

been feeling emotionally good lately. jeromy and i have been following through on some goals and i see some light at the end of the tunnel. i’m totally excited for next year and the good things it will bring.

i love this time of year. i’m so grateful for my savior, jesus christ, and all of the blessings that i get to enjoy because of his sacrifice. more than anything, i’ve been trying to put some thought into what this christmas means to me. and it all boils down to one word… hope. because of christ, we silly humans can have hope that we can pick ourselves up and be better. even if we’ve fallen off our horse or it seems like the world is too much… there is hope. there is a way to be lifted up and become something more awesome than we have ever fathomed. within our grasp is a most desirable love and buckets full of blessings. i am so terribly flawed and fall short in so many ways. but i have hope because of a babe who was laid in a manger who came here to conquer it all… for me. and that is certainly some good tidings of great joy.

merry (early) christmas.