Christmas 2019
It has been awhile. I have often thought of how I would like to write things down but there was always so much to do. I had a very nice Christmas season. Last year I was extremely stressed about making it magical and meaningful for my children, making sure I was doing enough service and giving enough and that my children were too. It was a relief when it was all over and I think January last year was my favorite because I could hibernate and rest and have nothing else really expected of me.
This year was much different. I had a difficult November with some emotional let downs and stress and frustration with some things that happened and I was feeling really down when the first Sunday of December rolled around. Every first Sunday of the month we as a church fast (go without food and water for 24 hours) and we donate the money we would have spent to those in need. I'll be honest and admit that this is my least favorite commandment because I love food and often have a headache or feel very grumpy by hour 22, if not earlier. But I do it and have faith that the blessings will come so as I was trying to decide what to fast for in December, all I could think of was how I just wanted to feel happy. I decided to fast for happiness and peace and a healed heart and that prayer and special fast was answered. The entire month of December I felt great calm. I felt like I was doing enough and had the spiritual blessing of being able to recognize all of the good I do on a normal basis so that I didn't feel pressure to do a bunch of extra. I didn't get stressed about planning or being ready for the many events we were involved in and was nice to my children. I took one activity at a time and spent peaceful time decorating, then working on gifts, then baking. I spent a lot of time practicing the piano to prepare for a special concert and also for our Sacrament meeting before Christmas and had a very special experience playing in both of those settings. It was seriously nothing short of a miracle.
Not that we weren't busy. The Monday right after Thanksgiving Josh was supposed to travel for work and I was disappointed we weren't going to be able to get our tree until he got back,but then his work trip got cancelled so we were able to go and we found a perfect tree that I have been loving all month. We decorated it in pieces since there was very little time that week where our whole family was together. We went to the Calvert Marine Museum like we do every year and enjoyed the cookies, meeting Santa, making a craft, seeing the train display and the music. We even caught a glimpse of the lighted boat parade, which is one of my favorite southern Maryland traditions.
I participated in an interfaith Christmas concert that was amazing, we went to my daughter's ballet studio's Christmas show and her ballet class's Christmas party, I painted our guest room and got it all ready for my family to come visit, we had a few basketball games (which are way more intense when your husband is the coach instead of just having a player on the team), went to our first middle school band concert, visited Flat Iron Farm, and we had my piano recital. The night of the recital my husband came home late and usually I am so stressed before hosting something big like a piano recital so when he walked in late (with an ingredient I needed for the refreshments) he was quite apologetic and then surprised to find that I was completely calm. We weren't late, all my food was amazing, the kids all played pretty well and it was wonderful to not feel so anxious and stressed about it all.
I also helped paint at my friend's new house a couple of times and then our whole family spent a day helping them move, I made lunch for a different friend who was moving, supported my husband in his very busy church responsibility and made treats for everyone who met with him for tithing settlement, made cookies to be served at a homeless shelter and went to a Relief Society dinner and service activity and book club. Josh was out of town the night of book club but I really wanted to go for the book exchange so that required getting a babysitter and arranging someone else to pick up my daughter at dance. Somehow it all worked and miraculously, none of this stressed me out, though normally it would have.
Then I hosted our annual Christmas party for my closest friends as my gift to them and I wasn't really feeling it at first. I usually love hosting my friends and plan the party weeks in advance but I was feeling really disconnected from everyone and not super motivated to put in all the time and effort. But that week I pulled it together and planned some fun games and started prepping all of the food and it came together and turned out to be really fun without the extra stress. The downside was I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends that night (and watch my daughter do the same) which was so sad, but the party helped be a good distraction. Then after I accompanied six songs in church, we went up to my sister's house for dinner on Sunday (a 2 1/2 hour ride), spent the night there, then bringing my parents with me we came home Monday by way of the DC temple to see the lights and nativity display.
We spent Christmas Eve making cinnamon rolls and turkey and rolls for dinner. We had a wonderful turkey dinner that evening, did a nativity play, sang Christmas carols, read some good Christmas stories and then we put our presents in our spots for the morning. Christmas morning was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy their presents. Josh was super excited about his subscription to Masterclass.com and I am really excited about my 12 dates of Christmas. We had breakfast, talked on the phone to all of my sisters and Josh's parents and then relaxed the rest of the day. The next day we did some cleaning and got things set up for my sister and her family to come. It was a great visit; we played lots of games, saw Knives Out (which we all loved, except the language) and just enjoyed being together. My nephew read my kids a ton of stories, they played lots of Super Smash Brothers on the Wii, Lily and my niece created dance numbers, and we had lots of good food. They all left New Year's Eve morning and we had a day of catch up and laundry and paying bills and such before we went to our ward party. It was loud and fun and everyone had a good time, except Josh who was socially exhausted and ended up being a bit of a party pooper that night. We put the kids to bed at 10:30 and watched a movie and then went to bed.
Yesterday I stayed in my pajamas all day and watched the Rose Parade, a Disney holiday special I had recorded, we watched our home movies from 2019 and then played a new game we got for Christmas. We had leftovers for dinner and got the kids ready for school and everyone was in bed on time. It was a wonderful Christmas season and I am grateful for the blessings I received that allowed me to feel relaxed so I could recognize the joy, peace, and the love of Jesus Christ so that I could easily share it with others. I wish Josh and I had had more time to connect since we were both pretty busy with different things but overall it was an amazing answer to prayer and fasting that allowed me to feel so calm and happy. I love Jesus Christ and celebrating His birth and know He is my Savior, come to the earth to redeem and bless and teach and love.
This year was much different. I had a difficult November with some emotional let downs and stress and frustration with some things that happened and I was feeling really down when the first Sunday of December rolled around. Every first Sunday of the month we as a church fast (go without food and water for 24 hours) and we donate the money we would have spent to those in need. I'll be honest and admit that this is my least favorite commandment because I love food and often have a headache or feel very grumpy by hour 22, if not earlier. But I do it and have faith that the blessings will come so as I was trying to decide what to fast for in December, all I could think of was how I just wanted to feel happy. I decided to fast for happiness and peace and a healed heart and that prayer and special fast was answered. The entire month of December I felt great calm. I felt like I was doing enough and had the spiritual blessing of being able to recognize all of the good I do on a normal basis so that I didn't feel pressure to do a bunch of extra. I didn't get stressed about planning or being ready for the many events we were involved in and was nice to my children. I took one activity at a time and spent peaceful time decorating, then working on gifts, then baking. I spent a lot of time practicing the piano to prepare for a special concert and also for our Sacrament meeting before Christmas and had a very special experience playing in both of those settings. It was seriously nothing short of a miracle.
Not that we weren't busy. The Monday right after Thanksgiving Josh was supposed to travel for work and I was disappointed we weren't going to be able to get our tree until he got back,but then his work trip got cancelled so we were able to go and we found a perfect tree that I have been loving all month. We decorated it in pieces since there was very little time that week where our whole family was together. We went to the Calvert Marine Museum like we do every year and enjoyed the cookies, meeting Santa, making a craft, seeing the train display and the music. We even caught a glimpse of the lighted boat parade, which is one of my favorite southern Maryland traditions.
I participated in an interfaith Christmas concert that was amazing, we went to my daughter's ballet studio's Christmas show and her ballet class's Christmas party, I painted our guest room and got it all ready for my family to come visit, we had a few basketball games (which are way more intense when your husband is the coach instead of just having a player on the team), went to our first middle school band concert, visited Flat Iron Farm, and we had my piano recital. The night of the recital my husband came home late and usually I am so stressed before hosting something big like a piano recital so when he walked in late (with an ingredient I needed for the refreshments) he was quite apologetic and then surprised to find that I was completely calm. We weren't late, all my food was amazing, the kids all played pretty well and it was wonderful to not feel so anxious and stressed about it all.
I also helped paint at my friend's new house a couple of times and then our whole family spent a day helping them move, I made lunch for a different friend who was moving, supported my husband in his very busy church responsibility and made treats for everyone who met with him for tithing settlement, made cookies to be served at a homeless shelter and went to a Relief Society dinner and service activity and book club. Josh was out of town the night of book club but I really wanted to go for the book exchange so that required getting a babysitter and arranging someone else to pick up my daughter at dance. Somehow it all worked and miraculously, none of this stressed me out, though normally it would have.
Then I hosted our annual Christmas party for my closest friends as my gift to them and I wasn't really feeling it at first. I usually love hosting my friends and plan the party weeks in advance but I was feeling really disconnected from everyone and not super motivated to put in all the time and effort. But that week I pulled it together and planned some fun games and started prepping all of the food and it came together and turned out to be really fun without the extra stress. The downside was I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends that night (and watch my daughter do the same) which was so sad, but the party helped be a good distraction. Then after I accompanied six songs in church, we went up to my sister's house for dinner on Sunday (a 2 1/2 hour ride), spent the night there, then bringing my parents with me we came home Monday by way of the DC temple to see the lights and nativity display.
We spent Christmas Eve making cinnamon rolls and turkey and rolls for dinner. We had a wonderful turkey dinner that evening, did a nativity play, sang Christmas carols, read some good Christmas stories and then we put our presents in our spots for the morning. Christmas morning was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy their presents. Josh was super excited about his subscription to Masterclass.com and I am really excited about my 12 dates of Christmas. We had breakfast, talked on the phone to all of my sisters and Josh's parents and then relaxed the rest of the day. The next day we did some cleaning and got things set up for my sister and her family to come. It was a great visit; we played lots of games, saw Knives Out (which we all loved, except the language) and just enjoyed being together. My nephew read my kids a ton of stories, they played lots of Super Smash Brothers on the Wii, Lily and my niece created dance numbers, and we had lots of good food. They all left New Year's Eve morning and we had a day of catch up and laundry and paying bills and such before we went to our ward party. It was loud and fun and everyone had a good time, except Josh who was socially exhausted and ended up being a bit of a party pooper that night. We put the kids to bed at 10:30 and watched a movie and then went to bed.
Yesterday I stayed in my pajamas all day and watched the Rose Parade, a Disney holiday special I had recorded, we watched our home movies from 2019 and then played a new game we got for Christmas. We had leftovers for dinner and got the kids ready for school and everyone was in bed on time. It was a wonderful Christmas season and I am grateful for the blessings I received that allowed me to feel relaxed so I could recognize the joy, peace, and the love of Jesus Christ so that I could easily share it with others. I wish Josh and I had had more time to connect since we were both pretty busy with different things but overall it was an amazing answer to prayer and fasting that allowed me to feel so calm and happy. I love Jesus Christ and celebrating His birth and know He is my Savior, come to the earth to redeem and bless and teach and love.
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