Oh, hello there.

Hello friends.

The last you heard from us was this post:

Our ward split and then our lives exploded. (All good things.) 

Here are some of the things that we've been up to: 

- I was called as the Primary Secretary. This significantly contributes to my lack of blogging. Our old ward was split and our new ward was formed from basically nothing. No teachers, no manuals, no binders, no room assignments, no class lists, no anything. So as a Primary Presidency we had less than two weeks to form a completely functioning primary. We ordered manuals and spent hours putting binders together. We've submitted name after name for callings in the primary to try to get enough teachers for our classes. Forming class lists, praying about teachers, and putting together all of the materials needed for church have basically taken up all of my time. I am so excited to work with these wonderful ladies in the primary. (And now that we've gotten our first week of primary under our belts, I'm not nearly as terrified as I was at first.) Along with this, David was called as a primary teacher and I am so thrilled! It's only been one week, but I already know that I love having him come in during Senior Primary and having a calling that is so closely connected to mine. (Also, Lydia had never been to nursery for the whole time and without me there with her - but this last week she was basically thrown in headfirst because neither David or I could walk the halls with her. She was off and on - but overall I feel like her first week went well. Here's hoping to her figuring it our and learning to love it.

-We had an amazing Pre-Thanksgiving in Morgan and then a wonderful Thanksgiving in West Jordan several days later. Lots of food, wonderful family, and some great Black Friday shopping. If you want to know more - you can read about it here: Thanksgiving 2013. (I back-blogged and posted it the weekend after Thanksgiving so that when I print my blog book it will be in the appropriate place. And maybe so it looks like I can keep up with my life.)

-David's sweet Grandma McAllister passed away, which was expected and a welcome relief from her physical suffering - however, it was still a little sad. We spent a beautiful day in West Jordan at her funeral and then headed down to St. George for her burial in the Saint George City Cemetery the following day. It was a great trip and was so nice to celebrate her life in a place that she loved. David wrote a beautiful blog post as a tribute to his Grandma. She was a wonderful and much loved woman. 

In Memory of Grandma McAllister

-I've been really enjoying my Red Ladder Design clients lately. I've worked with some really great people and have enjoyed my designing. (However, this also contributes to my lack of blogging. By the time I've finished with my primary to-do's and my RLD designing - my desire to sit at the computer for even two minutes to blog has completely disappeared.) Just look at these pretties that I've designed in the last few weeks: 

- My sweet David-love knew that I'd been dreaming of owning a beautiful and festive/formal party dress for years. He surprised me with some extra money that he'd been saving for something special. You can read this blog post: A Pretty Party Dress to get the whole scoop about how shopping for one dress turned into two beautiful dresses and a new pair of shoes. 

- Lydia turned 19 months and I didn't even realize it. I've been thinking that I still have a week or so to finish putting together her 19 month blog post. But in reality I'm like 5 days late. However, I finished it and back-dated it to December 6th. Read about our darling girl here: Lydia Elise 18-19 Months

--We went to the Alpine Living Nativity last week with my little sister Melissa and her boyfriend Blake (whom we love). It was cold but beautiful and Lydia loved all of the animals. (She is getting so good at animal sounds - but her favorite by far is the sheep. "Baa bababa baaaaa".) I'm grateful for the people that put on this event. I loved walking through "Bethlehem", hearing the wise men tell their story, listening to the choir group sing of the Savior, and then entering the barn/stable where Mary and Joseph were sitting with their baby. I also loved spending time with some of the people I love very most.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but it's because of his potential and what he did with his life that made his birth so special. Looking at that sweet baby made me wonder about his potential and what he would do with his life, and made me think about my life and my potential. I hope that I can live my life like Christ and truly live up to my privilege. A quote by the Prophet Joseph Smith that was in the Visiting Teaching Message a couple of months ago has really stuck with me: “If you live up to these principles how great and glorious!—if you live up to your privilege, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates." This Christmas I want to rededicated myself to living like Christ and not only living up to my potential, but living up to all the blessings that I've been given. Christ's atonement makes that possible and I am grateful for him and for the blessing the atonement is.  

I love the happiness of the Christmas Season. We have lots of fun things planned and can't wait to blog about them. (Although I am getting nervous about this years blog fitting into one book.) Meanwhile, you might be able to find us listening to Christmas music on Pandora while admiring our beautiful Christmas tree and sipping hot chocolate. (Or some more chaotic version of that idea.)