Christmas Post

So, this post is really late, but here's a quick summary of what we did over the Christmas break!

Friday, December 17th - We both finished classes and taking finals.  Actually, Dave had finished the week before, but he worked all week while I was still taking finals.  Classes weren't too difficult this semester, but they required a lot of work.  It was thrilling to be done!

Sunday, December 19th - We sang in 2 Christmas programs.  The ward that meets before us was singing the Hallelujah Chorus in church and needed more choir members to do justice to it.  So our ward choir was invited to join.  I love Handel's Messiah!  Then we sang in our own ward Christmas program.  I didn't love all of the music that was chosen, but I did love singing about the birth of our Savior and feeling the shared experience of love among ward members.

Wednesday, December 22nd - Dave's family got together for a Christmas party.  Because all of the siblings were going away for Christmas this year, we had Christmas early!  The party was at Dave's aunt and uncle's house (and the after-the-party-party was at IHOP!).  Dave and I had a couple of embarrassing moments with his aunt and uncle.  Dave almost kissed Andrea when they were hugging each other as we arrived!  And I mistook Jon for Dave when we were eating, and was a little more affectionate with him than I usually am!  It was definitely a night filled with laughter.  We love our Gravett/Ferrell family!

Thursday, December 23rd - We hit the road to go to Arizona!  It's an 8 hour drive, and we had been concerned about winter weather.  But the roads were clear, and we only had a few miles of snow/fog during the drive.  It was a fun drive.  I always love road-tripping with Dave!

Friday, December 24th - Christmas Caroling!  This is a big tradition in my family.  We only went to a few houses, but it was still fun.  This is something that I want to do every Christmas Eve.

Saturday, December 25th - Christmas Day!  This was a day filled with eating, playing games, and having fun with family.  Well, to be honest, almost all of the days that we were there we ate lots of food and played games.  That's just what my family does!

Friday, December 31st - After several days of having fun with family, visiting my old home ward in Flagstaff, and doing some hiking around Flagstaff (and waiting for the weather to be good between Flagstaff and Salt Lake!) we drove home.  Even though we had been concerned the day before about strong winds and low temperatures, New Year's Eve ended up being the perfect day to drive home.  We did hit a patch of bad weather, but slow driving got us through and we made it safely home.

I was so glad for the Christmas break and the time that I spent with my family.  I got to meet my new newphew, McCoy; see my niece Suzanne, who just had her baby (Yep!  I'm a great-aunt!!); and spend lots of time with my siblings who came.

I am also so grateful for the birth of the Savior and for the strength and encouragement that I can have every day as I think about his life and his sacrifice for me.  Merry (late) Christmas!