Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come From a Store...

Maybe Christmas, he thought, means a little bit more :)

Thank you Grinch. I think this is my third blog post with a title from that movie, but I'm going to go with it.

I think this Christmas for me was an embodiment of this statement. No, we didn't have a large green individual come and take all of our presents and Christmas decorations, but I feel this year was much more centered on family. I gotta say, I loved it. This year we did a white elephant exchange for the adults. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Everyone in my family over the age of 14 joined in and laughed for probably 45 minutes straight. This was an awesome new tradition, and one that I think my family will carry on throughout the years.

So in a nutshell, I love my family. I love Christmas time and the spirit of giving. I love giving presents that you're fairly certain someone else will absolutely love. Most of all I love having Christ be the center of it all. I hope you all had a very merry Christmas :)

Yesteryear...

This weekend was a blast from the past. I stepped into 2008 and was completely weirded out, while at the same time I was completely jazzed about it.

I had the opportunity to hang out with a couple friends that have come home from missions, and because of their return a bunch of friends whom I don't get to see very often. Needless to say, it was pretty fantastic. I got to reminisce and see old friends, but that wasn't the best part. The best part for me was a realization. What might this realization be, you ask? It's this.

High school was great, and I have to say that I enjoyed it fully while I was in it; however, I am beyond ecstatic over the fact that I have grown. It was interesting to note how different I am from my high school self. Hanging out with my old friends was great, and we could still laugh and have a fabulous time, but I am different and I love it. Maybe I am a bit of a narcissist or something, but every time I stop and think about it, I am happy with the change that has occurred in my life, and in myself. I love that I can move beyond the last phase of my life. I've moved beyond high school, old crushes and old drama, moved past the frustrations that plagued me in those years. I decided this as I drove to Logan and left South Jordan behind.

I will always be able to go back and visit yesteryear and enjoy those memories, but I am not stuck in them. Isn't that fantastic? I didn't even realize that I had done this until I was faced with some of the things of yesteryear. I'm very happy with myself for realizing that I can grow and learn. I guess I'm fascinated with the idea of growing up or something, but it's great isn't it? I think yes.