Putting the Christ in Christmas

Christmas is such a wonderful but busy time of year (I think we all agree on that). It's easy for me to get wrapped up (haha) in the normal day-to-day routine of work and life that the Christmas season just passes me by. On the other hand, sometimes I feel the enormous pressure to do EVERYTHING Christmas that I don't take care of myself and/or I start getting stressed out about not doing enough or doing too much...the list goes on.

This Christmas season I decided to do a few things that would focus on Christ. I did things that I chose ahead of time and I didn't feel bad if I didn't get around to everything or if I had to say no to a few things. I can honestly say it has been a wonderful December!

1. First, I decided to write in my journal every day. I don't pressure myself to write a lot or to even write about the day-to-day events--mostly I just wanted to write about my thoughts that day so I could reflect on the things that I'm grateful for.

2. Next, enjoying the ambiance of my home. My roommates love Christmas and so our home was decked out in holiday splendor...here's just a peak at what the Grove house is capable of!

3. Enjoying the holiday spirit in DC!


Here I am at the Christmas boat parade. No boats pictured, but I am covered with fake snow in this picture!

I attended the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It was freezing but definitely worth it!

 

A group of us went to Handel's Messiah at the National Cathedral. So amazing (but long!)

4. Wathching PLENTY of holiday movies, such as a Bride for Christmas below. My roommates and I watched a plethora of ABC family/Hallmark/Lifetime movies...bring on the teasing, who cares. Some of my favorites? Holiday Engagement, Christmas with Holly, Dear Santa, and Fallen Angel. If you want to know more good ones, give me a ring and I'll give you the full scoop! Needless to say, as cheesy as these movies are they always put emphasis on what's most important in life: Faith, family, and Friends. A good reminder!

5. Attending a healthy number of holiday parties. See ugly Christmas sweaters below...

And here we are at the Relief Society Christmas party below. We also sang a musical number!

6. Sharing the Gospel through several different venues, like the Festival of Lights at the Washington DC temple. I had many opportunities this season to discuss the teachings and beliefs of the LDS church with my coworkers and friends. See mormon.org.

7. Spending quality time with my nieces and nephews!

Girl party with Megan and Olivia

Building a snow man with Emma, Matthew, Sam and Caroline.

Babysitting Joseph and Isaac on Christmas! I loved playing with their new toys!

Enjoying the Christmas Eve nativity play with the family.

What has resulted? A Christmas season that I enjoyed! I participated in a perfect amount of activities, felt the Spirit, strived to focus on the key elements of life and I feel a sense of renewal.

As I sign off with this post I want to share my testimony that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer.  I know that He lives and that we can turn to Him. I know that He loves us and can succor us. Please view this amazing mormon message that I watched yesterday morning before opening presents. http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#an-unexpected-gift.

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday!

And sometimes you make a difference...

Teaching is a hard profession. You never know if you're really making a difference. You teach your heart out each day and hope that students are learning something. Kids disrespect you and you wonder if you'll ever reach them. Results are ambiguous and so is your impact.

And then sometimes former students visit you and let you know that they miss you. It makes it all worth it. Thanks to Ivoree and Amari for the visit! It made the crumminess the other classes bearable. of Btw, I don't like what I look like here but oh well...had to post.

Ode to Ms. Igra

9th grade English was brutal. I was coerced into playing Juliet in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet with a nerdy guy in my class (how embarrassed was I!). I was a lawyer in our mock trial "Of Mice and Men" and I read Paradise Lost THEN wrote a 7 page paper on it. Yah, eeewww....

My friends and I always complained about Ms. Igra: She was too hard, she was weird, and did I mention---she was too hard? For a freshman in high school, that was fuel enough for the fire of complaints.

But now with a different perspective in mind, I think of 9th grade English as one of my formidable classes of high school. Sure, it was tough but I learned how to write, take risks, discuss, formulate connections, and identify aspects of literature. I can appreciate that now.

So this post is for you, Ms. Igra. You don't read my blog and I have no idea where you are. But thank you. Thank you for teaching me and not giving up on me. Thank you for staying with me after school as I strived to interpret acts of Romeo and Juliet. Thanks for challenging me and stretching me as a student. I appreciate you so much more; now that I, myself, am a teacher. You had the bigger picture in mind, like I do for my students. I empathize with you when students role their eyes, challenge your authority, and say all kinds of negative things about you. Regardless, you pushed through like I am striving to push through the school year and literally "endure it well."

To all my teachers--thank you for shaping my life and for impacting me for the better; for encouraging me and giving me confidence to succeed. I am trying to pay it forward with my own students. Some days are absolutely rough. Some days I am jumping with enthusiasm and joy. It's completely bipolar.

Here's to the ride of teaching and here's to Ms. Igra!

33 hours of pure road trip

Happy late Thanksgiving! To celebrate gratitude, my good buddy, Kathryn Moss, her friend Micah (and my new-found friend), and I had a swell time traipsing the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, ONTARIO (ok, it's a province), Michigan, and Ohio. I added 2 new states to my list, so I'm feeling good about life. Additionally, we visited 2 church history sites: Palmyra and Kirtland, spent hours rocking out to Christmas music, visited the ghettoness of Detroit, went Black Friday shopping, and I got to revisit my mission in good ole' Canada. Now, that was nostalgic. It was a great trip.

In absolutely no order at all, here are some pics to showcase our epic road trip. 

Where the Book of Mormon was published--Palmyra New York

The Sacred Grove. Amazing.

In awe of the Falls.My 4th time being there since my mission covered the falls.

Newel K. Whitney Store--Kirtland Ohio

The nicest part of Detroit; the Tigers stadium

The Book of Mormon is true

Tears came to my eyes when I saw this sign..

The Joseph Smith Farm

Hooray we're at the Falls!

Beauty

Joseph Smith Farm, cont'd

The Pamyra temple

Tim Hortons; the Starbucks of Canada.

The Kirtland temple