I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

I decided to end this year off with the ugliest picture taken of me all year. Okay who am I kidding, Sister Jackson took worse pictures in Jerusalem, but this one is still pretty bad. I mean look at the size of my hands!

Why am I donning a paper mustache? Well I decided with the new year maybe I'd try a new nose. Just kidding. But not really. My nose has never really worked. I've always struggled breathing through it which is why I sit in class with my mouth wide open or why I refuse to sleep in public unless my mouth is closed or why I'm always carrying around a big wad of tissues. Looking back my stinking stuffed nose has caused quite a bit of embarrassment. So Wednesday I went in to the hospital dressed in my first hospital gown, got my first IV, and received my first surgery. (I've been so lucky to be healthy and never have a broken or sprained anything, or stitches so this was quite the step.) The procedure took twice as long because when the doctor (My awesome sister in law's dad) was done he realized the cartilage inside my nose was still so crooked and it would still give me problems so he went in and fixed that as well!

I'm feeling pretty great and even though I can't really breathe out of my nose right now because there's a big tissue there I know I will be able to one day and that's exciting. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology that have allowed me to get this done. I'm grateful for my awesome mom and all my siblings who are treating me like a queen, to my sweet Aunt Margaret and Uncle Lynn who brought me flowers, to my cousin Barb who brought over a bunch of movies and watched some with me, and great friends who keep texting me to see how I am. I feel so loved, and yes I feel oh so pretty!

12 Memories of Christmas

1. It was finally our turn to have Mutti (my grandma) for Christmas. It was so fun to have her with us for all of our festivities. I wish I could remember all the details, but I have one memory that I love. In our family it's a tradition to all sleep in the same room. Well even though Mutti lived around the corner she insisted on joining us in our tradition. Then she insisted on 'sharing the bed with at least one other person.' So my cute 70 year old grandma slept in a little room with seven crazy kids that Christmas Eve and created a memory I'll never forget.
2. Sledding with the family behind the four wheeler. This is the true way to sled, after all you don't have to walk up any hills and the ride is so much longer! I don't know why more people don't do this. I can just picture my family all bundled up fitting three to a sled sometimes as we rode around.
3. It's always hard to come back to school after Thanksgiving break. Last year I was feeling especially down the whole ride to Rexburg. When I walked in the apartment though I was welcomed by tons of Christmas decorations and my roommates were there to welcome me. Amidst our crazy end-of-semester times we still found time to celebrate Christmas. We had a fabulous Christmas party and even sent out Christmas cards. Aren't we adorable?
   
4. Long, long a go we were caroling in our beautiful blue van. I don't remember exactly how it happened but the sliding door broke off so we went around that night holding the van door up as we drove from house to house. I don't think we ever made it through the caroling song that night without one of us laughing remembering the broken door on the van.
5. One of my favorite traditions is we get to open one present on Christmas Eve. Well one Christmas Eve we got back from caroling and all went to change into our pajamas. When we came upstairs we found Benjy, who was probably 5 at the time already playing with the truck/construction set that he had decided to open from Mutti. For some reason I thought this was the funniest thing.
6. One year I really wanted a motor scooter. Mostly because I'm lazy and it seemed nice not to walk everywhere. Well as Christmas got closer there was this big box under the tree with my name on it. I was so excited, I was going to get my sweet scooter! Christmas day came and I opened it to discover...an air purifier! This was also the Christmas that I got contacts in my stocking! I love to tease my mom about this because even though at the time it seemed weird...these are the two gifts that I've used the most and I've loved them.
7. When Sara was a student at BYUI I remember feeling Christmas didn't quite start until she came home. One year her ride was dropping her off in Draper so we all loaded into the car and listened to Christmas music as we drove to pick her up. The weather was really bad and the older folk were nervous but Marie and I seemed oblivious so we just had a party in the backseat as we waited in this mall parking lot for Sara to come. I remember being SO excited and having a blast with Marie.
   
8. I have many memories of Christmas recitals, especially my mom's recitals. These recitals were sweet because they were sing alongs. Well they were sweet when you knew the song. If you didn't know the song the singers didn't wait for you so you had to hurry and catch up. Fast.
9. When Jessie, Marie, and I all shared a room we had a tradition in the winter time. We always woke up to the heater turning on. So we'd grab a big blanket, crawl under it, and then put it over the heater. Then as soon as it was over we'd crawl back into bed. I don't know why our room was always cold at night...
10. Two years a go our family was all together for Christmas. It snowed a ton and we wanted to get out so my brother Chris suggested we go play soccer. (Of course that's the sensible thing to do with a ton of snow.) We put on a gazillion random layers and went to Westridge to play soccer. We could barely run the snow was so deep and we were so bundled, but it was so much fun. Plus we looked really cool:
11. When I was 17 I had the opportunity to be in Savior of the World. This allowed me the chance to bear my testimony of the Savior's birth through song all through the Christmas season. I found it impossible to forget the true meaning of Christmas this year. It was such an amazing experience, I wish everyone could have it.
12. I have so many memories of opening thoughtful gifts Christmas morning and being so touched. There is NO way I could name them all, so I'll pick one of the earliest I remember. On Christmas Eve I went into the laundry room to find Marie ironing which seemed odd. Well she quickly hid what she was doing and so I ran out. Later that night I found out that Chrissy had made all the girls matching pajamas and Marie had made little outfits for our dolls. I'm still so touched when I think of the hours that Marie (who couldn't have been more than 13) and Chrissy spent on those pajamas. This is just one example of so many. Every year gifts like these remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.

Nothing Like the Holidays!

"I just love this time of year. All the red. And green. "

Isn't it the best? Well I wanted to write a post because I'm excited about Christmas and I'm procrastinating homework. So win/win. Since I just keep making lists on my blog I decided to make some more! Yay!

Best Christmas Movies: (order is still debatable)

1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
2. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
3. Meet Me in St. Louis
4. Muppet Christmas Carol
5. White Christmas
6. Elf

Best Christmas Songs:

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
3. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - Nsync (yep I just went from Crosby to Nsync)
4. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
5. Christmas Eve - Celine Dion

Best Christmas CDs:

1. Handel - The Messiah
2. Jenny Oak Baker - O Holy Night
3. Kurt Bestor -Kurt Bestor Christmas
4. James Oneil Minor - Christmas Dreaming
5. Josh Groban - Noel

Best Christmas Treats

1. Hot Chocolate
2. Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge
3. Candy
4. Candy Canes
5. Candy Corns and Syrup

Best Christmas Traditions:

1. Caroling as a family. So many memories from this!
2. All sleeping in the same room on Christmas Eve. I look forward to that this year. Think all 16 of us will fit?
3. Opening presents one by one Christmas day. Similarly, opening a present on Christmas eve.
4. Decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. The first few hours of this are quite fun.
5. Christmas card pictures! They're kind of always a pain to take, but I love them. My favorite Christmas decoration in the house is the big frame with all of our Christmas card pictures in it. There are some pretty bad ones. Like this beauty below. My mom wanted to do a scarf/turtleneck theme. Well Jessie didn't own any turtlenecks so she's wearing Sara's and Sara and Chrissy are wearing my mom's. Benjy's scarf has pink on it, so that's why it's tucked under. I just love this pic so much. David's backstreet boy stance is probably my favorite. I'm still trying to figure out how this one didn't get picked.

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm excited for Christmas. I have 16 others though! My whole family is going to be together for Christmas this year. Here's a picture of our last Christmas together. Add 4 1/2 and you've got my family!