Christmas 2010, Part 2: Oregon!

This has been one of my favorite Christmases ever! I was able to fly home to Oregon on the 23rd, and then spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with my family. My brother Brad and sister-in-law Jessica came up from Texas, and we've played games, watched movies, and simply enjoyed each others' company. Later, my younger brother, Trevor, and his new wife, Kristin, returned from their honeymoon and completed our full house. Despite preparations for the open house in Oregon, it's been a pretty stress-free last few days. Here are some of the highlights of the week:

1. Christmas Eve
As tradition, we went to a movie, followed by dinner. This year we watched the new Chronicle's of Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (which was good, but not as good as the first two movies in my opinion). Afterward, we ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, PF Chang's. Mmmm...chicken lettuce wraps! We also drove around the Portland Temple after dinner, which really set the mood for the evening. The night concluded with reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, secret Santa gift exchange, and watching a few Christmas carols. Christmas Eve is definitely the best day of the year!

The movie theater and restaurant were near a large shopping area in Lake Oswego. I loved their Christmas decorations!

Cute parents =)

Mom, Jessica, Brad, Kimberly, Me, and Dad

The beautiful lights!

We didn't eat here, but I thought it deserved a place on my blog. What an amazing combination!

Yum! Dinner!

Jessica and Brad were a little excited...

Our REAL Christmas tree! (Sorry about the yellow coloring...)

This is my favorite picture. I had Jessica this year as my secret Santa, and I had a great time shopping for her! Brad wasn't quite as thrilled with my choice of gift. Maybe Jane Austen will grow on him after the 3rd or 4th viewing?

Kimberly is the musician in the family and played a few pieces on the piano for us.

2. Christmas at Grandma Morgan's!
Ever since I can remember, we've always driven to my grandparent's house for Christmas dinner. Basically, we get up early, open presents, and then fight over the bathrooms so we can be ready in time to leave for Vancouver, WA. I always look forward to Grandma's dinners because she makes the most amazing meatballs in the world, as well as delicious ham and potatoes. This year was even better because my cousin and his wife and their two little boys joined us from Seattle. It was fun having little kids around again, especially when it was time to open presents! And, as tradition, we spent the evening playing games. It was a very nice Christmas.

Kimberly and my cute 2nd cousin, Jack

Jack was pretty excited about all the toy cars he got this Christmas!

Jessica, Brad, Kirstin (holding baby Brandon), and Dennis

Grandma Morgan always has the most beautifully-decorated house for Christmas!

3. Trevor and Kristin's open house
I don't have any pictures yet for this, but I want to say that the wedding and the open house were both successful! Trevor and Kristin got married on the 18th in Bountiful, Utah. It was a cold, but wonderful day. Their open house was at the Institute building in Gresham, Oregon. It was fun to see friends and family as we celebrated Trevor and Kristin's marriage. Stay tuned for a post completely dedicated their wedding, including tons of pictures!

Christmas 2010, Part 1: Salt Lake City

December has been a fun, busy month! It's hard to believe Christmas has already come, and now it's time to update the blog on all that has happened:

1. Festival of Trees
My Aunt and I went to the Festival of Trees the week after Thanksgiving. This was my 5th year going as a volunteer, and once again I was blown away by how impressive the trees were. For those of you who don't know what Festival of Trees is, it's basically a huge fundraiser held in the Sandy Expo Center where people donate elaborately decorated trees to auction off, and then all the money proceeds go to the children's hospital. The trees usually have a theme and are donated in remembrance of a loved one who has past away. Some of the stories are very touching. I got to guard the gingerbread houses this year, which were so creative and mind-blowing. Some people are so talented! My favorite tree was the "House Divided" tree: Utah vs. BYU.

The right side definitely looks the best.

2. Lights on Temple Square
Because I have been working on Temple Square for the past few months, I've watched the grounds crew putting up Christmas lights since September. It was fun finally getting to see the lights lit up at night! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

3. Decorating!
My roommate, Sariah, and I had a fabulous time getting a Christmas tree (sadly, fake, but it still worked), decorating our Christmas tree, and putting up stockings. I also decorated my personal "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" and put it up in my bedroom. Salt Lake City got a ton of snow this past month, which I think really added to the ambiance of the season.

Ta-da! Our beautiful Christmas tree!

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

I loved the way our living room turned out. It really added to the Christmas spirit!

My Charlie Brown Tree

The view from my bedroom window. We got up to about 14 inches one day!

4. Roommate Christmas Party
For the first time since we've moved in, all 7 of us roommates got together and had a Christmas party! It seriously was the first time I'd seen all of us in the same room at the same time, so it was pretty exciting. We exchanged secret Santa gifts, talked, laughed, took pictures, and ate ice cream. It was a great night and made me feel so blessed to have the roommates that I have! I know I was inspired to move where I'm currently living.

Mandy and Sicily

Kari and Sue

Sariah and Mele

Me and Sariah

We also celebrated Sariah's birthday!

In summary, my first Christmas in Salt Lake City was pretty amazing. I'm really enjoying living where I'm living and enjoying life as an independent, working woman =) This year has had it's ups and downs, but right now I'm definitely experiencing some major ups. What a nice way to end 2010!

Jesus Christ, my Savior

I had the wonderful opportunity to read the 4 Gospels in 4 weeks. My ward came up with the theme for December, "Live as He Lived," and it truly has been amazing to study Christ's life and remember the true meaning of Christmas. I honestly don't know if I've ever felt closer to Christ than I do this holiday season! In just a few weeks of study, I've been able to come unto Him more and truly know who He is as my Friend, Brother, Savior, and Redeemer. I know He came to earth to serve and save mankind! Everything he did or said or didn't say testifies that he is the Savior , the very Son of God. I love Him so much, and am so grateful for His ultimate sacrifice for me.

I am so grateful for this reminder of the true meaning of Christmas, and I hope I can continue to become more like Him this coming year. 2010 was tough, but because of my Savior and His ever-encircling arms of love, I've made it through and felt the peace only He can offer. I know that He lives!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

To the Singles

Being single has been the hardest trial of my life, and not because of simply not being married, but because of this stage of life in general: graduating from college, looking for work, dating and boy drama (which I've had A LOT of in the past few weeks), moving away from friends and family, being alone, finding purpose to life, etc. So of course, these things are always on my mind, and I really appreciate encouraging words or insights from people who know what I'm going through.

For example, last month Sister Oaks (Elder Oak's wife) came to speak to the H4 (my ward plus 3 other wards we combine with) about her experience with being single. She didn't get married until she was over 50, so she knows exactly what I'm feeling now because she's been there. I ran out and bought her book, A Single Voice: The Unexpected Life is No Less A Life, and she pretty much expresses exactly how I feel and says exactly what I need to hear.

Another instance was today in Relief Society. We had a lesson on trusting in the Lord (which is something I'm always trying to work on), and the girl giving the lesson is one of those girls you look at and wonder, "Now how are you not married?" She's beautiful, funny, has a strong testimony, well-educated, etc. But something she said that stood out to me was [paraphrasing] part of this stage of life is learning to become the person we want our children to know and see. She said, "I'm doing this [going through this trial of singleness while still trying to trust in the Lord] for the people I will love, and it will be worth it." This touched me a lot.

My final example is actually a strange one, but it still gave me the needed strength for the day. I was listening to Pandora at work this past week when a song came on called "For Those Who Wait" by Fireflight. I have never heard this song or this artist before, and the music itself wasn't my favorite, but the lyrics left a lasting impression. So, to those singles reading this now, I dedicate this song to you:

This is for those who wait

Another day another waiting game
A little different but it's still the same
I am here but where's the one I'm longing for?

I'm having troubles feeling all alone
Will my heart ever find a home?
I want to hope but sometimes I just don't know
I know I'm not the only one

So you sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set your heart on fire
Let it set you free

When you're fighting to believe
In a love that you can't see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

I want to open up my eyes
I know that all I need is time
I'm growing stronger every single day

God, I'm gonna leave them to You now
Letting go all of my fear and doubt
I can't do this on my own, so I'll give You control
I know I'm not the only one

So you sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set your heart on fire
Let it set you free

When you're fighting to believe
In a love that you can't see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference

The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
And the difference makes it worth it

So we sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set your heart on fire
Let it set you free

When you're fighting to believe
In a love that you can't see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

Let it set your heart on fire
This is for those who wait

Goal: Accomplished

Today is the first day of December, which means my November goal of writing every day is complete! And I'm happy to announce that I accomplished my goal 100%! Hooray!

Now that I'm sucked back into my novel, there's no way I'm going to stop working on it, even if I don't "have" to. In fact, my new goal is to have the 2nd draft completely finished by the end of January. That gives me two months to work on about 250 more pages. Demanding? Yes. Difficult? Most likely. Possible? Definitely.

I also want to start researching agents and submitting query letters. This is probably going to be the hardest part yet: rejection letter after rejection letter. Let's face it, even J.K. Rowling was rejected a few dozen times before someone decided to give Harry Potter a try. And my novel is definitely NOT the next Harry Potter (nor would I ever want it to be).

But my sister did give me the best compliment ever the other day via email, which gave me another glimpse of the joys of being an author (she's currently reading my novel and is the voice of all teenage girls):

"Ahhhhhhhhh y is ur book so good? When I'm not reading it, I'm thinking about it lol . In this chapter u r using dramatic irony cuz i as the audience know about Leah and perry but Evan doesn't and ya...it's good! And sad :("

I'm not going to tell you what she means by this; you'll have to read it and find out for yourself someday ;)