Happy-making events of the day:

-- Finished Christmas shopping, woo hoo! Now all I have left is wrapping & baking, and I've still got an entire DAY! That's PLENTY of time! YEAH!

-- Wawa gift cards + mocha cappucinos. Mmm. Caffiene levels = high.

-- Talked to Very Best Friend in the Galaxy on the phone, even if for a few moments

-- Free coffee samples at the bookstore. Mmmm. Caffiene levels = very high.

-- STRAIGHT A's FOR THE WHOLE FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE!!! OH YEAH, BABY!

-- Spontaneous stop at Sheetz for a Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Mocha. Mmmmm...Caffeine levels = super freakishly high.

-- The high speed internet!! It works! After years of waiting! Huzzah! Farewell, blasted dial-up, you old fiend!!

-- SOY LECITHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *celebration*

-- Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!! WOO HOO!


Next up: Remind me to tell you about my very awesome early Christmas present I was blessed with last week.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

This is my second-favorite time of the year :) My absolute, positive, FAVORITE holiday is Easter, but we'll go into all that at Easter time. However, the Thanksgiving-Christmastime era is definitely a close second!

I love everything about this time of year. Thanksgiving is such a great way to kick it off because it helps me focus on all my blessings in the midst of a season often dominated by materialism and "I want I want I want I WANT!" attitudes. Then, after Thanksgiving, the true Christmas season starts; a whole month of preparation for the most wonderful blessing of all time -- the birth of Jesus. After Christmas we get the excitement of New Years, the wonderful wintery-ness of January, followed by my birthday and by then, Spring is just around the corner and so is Easter! Woo hoo!

Christmastime is just such a cozy, (excuse the cliche...) jolly time of year! Everyone seems happier and kinder and more smiley than usual. The air smells like snow and snowflakes drift down at any given moment and christmas lights shine through the otherwise dark nights and it's cold...oh, how I LOVE the cold! It's hot chocolate time of year, and noses are cold and sweaters and hats and gloves are worn and I just love it, love it, love it!!! I love hearing Christmas songs on the radio and playing in every store in America... I just love it.

I've heard many people complaining about how Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year and why oh why do we have to start thinking about Christmas right after Halloween?!

Well...why not? What's wrong with preparing for a season of joy, blessings and family? Shouldn't a Christmas attitude of happiness and gratefulness be ours all year long?

Now, sure, I could easily write a post about all the things that are wrong with the way Americans view and celebrate Christmas....but I think, this time of year especially, it's important to focus on blessings and joy, rather than complaints and gripes. We live in a society that is constantly pushing commercialism and materialism and selfish attitudes. Last Christmas I was getting ready to leave for an international mission trip, and Christmas sort of flew by in the midst of preparations, worrying and packing. In a way, I missed Christmas last year! This year, I've made the decision that I will NOT allow the world or anything else to make Christmas a stressful time of year for me...I love it too much!! I've got plenty to be thankful for this year, and plenty of joyful blessings to share, and that's going to be my goal this Christmastime -- to focus on the true reasons for the season. Jesus' birth and the many, many other blessings that God has given me.

I'm off on an adventure!!

Hi everyone,

Merry Christmas!!

I know. It's been silent lately. I'm sorry!! I leave tomorrow for my big mission trip to South America. I'm very excited...and a little nervous, too! But needless to say, I have been very busy these last few days, with trip-related and Christmas-related activities :)

I have a whole plethora of posts that I'm working on, but I don't think I'll have time to finish or get anything up before I leave....so sorry.

So leave me lots of great comments telling me how much you all miss me :) and look for lots of new posts when I get back in a little over a week :)

Christmas with a capital "C"!

OK -- plain and simple:
CHRISTmas is about CHRIST.
Thus the reason it's called "Christmas". Not "Presentmas", not "Decorateyourtreemas", not even "Snowyholidaymas", but "CHRISTMAS".

We celebrate the day that Christ was born. We celebrate the day that the Savior of the world became human and entered our earth to save us. We celebrate the fact that because of this baby, we have been saved from a fate of punishment and suffering and that, because of His unbelievable love and sacrifice, we've been blessed with the gift of eternal life in Heaven!

And if that's not a reason to celebrate, then I don't know what is!!

Around this time of year, there is always a lot of discussion about whether you say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas". I think it's so sad that people get so caught up in the words that are being said, instead of the meaning behind the words. I refuse to be drawn into a bitter argument about the right phrase to say -- it's Christmas. The time of celebrating love, not making enemies and arguments!!

During this wonderful, joyous season, please just remember the REASON for the SEASON: Christ. You know, the one they named the holiday after :)

And while you're at it, read these lyrics by an awesome group called Go Fish. They really sum it up nicely.

"IT’S CALLED CHRISTMAS WITH A CAPITAL C "

It’s called Christmas!

Well I went to the coffee shop to get myself a mocha,
The lady at the counter said "Happy holidays";
I said, "Thanks lady, I am pretty happy,
But there’s only one holiday that makes me feel that way."

It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."

God's got a law and we pretty much destroyed it.
We’re gonna get judged, there’s no way to avoid it.
But Jesus came down to take the punishment for me.
He did it for you too, so maybe you can see . . .

Why It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."

It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!

It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."


This song can be found on their album, Snow.


Also, I invite you to check out the video of this song, which is pretty great :)


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!