Life Lately

Life has been stressful recently. We are getting down to crunch time with schooling and both of us have been overwhelmed by the amount of work that we have had lately. It has been a lot of stuff when Scott has three tests and one or two assignments in one week and I have had about three assignments/papers to do in one week as well. And, it hasn't been procrastination problems, just a lot to do. There are days when I wonder why I am doing this. This masters program has been 10x harder than any other schooling that I have taken, with three days of practicum where I am putting in 30 hrs/wk and five classes on top of that.

So, with all of that it was so nice to watch the First Presidency Devotional last night and take my mind of the stresses of life. Pres. Ukdorft said in his talk that this should be the happiest time of year and yet more people are depressed this time of year than any other. This resonated with me as I have being bogged down by the sometimes unsurmountable tasks in front of me. I need to remind myself again this week of Christmas and what we are celebrating. I am so grateful for the life of the Saviour; that He came to earth and lived a perfect, exemplar life and died for me. Last year, I read the four gospels in December and I have made myself a goal this month to remember Christ's life in my personal study.

In both Scott's and my families, we have a gift exchange, with a particular amount of money going towards presents for our main person. As I thought of Christmas earlier this year, I had decided to make small gifts for all the other members of our family that are Christ centred. I was blessed this weekend with help from my mother-in-law and am now almost done all of these gifts! (I was also able to finish a paper this weekend!)

It has been really nice to have the snippets of the season that we have had. We put up our tree last weekend, and made gingerbread houses with family this weekend and I am going to use the Christmas book my mom gave me with songs, stories and scriptures of Christmas (I'm a few days behind this year but oh well). We've been listening to Christmas music recently and I am loving it! It is one of the easiest ways to feel Christmas. I love giving and I love surprises, so I can't wait for people to receive our gifts (and a part of me is excited to be surprised as well!)

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas tree this year.