On the 9th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is Christmas carols. I had the opportunity to go Christmas caroling with some of my ward members last night. We had such a blast! I was a little skeptical about it all at first, but I was blown away by how much fun I had. It was so great to be able to spread the Spirit of Christmas through singing. So today I give thanks for Christmas carols...

...the temple...
...my two best friends...
...prayer...
...technology...
...freshly fallen snow...
...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.

The German Store: $40, An over-priced bakery: $10, A trip to Salt Lake to see the Lights on Temple Square with my two best friends: PRICELESS!!!

Saturday was a great day! I started it out with a 9:00 am showing of "Avatar". The company that my dad works for had reserved the theater for that morning as a Christmas gift to their employees and their families. Although I am not a science fiction fan, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It was kind of long but it was good and worth getting up and going to the movie at 9:00 on a Saturday morning.

After the movie, Bergs came and picked me up then we headed to JCPenney to grab Michelle. We went down to Salt Lake so Bergs could get some hairs cut and then see the lights. It was a great time! While Bergs was getting a new do, Michelle and I made a pilgrimage to Siegfried's Delicatessen. It is the best place to get German goodies and I love to go there at Christmas time. I loaded up on some high quality German chocolate, marzipan, and other delicious treats. After the German store, we still had some time to kill so we went to check out a bakery that I'd seen a number of times while in Salt Lake. It was a cute little shop but kind of pricey. However, I did decide to splurge and buy a $10 Christmas Stollen (another German goody). Michelle and I then headed back to Bergs' cousin's house and we picked her up. Our next stop was the Olive Garden where we ate some delicious dinner. We even got Michelle to try a shrimp! (Which she promptly decided was nasty ;o) ). After we had gorged ourselves on soup/salad, breadsticks, and pasta, we waddled over to Temple Square and spent an hour looking at the lights. They were beautiful!!! I'm bummed that my camera was being stupid and couldn't get a real high-quality picture of the three of us in by the temple. Nevertheless, it was a great evening and I'm realy glad we took the time to go down there!

Michelle, Me, and Bergs at the good old Olive Garden.

 Of course we had to get a picture or Michelle aka "Muss" by the Muss sign.

Michelle by a French luminarie.

Me and a German luminarie.

Bergs by a Spanish luminarie.

The reflecting pool has an awesome nativity in the middle of it.

The temple.

Bergs, Me, and Michelle at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

On the 8th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is the temple. I love the temple. Although I am not yet endowed, I still feel of the power of it in my life. Recently I've taken the time to drive up and just sit outside the temple in my truck. It has been a great opportunity to sit, ponder, pray, reflect on my life, and work things out in my mind. It truly is a place of revelation and I'm grateful that I can have a temple so close to me. So today I give thanks for the temple...

...my two best friends...
...prayer...
...technology...
...freshly fallen snow...
...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.

On the 7th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is my best friends. I have the two best friends in the world. They push me to be better, let me be who I am, and make me happy whenever I am with them. I've had different "best" friends over the years, but these two have always been there for me. We've grown up together, laughed together, and even cried together. So today I give thanks for my two best friends...

...prayer...
...technology...
...freshly fallen snow...
...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.

On the 6th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is prayer. I am thankful that I can have personal communication with my Father in Heaven. I am grateful that He wants me to speak to Him. It is such a comfort in my life to always have someone to turn to. So today I give thanks for prayer...

...technology...
...freshly fallen snow...
...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.

On the 5th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is technology. I am so thankful to be alive at this time with all the technological advances we have. I am not a real technologically hip person but I would definitely miss being able to use such luxuries as the internet, my cell phone, the radio, my truck, and many more that I cannot even name. I am thankful for the things that such technologies allow me to do and I'm sure that is why the inventors were given the knowledge to create--they are to benefit mankind and help us go about the work we are to do here. So today I give thanks for technology...

...freshly fallen snow...
...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.

On the 4th Day of Christmas, a gift I'm grateful for...

...is the snow. I love snow. It is so beautiful. I can't imagine a winter without it. It makes everything so clean and new. There is nothing better than a calm winter's night where I'm wrapped up in a cozy blanket, sipping hot chocolate, and watching snowflakes cover the ground. And so today, I give thanks for freshly fallen snow...

...my ward family...
...the gospel in my life...
...and the talents I've been given.