Merry Christmas!

Our stockings are hung on our bookshelves with care.
Tim is ready to stand as Joseph at our Christmas devotional.
The snow hasn't yet fallen, and looks like it won't, but one can always hope. 
Temple Square was beautiful.
Mr. Kruger has gone caroling with Clarissa.
Bing and Danny have visited Pine Tree, Vermont.
The iPod is working overtime.

"Sometimes it seems that our efforts to have a perfect Christmas season are like a game of Jenga—you know, the one played with small wooden blocks that are precariously stacked up to a tower. As we try to increase the height of the tower, we pull out one wooden block before we can place it on top of the delicate structure.

Each of those little wooden blocks is a symbol of the perfect Christmas events we so desperately want to have. We have in our minds a picture of how everything should be—the perfect tree, the perfect lights, the perfect gifts, and the perfect family events. We might even want to re-create some magical moment we remember from Christmases past, and nothing short of perfection will do.

Sooner or later, something unpleasant occurs—the wooden blocks tumble, the drapes catch fire, the turkey burns, the sweater is the wrong size, the toys are missing batteries, the children quarrel, the pressure rises—and the picture-perfect Christmas we had imagined, the magic we had intended to create, shatters around us. As a result, the Christmas season is often a time of stress, anxiety, frustration, and perhaps even disappointment.

But then, if we are only willing to open our hearts and minds to the spirit of Christmas, we will recognize wonderful things happening around us that will direct or redirect our attention to the sublime. It is usually something small—we read a verse of scripture; we hear a sacred carol and really listen, perhaps for the first time, to its words; or we witness a sincere expression of love. In one way or another, the Spirit touches our hearts, and we see that Christmas, in its essence, is much more sturdy and enduring than the many minor things of life we too often use to adorn it.

In these precious moments we realize what we feel and know in our heart—that Christmas is really about the Christ." - Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Yes, indeed, Christmas is much more sturdy than all it's trappings. 

And now, a little blogging quiet, and everything else quiet - for the season.

I wish you a Merry Christmas...
that the peace of our Savior Jesus Christ's love will fill your home.

Merry Christmas!