Home for the Holidays

"I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me. Please have snow, and mistletoe, and presents 'neath the tree."

Well, it's Christmas time. There's presents under the tree. The mistletoe didn't get put up this year...but it's fake anyway so that's okay. And besides...I don't have anyone to kiss under the mistletoe anyway. And...there's no snow. I keep hoping, but the forecast isn't looking promising. I haven't had snow for 2 Christmases in a year already...but the past 2 years were understandable. I'm in IDAHO this year, for crying out loud! There should be snow! And I am most definitely home for Christmas. I loved Christmas in the mission. It was probably one of my favorite times (or two of my favorite times because I was one of the "lucky" sisters to have 2 Christmases in the mission field). And I will miss Christmas in the mission. But it is good being back with the family. It's good participating in all of the traditions we have as a family for Christmas. I mean...really, who knows where I'll be a year from now. So I'm really soaking it in as much as possible.

But it is different being home. I have said "goodbye" to Rexburg. That's weird. I've always gone back to Rexburg after Christmas break. This year I'm moving to Utah right after Christmas. That's kind of scary. I am excited, but it will have its challenges, I'm sure. Packing up Friday afternoon was really emotional for me. I had a hard time keeping back the tears. There were times that I just broke down. We went to Carlee's graduation party that her parents threw for her and I totally lost it there as her guys sang a song they wrote for her. Boy, oh boy. I tried real hard to hold back the tears, but it just didn't work. I got a little choked up as I drove out of Rexburg for the last time Friday night. I think the anticipation of being able to spend a Christmas home with my family for the first time in a few years helped me hold it together. We'll see how things continue to go. At least I haven't graduated...that would have totally torn me apart, I think. I'm not ready to be done yet, even though I pretty much am done. It just hasn't hit me yet.

Anyway, I'm excited to be able to spend this Christmas with my family. I'll be busy the whole break before i move working and organizing my stuff and trying to figure out where to put it, now that I don't have a room at home. Well, I do. It's just the smallest room in the house. Kesha basically kicked me out of the room. But I'm really okay with that because now, after 23 years, I finally have my own room. And I'm not going to be here much. I'll just use Kesha's room as a storage room for my stuff that I don't need down in Utah. I've already said that I'm not going to move home again. It's time that I get my own space.

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the time I have to spend with my family. I'm not going to take it for granted. And I'm super excited for the Christmas program in Sacrament Meeting next Sunday. It will help keep us focused on the real reason of the season. Kesha and I are going to sing with the ward choir. The choir director wants us to do a duet, so we're going to do that. One of the songs we're singing is "For Unto Us a Child is Born" from Handel's Messiah. I'm singing soprano for the choir...something I've never really done before. I kinda struggled with that song because I've sung it before, and was one of the strong altos in the choir. But I'll get it. I brought the music home and will practice this week.

I'm looking forward to this week, and being home for the holidays :0)