happy anniversary to me, happy anniversary to me

I'm so itchy that I'm about to flay myself with my dull office scissors. How's your Thursday? Okay, so this post isn't going to be all complaints, I've just been going nuts all day and had to share that with someone. Sorry if it's TMI. Now, down to business.

well, the celebration of one anyway

I've been married to this dude for four years today, can you believe it?

Neither can we! Haha, kidding. Facebook very obligingly brought up some of the pictures from that fateful day and would you look at us?

[photo courtesy of Ethan Watts Photography]

Adorable babies.

This picture still captures how I feel about adulthood.

A lot has changed in the last four years. In some respects I don't really recognize who I was then but I believe the differences are for the better.

I think that the only marriage you can ever be an expert in is your own. While I often still feel like a novice, I've learned a lot about myself in these four years [like the fact that I am not an overt romantic, hence the brevity of this post]. It's been both more challenging and more rewarding than anything I've ever done before and I can't wait to see what the rest of the course will bring us. As long as it includes more 30 second impromptu dance parties I think we'll be just fine.

christmas time is here

It's December! Where did the rest of the year go?

I know I'm a little behind on the December train but that's mostly because December is somehow the busiest month of my life. Okay, also because I've started watching Leverage on Netflix [no spoilers!!! but if Parker and Hardison don't end up together at some point I will start throwing things]. I'm aiming to get our Christmas tree up this weekend which would be a major improvement on last year when we got it up like three days before Christmas. I figure when we have kids I'll get more into decorating in a timely fashion but man, with just the two of us I'm realizing how not-really-attached I am to the bells and whistles of the holidays.

We haven't had snow in a week or two and recently the weather has actually been warm enough to rain which has bummed out a lot of people I know but I've been loving it. The fewer deep-freeze days we have the happier I'll be. Plus, with as dry as I've already gotten I appreciate even the illusion of a higher level of moisture in the air.

I have finally succumbed to the relentless torrent of Christmas music, as it's officially post-Thanksgiving, and I've found some new renditions of classics that I absolutely love.

Lindsey Stirling's contribution to mormon.org's #asaviorisborn is beautiful and her thoughts on the experience [at the end of the video] were striking. The Christmas season is one of joy but for a lot of people it's one of loneliness and heartache.

Okay, so Pentatonix released this video last year but it's one I think I'll be coming back to for ages as it's the best rendition of Mary, Did You Know that I've ever heard. Chills, guys. Chills.

I've always enjoyed The Little Drummer Boy more for the message than the actual music but this Alex Boye version, with an Africanized spin, really brought the joy back to the song for me.

Do you guys have any favorite Christmas songs? Old classics or new? Share them in the comments so I can give them a listen!

I select the music for my ward's Relief Society meetings each Sunday and this last week I was asked if I would include more Christmas hymns for the month as we aren't slated to sing any in our sacrament meetings - wait, what?! I've noticed recently that some wards don't utilize holiday hymns which is just mind-boggling to me. I don't think we sang any this last Easter which, Tim can attest to, made me very unhappy. I know the message of Christ is found in all the hymns available to us but those associated with holidays are beautiful and special in their own way and we so rarely have applicable Sunday's to sing them. So, Christmas in Relief Society it is. This is going to be fun :)

I would be remiss if I didn't share this Christmas video as well. A Savior is Born was one of the first videos mormon.org released for the Christmas season this year and it is absolutely beautiful. No matter how many times you've heard the Christmas story I encourage you to take a minute to watch this. I hope we might all find more of the spirit of the season in our lives this year.