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.