See you in a week!! Hopefully I'll remember to pull out the camera occasionally so you can all share it with me!!

Catching Up

It's been a really long time since I posted anything, so I thought I'd do a quick catch up post.  A few weeks ago I was asked to sing a solo in Sacrament Meeting and that happened today.  I chose the song Once there was One, which is one I've sung a few times before so it's familiar and very beautiful.  It turned out really good and thanks to the Spirit I got through it and added a lot to the spirit of the meeting.  After it was over, I got a lot of compliments and a lot of people told me that they didn't know I could sing like that.  I don't try to hide my talents, but singing solo is not something I'm absolutely comfortable with, except in the shower.  I was happy to share my talent and would do it again if asked, but it's not something I beg for.  In other news, Alabama is 5 days away!!  I am so excited!  It will be so nice to get away for a few days and especially to a place I've not been.  Yesterday I was at Mom and Dad's and 7 year old Colin asked me to bring him something from Alabama.  I asked him what kind of something and he promptly replied, "I don't know, something random... something boy style."  I laughed.  Mom suggested a rock.  He'd love it!!  Anyway I'm excited.  I guess that's all for now!!

Funny Quote

I found this quote the other day.  I don't remember where, so I can't give credit, but I laughed so hard and decided to share it here.  I like it A LOT!!!

I figured out why I’m so fat. The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says “for extra volume and body.” I’m going to start using Dawn dish washing soap. It says, “dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove.”

Happy Day

 Yesterday my cousin Landon married the love of his life!  We are excited to welcome Hailee to the family.  I just love Hailee.  The past few months Landon and Hailee and I have been getting together for dinner and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know her just a bit and she is amazing and perfect for Landon.  It was such a great day!  Landon's whole family lives out of state so we were able to see all of them.  Vance and Cheryl came from Iowa, Hannah and Lynae and Camden from Alabama (amidst the tornado carnage), and Jameson and Jocelyn from Kansas.  It was such a beautiful (snowy, overcast, with a few peeks of sunshine) day and such a great thing to be in the temple with a bunch of people you love.  My Uncle Kevin and Aunt Debbie brought my Grandma and Grandpa and a lot of Cheryl's family was there too.  The reception was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and there was a lot of family present.  I was able to bond a bit with Camden who is almost 18 months old and is a real mama's boy (with Dad not here, but I imagine he loves Dad just as much).  He had to warm up to me but by the end of the night he was talking and giggling and playing ring around the rosy with Grandma and Mom and Hannah and Jameson and I.  I wish I had a picture... it was too cute.  I ended up staying until the very very end and walked out with Vance and Cheryl and then walked to the parking lot with Vance and got some one on one talking time with him.  He's such a great guy.  I came home feeling a bit melancholy because even though it was such a great day, one of the problems with having out of town family is that you get to see them for a few hours every little while and then it's back to saying goodbye.  The light at the end of the tunnel is that I get to travel to Alabama to hang with Lynae and Tyler and Camden and Hannah in 26 days!!!  I'm so excited to see where they live and to spend some quality time with them.  It makes saying goodbye a little easier knowing that I'm going to see them in less than a month.  Hopefully Camden will remember me and I won't have to rebond!!   I'll post a few pictures here and then hopefully I can get some from Mom because I didn't have my camera at the temple... I know big surprise!

The cake... I've never seen one like this before... not sure what it is.

From L to R:  My dad's cousin Carolyn, Grandma Gardiner, Jameson (Landon's older brother)

The centerpiece.  Hailee decided to do greens as her colors and it was springy and beautiful.

I love the saying on this picture frame--Live every moment, Laugh every day, and Love beyond words.

The first dance

Camden and "Aunt" Julie-- I'm really his first cousin once removed, but that's way too difficult so Lynae calls me Aunt Julie!  He wanted the camera... that's the only reason he's smiling!!

Camden and his mommy Lynae!! ( I love this girl!!)

Lynae, Camden, Hailee, and Landon with the temple spires in the background!!  So Beautiful!!

The lighting is bad in this picture, but I needed this one.  Landon accused me of trying to split them up, but I told him it was only temporary!!

Farewells

Okay so I admit that at times I am pathetic and tonight is no different.  I just watched Steve Carell's final episode of The Office and realized what a fan I am.  I found myself crying as he said his final goodbyes to everyone.  Over and over I've told myself I should stop watching the show, but I haven't been able to stop.  I'm super addicted to it and I'm really going to miss him.  Maybe the change will be what gets me to stop watching the show, but for tonight I'm just going to sit here and miss Michael Scott for a minute more.  I know... pathetic!!

For Lynae...

Today my bestest cousin Lynae randomly called me.  I love random phone calls from besties!!  She told me I need to put up an updated picture of the countdown chain since it seems too long still.  We are down to 39 days!!  I am so excited to go see her!  So Lynae, here is the 39 day count down.

Toddler Crafts

My friend Nicole has been posting a lot lately about spring toddler crafts that she has been doing with her kids.  Well I lack the whole kids thing, but yesterday I did something so totally 4 year old that I wanted to post about it.  I decided this year that some of my vacation time would go toward visiting my cousins Lynae and Hannah, along with Lynae's husband Tyler and baby Camden at their home in Alabama.  I bought my plane ticket with my tax return and I am seriously looking forward to 6 days in a place I've never been.  Yesterday while watching conference I decided to make a paper chain to count down the days.  I counted it up on the calendar and 54 chains later this hangs on my living room wall.  Happy Counting!!!

Catching Up

It's 9:00 on a Saturday morning and I'm not at work.  That is good news number one.  Good news number two is that RC Willey will be here any minute with my new bedroom set. Good news number three is that today is General Conference, and I'm going to actually get to watch all 4 sessions.  So the reason I'm not at work is because of General Conference, and the necessity of the manager to be there during the Priesthood session rushes.  I decided to work 6 to close so I can watch conference and still be there for the rush.  It makes a lot of things possible, that aren't usually possible on Saturdays.  Our Young Women are preparing to walk from the Draper Temple to the Salt Lake Temple in September, so a bunch of them get together every Saturday morning and walk.  Because of work, I generally can't go, but this time I woke up early and met them.  We walked a little more than four miles and I am severely out of shape!  I need to walk more by myself, because I was tired after 2 miles, barely made it 4 and now I'm sitting here hoping I don't have to move for a bit.  22 plus miles is going to kill me.  I'd like to think I'm going to make it on adrenaline but I'm not!!  I'm going to have to train for this a lot more than I am now.  I also think I need to buy insoles for my shoes.  The balls of my feet feel raw.  In other news, the new bedroom set is on it's way.  RC Willey had this great deal.  The whole thing (headboard, foot board, side rails, dresser w/ mirror, night stand and HD TV) for $700.  It was way too good to pass up, plus it's pretty!!

 March was an interesting month in a lot of ways.  The first Sunday in March, the Bishop pulled me out of Sunday School and asked if I'd do him a "hard" favor.  I told him I would and he proceeded to ask me to speak in church about the trial of being single in a family church.  I was stumped about how I would take on that task, but after a lot of praying and some serious study I figured out how to present it, and I felt the spirit so strongly and delivered a talk that I hoped was what the Bishop wanted and afterward, he confirmed that it had been.  The biggest struggle for me was that I'd never thought about being single as a trial to me until he pointed it out.  Of course, there are things that I feel like I'm missing out on, not being married, but overall I'm a happy girl.  It was a humbling experience, followed by relief that I couldn't give the talk assigned to the lady that spoke after me.  She had to talk about the trial of being divorced in a family church.  Two weeks later, a couple spoke about the trial of not being able to get pregnant and dealing with not having children.  My first response was that I'm so glad I don't have to deal with those trials, but I realized we all have different trials designed to prove us here to see if we will follow our Heavenly Father.  My second response was a quote I once heard.  It says "be grateful for your trials because if you didn't have them, you wouldn't be here and if they were any less difficult we'd find someone with less ability to take your place."  Sometimes it's easier to be grateful for what you have, when you realize that there are other people in the world much worse off than you are.  That sounds incredibly callous, but I was telling someone, that I was glad I had never found Mr. Right, instead of being married to and divorced from Mr. Wrong.  Also, the struggle of being married and not being able to have children would be terrible to me.  I've always taken for granted that someday I would be a mom.  I can't imagine being married and not having that as the obvious next step.  There are a lot worse things than being single.  Well, that ended up being really long so thanks for reading.  More later!

Arizona

So it's only been like a month since our Arizona trip.  Seems like high time to blog about it.  Unfortunately, I am a worse photographer than blogger so the pictures are few and far between, but you'll learn to deal with that I'm sure.  Mom and Katie and Karson and I headed out after work on Wednesday, February 9.  The goal was to be in Mesa with Todd and Nicole for Rory's second birthday on the 10th.  I got off work at 6 and we headed to Costco for some dinner, car snacks, and Grandma Sycamore bread.  They don't have it in Arizona so we needed to pick up a few (10) loaves for the freezer.  We stopped at my house for one last bathroom break and headed south.  I drove the first few hours, then Mom took a turn, then me again, then Mom got us into Mesa.  We dropped Katie and Karson off at Katie's mom's house and continued east to Todd and Nicole's arriving about 7:00 am.  None of us slept at all on the drive down, and Mom and I caught about 15 minutes later that morning, but we all stayed awake about 42 hours.  After Nicole took Andrew to preschool, we went to Target to get Rory's pictures taken.  She was about as cooperative as any two year old should be expected to be and after Nicole chose the pictures she wanted to keep, we headed home.  Nicole took Rory to Andrew's preschool Valentine party and Mom and I grabbed some Jack in the Box and our 15 minute nap.  When the kids got back, they went down for naps and when they woke up, we headed to the mall.  Rory's big present from mommy and daddy was to get her ears pierced.  She was pretty good.  The pen marking the spot on her ears freaked her out more than the actual gun did, and she only cried for a few minutes after it was over.  My favorite part was when she thanked the lady for piercing her ears midst the wails.

The before shot...

Pretty little pink pearls 

After taking video of it for Todd, who was working, we headed to the Disney store.  I'm not sure who likes that store more, Andrew and Rory or Mama and Meemaw (Nicole's mom), but it was fun for all.  They were having a sale on stuffed toys, buy one get one free.  I hadn't found much to give Rory for her birthday so I let her pick two stuffed toys.  She picked a Rapunzel doll and a Tiana doll.  After spending some time and money in the Disney store we went to this spot in the mall where they have all these animals and junk that the kids can climb on and around.  This is where most of my pictures were taken.

Andrew playing in baby Jaguar

Cheese it up kid!

Andrew wanted to make sure I got in on the fun, so he took the picture!

Rory and the groundhogs

After playing for awhile (and a quick run to Payless for mom and I to take advantage of BOGO), we left the mall and much to our surprise found Todd in the mall parking lot.  He took the birthday girl in his car, and we headed back to Nicole's mom's house for some pizza and crazy bread.  We got home in time to put the kids in bed an hour late, and then Nicole's primetime TV shows were on so we watched those and turned in early. Friday morning we woke up and hung out for the morning.  We took the kids outside and they rode bikes around the neighborhood and then we grabbed the sand stuff and played in the sandbox until lunch and nap time.  Sorry, no camera....While they napped Mom and I headed out to the Mesa Temple to take in a session and the pictures of us at the temple are on Mom's camera.  When we got back Nicole's mom and sister were watching the kids while Nicole went to do activity days.  When she got back, the kids wanted to dance so we went to the kitchen and Nicole turned on some music and they danced on the counter.  It was epic.


When Todd got home from work, we headed out for Girls Night Out while Todd stayed home with the kids.  We went to downtown Mesa where on every second Friday of the month they have booths and demonstrations and stuff like that.  We wandered up and down Main Street, just admiring the paintings, crafts, jewelry, etc.  I had been looking for some time for a ring, that was small and tasteful and was lucky enough to find one for $30 there.  An Indian woman from Page area was selling turquoise rings and I really liked this one so I bought it for my Arizona souvenir.

Ignore the dry cracked Utah hands!!!!

After we were tired of walking around we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  I don't know about everyone else (well I know Nicole wasn't too impressed with her food), but my Stuffed chicken tortillas and chocolate coconut cream pie cheesecake were amazing.  (I am still craving it!!)  We got home pretty late, and went to sleep.
Saturday was Rory's birthday party.  Todd and I took her to see Tangled.  She's two.  It's long.  I still haven't seen it all the way through.  We ended up getting our money back and going home to put the tired child to bed.  I spent some time outside, just sitting in the sun catching up on my Jesus the Christ reading for Young Women's and got a bit of sunburn.  It was great!!  Mom and Meemaw spent the morning setting up the birthday party on Meemaw's screened in patio.  It was an awesome place to have a party.  Todd drew a chalk race track for the kids to ride bikes on and we got rotisserie chicken from Costco and Nicole made Rory's favorite pasta salad and zucchini.  After dinner, Rory opened up all of her presents. (Again, no camera!   I know, I'm amazing!)  We ate Tangled cake and Rory got the huge piece with the plastic Rapunzel doll, and did much better this year than last year.  After cake Todd and I took the kids home to put them to bed while the others cleaned up.  After the kids were in bed, Todd needed to do some work at home, so the girls went to Nicole's mom's to hit up the hot tub.  One of the great things about Mesa in February is the pool is nice too.  We swam for a few minutes and then hit the hot tub.  We sat around chatting and enjoying each other's company and then went back to Todd and Nicole's for some Wii Party. Sunday morning we had told Katie to meet us at 10 so we could get home at a fairly decent hour, so we loaded the car and she got there.  We had said goodbye to the kids before their naps so it was a goodbye to Todd and Nicole and out the door.  It was an awesome time and a big shout out to Todd and Nicole for letting us crash their house for a few days.  We really had a ton of fun and I hope I can go back soon... well next year, when I have vacation days again!

Wishful Thinking

The other day my sis in law (who lives in Arizona) asked me why I still had snowmen as my background and I told her it was because there was still snow at my house.  Today I don't want it to be winter anymore so I'm putting flowers on my blog to hint to the weather that I like Arizona weather better!  I still need to blog about our trip there, but for right now, enjoy the hint of spring!

Absent

I know it's been a long time since I posted, and I have a ton to post, but not so much time!  I'll try to do better.  Tonight I went to dinner with my cousin Landon and his fiance Hailee!  I LOVE THEM!!  They make me happy and I love our monthly hang out moment!  I'm excited for Hailee to be my cousin on April 30!  Mom and I and my sis in law Katie are leaving Wednesday to head down to Arizona to spend a few days in the sun!  Todd and Nicole and Katie's mom and some family are down there and Rory's birthday is Thursday, so we're planning on spending a few days with them.  I'm excited!! I'm so excited to go on vacation even for just a weekend.  I'm also planning a trip in May to visit Lynae and Tyler in Alabama, so it's going to be an awesome couple of months!!  Totally great!  I'll post more about life later, but right now I have a sinkful of dishes waiting!

Kindred Spirits

Today I had a pleasant surprise at work.  My friend Abby popped in with her kids to say hi and to make sure I was okay after my last blog post.  I have to say, Abby is the other sister that is missing from my family.  I mean my sisters are great, but everyone needs that one person that they just relate to!  Abby is that person for me.  I'm so grateful for her!  When I was transferred to Bountiful for work, I wasn't sure I would ever find the kind of people I was leaving in my last ward, but it's just as good and in some cases better.  I'm so grateful that I was led to this apartment and this ward.  It's been a life changing experience and I've met so many people that I can't imagine my life without.  Thanks Abby for thinking of me and taking time out of your busy afternoon to make mine even better!! I love you!

The January Letdown

WARNING:  The following post is probably going to be depressing.  Read on at your own risk!

Today I feel rather blah!! I just came off an insanely ridiculous work week (hours wise) and I feel like I've been hit by a truck!!  Also it's that great month where New Year's Resolutions are imagined and then quickly thrust away so as to not discourage one further!  I set out at the beginning of the month with all these great ideas of how I was going to adapt to being better and it's biting me in the butt!! I don't know why I have such issues!  I'm sure it's the tired talking, but I make all these plans for myself and end up just being too tired to do it.  My house is suffering (though I can't figure out who is messing it up), my Christmas tree is still up in the corner, my study schedule is already in catch up mode, and I get really excited when I come to a Sunday that I don't have to teach.  Isn't that just sad??  (Holly, if you're reading this, I'm just cranky not requesting a release!!!)  I need to find something to be happy about!!  I get a vacation in four weeks.  Maybe I should make a paper chain and rip one off each day until the blessed day of vacation!!  Maybe I should stop whining and go do something about the dishes in the sink. Maybe I should just devote my sabbath day to catching up on that study schedule and then be proactive in not having to catch up!!  Maybe I should remember my blessings and stop feeling sorry for myself.  Maybe my Sunday is going to involve a long nap!!  Whatever I need, it's important that I acknowledge that deep down, I really am happy.  I don't mind my job and I feel good about the fact that labor came down in just one day.  I'm okay!  I appreciate that I have this place to vent and whine, and really no one can do anything about it... except choose not to read, and I'm okay with that too!!!  Maybe my next post can be about something funny!! I'll look for something!!

For Lynae...

Andrew and Rory

Malerie holding Jaydon, Kaitlynn holding Karson

Kaitlynn and Karson

Jaydon 

Karson and his mama

Colin, Kaitlynn, Kayla, and Hailey

Kaitlynn holding Rachel, Malerie holding Jaydon

Karson loves Daddy

Crazy hair Karson

Karson loves Christmas!

Rachel 

Karson in his new Christmas outfit and his daddy 

My favorite one of Karson

For Nicole...

Sorry Nicole, but here are a few ( and I mean few) pictures of Christmas Eve jammies...

Katie Spencer and Karson

 Kaitlynn holding Rachel, Karson, Kayla, Jaydon, Colin, Hailey, Malerie

Kaitlynn and Rachel

1 day till CHRISTmas

(So I wrote this post Christmas Eve and didn't get it posted at Mom's house, so I just wanted to put it here so you'd all see the advent calendar with Jesus in it.  Merry Day after Christmas!)

Tomorrow is Christmas!!!  I'm so excited.  Tonight for the advent we read 3 Nephi 1 and Luke 2.  We sang Joy to the World to commemorate.  I'm super excited for tomorrow!  Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!!!

2 days till CHRISTmas

The good news about today is that I only have 4 hours left of work (tomorrow) and then it's Christmas vacation!! Yay!  Today's advent is Alma 37:37 Counsel with the Lord.  Talk with your Heavenly Father about your day and the things you are grateful for.

3 days till CHRISTmas

Okay so it's like 12:30 in the morning of the 23rd so I guess technically it's 2 days till Christmas, but I haven't gone to bed yet so it's still 3.  I just got back from watching my cousin Lynae's son while they went to see Savior of the World and I just want to say that I think it is so funny when someone is so grateful to you for doing something for them, but really... you got the better end of the deal.  Lynae lives in Alabama and so really the only time I've seen Camden lately is on the web cam.  I hoped he wouldn't freak out since he doesn't really know me, but he was totally cool with the idea!  I guess he's had to get to know everyone again this trip, so what's one more face in the mix, but the others were his grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and I'm just one of his mom's random cousins!!  I hope that he never sees me like that, because I really like the idea of having a relationship with this adorable little boy!  Anyway, let's get on to the advent, so I can get on to bed!!  3 Nephi 12:9:  Make a resolution to be a happier and kinder person.  At first when I read this one, I thought it was kind of funny, but the more I think about it, I really need this one.  At my job, I'm kind of the mean one.  I think it partly comes with the territory, being the manager and all, but I think I could uphold the rules and standards that I am called upon to uphold differently.  I think I could really work on being a nicer person, and not letting mundane things that drive me crazy affect my attitude and demeanor.  I think it's possible to manage and be a peacemaker at the same time, and that is my goal.

4 days till CHRISTmas

Today's advent is Alma 34:17-19:  In your prayers, express thanks to Heavenly Father for the gift of His son.

5 days till CHRISTMAS

So there has been a small change in my advent calendar.  The last five activities were either for super young kids or for families to do together and since I live alone and my family is a bit too far away to help out, I decided to find five different things to do.  Todays is: Helaman 14:2-3,5  Write in your journal what your family Christmas traditions are.  My family's traditions have changed as the family gets older and bigger, but there are things that I'd like to be traditions in my home when I have kids of my own, or just for myself.  One of my favorite traditions is reading The Forgotten Carols and listening to the music with each chapter.  Also I have to watch Meet Me in St. Louis, White Christmas, and Miracle on 34th Street. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to Temple Square.  Going to Christmas Sacrament meeting in my parent's ward is also an important part of my Christmas.  The music is a big part of my Christmas.  I hate that the radio stations play Christmas music the day after Halloween, but I don't mind when I decide to play it on my own.  There are so many songs that I just love and listen to on repeat!!  I love making Christmas treats and eating them!

6 days till CHRISTmas

Today was my favorite Sunday of the year!!  I got to go to my ward and see the Christmas program and hear a fabulous Young Women's lesson (Thanks Cori!!) and then I headed south for Mom and Dad's ward Christmas program.  It's one of my favorite Sundays to go back because there is always a really great turn out of people I haven't seen in a long time and the Christmas program is a lot the same year to year, so it's comfortable.  I sat in the congregation and mouthed along!  Todays advent was made possible by the fact that it was the Ward Christmas program.  It is Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus Christ taught us to love our neighbors.  Do something nice for a neighbor.  During Sacrament meeting, I found myself wedged between two of my favorite families, that both have small children and 3 out of 4 parents in the choir.  I got to help entertain their children during the program and after it was over one of the moms came and apologized and I told her it wasn't necessary because I LOVE IT!!  It makes me feel important when the parents trust me to sit by their kids and the kids like me enough to let me sit with them.  At one point I had two of the daughters (one from each family) sitting on my lap and it was awesome!!  So thanks to Abby and Holly for giving me the opportunity to do something nice for your families and thanks to my Heavenly Father for letting me find a place to live in such an AMAZING ward!!  I love you guys!!

7 days till CHRISTmas

Today's advent is 3 Nephi 17:21-24. Jesus Christ blessed little children because He loved them.  Show you love for a brother, sister, or friend by sharing a toy or helping them in some way.  Since I'm not a small child who can share my toys... today I am watching my sisters kids while she finishes up her Christmas shopping.  It's a fun day when you get to play with a 7 year old and a 5 year old.  I've played Hide and Seek and Wii with them.  It really takes me back to being a kid.

8 days till CHRISTmas

I can't believe we're down to almost one week!!  It's so fun to count down.  I told a girl at work that I wanted to make a red and green Christmas chain, but it wasn't worth it to me to start in December because it's only 25 days.  I told her I was going to make it this week and count down till next Christmas.  She thinks I'm nuts...probably true!!  Today's advent is 3 Nephi 23:1:  Jesus Christ commanded the Nephites to study the words of Isaiah.  Read Isaiah 53:3-5 and think about the Atonement.  I love this scripture.  When I was on my mission I memorized it and it's one of the few I can still quote.  I remember hearing a quote from someone that said something to the effect of no one would care about the baby in a manger if it hadn't been for the cross.  Not exactly but you get the gist.  Without the Atonement, Jesus Christ would have been just another baby born.  His whole mission, his work was to bring about the Atonement so the Plan of Salvation could continue.  I love 3 Nephi 27:13-14 which reads "Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I gave given unto you-- that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.  And my Father sent me that I might be lifted upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether thy be good or whether they be evil..."  I'm so grateful for the baby in the manger that became the man in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.  I'm grateful that He knew His role and wasn't afraid to come down and accomplish it.  I'm so grateful that He loves me enough to let me come back to live with Him again.  I'm so thankful that I have the gospel which Christ gave.  God lives and He loves us and He proved it by giving us His son.  "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine son."

10 and then 9 days till CHRISTmas

Today I need to post 2 advents because last night was girls night and I got home after midnight.  We got together and made Christmas treats.  YUMMY!!  Yesterday's advent was: 3 Nephi 12:16 Jesus asked us to be examples to those around us.  Set an example of service by helping with the dishes or cleaning or other chores at home.  I don't know who I'm being an example to, but at least my house is clean now.  At least for a little while until I mess it up again.  I've discovered I'm really good at that.

Today I had a rather productive day.  I got off work early and had a primp day.  I got a haircut and a pedicure and then headed down town to meet Mom and Dad for the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert, which unfortunately we missed due to some bad planning and worse traffic.  We ended up walking around on Temple Square and seeing some stuff in the Visitor's Centers.  Not a bad evening, though it was too cold and I'm thinking of putting in a request to Mac Wilberg and Mac Christensen to have the Christmas concert in July next year.  I think that will be best for all involved!  Anyway, today's advent is  D&C 19:38-39:  Jesus Christ asks us to pray always.  Carry a prayer in your heart today, thanking Heavenly Father for your blessings.  I think this is a good reminder and it is really helpful to get through a stressful day.