Joy to the World

December is almost over and I am happy to kiss it goodbye! December has been an extremely busy month with one large activity after another. At the beginning of the month the relief society was in charge of the ward christmas party. I was the chair for it and I told the bishop that it was my grand finale! As always it is an incredible amount of work, but this year was very rewarding. Each member of the presidency was over preparing and cooking certain items on the menu. It was crazy for a few hours, but it was really nice not to send around sign ups. I was given a nice floral arrangement to say thank you from the bishopric. 

Next up I had my last relief society activity of 2015! It was the 9th activity of the year and it was a nice one to end on. We went caroling to a few sisters who are in nursing homes. Beforehand we had appetizers and a christmas message. I had made a small christmas present for each sister of mittens and a quote. I feel very happy with how this year went with activities. 

I took on the ward's Angel Tree this year. I collected a total of 44 gifts for 7 families. It was a wonderful experience and it helped to bring the christmas spirit into our home. We collected gifts for children and youth and it was humbling at the simple requests that they had. The girls were very interested in all of the gifts collecting in the basement. I explained to them how lucky they are to have so much and that a lot of children don't have as much. Addison helped me bag and tag the gifts and it was a fun experience to do together. 

This was a month of service and giving of time. As the month went on and each activity came to a close I felt more and more grateful for my Savior. I am grateful for a supportive family who put up with all the running around that I had to do. The girls never cried or threw fits that we had to go into one more store. Dave helped with the girls with all the late meetings and planning that went on. My parents watched the girls for me several times so I could spend a full day gathering supplies. I truly couldn't have accomplished all that I did this month without their support. I feel very blessed and I am happy every time I look at this photo that was taken at the ward party. I love my little family and hope that they grow to realize how much I do!