Count down to Christmas break...

I can't believe that this semester is already coming to a close. Finals are officially here, kinda scary but I feel pretty prepared. I can't decide if being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Christmas break, is making it easier or more difficult. But in order to hang in there a little bit longer I did deck out our apartment with some fun decorations. I brought up my mini Christmas tree from home along with some other decorations, and I downloaded about 10 CDs of Christmas music on to my computer so it almost always playing. Tis the season, I love Christmas and I can't wait to be home to spend it with family! :)

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the First Presidency Christmas Devotional at the General Conference center. I'd signed up a few weeks ago for tickets online and was lucky enough to be chosen through their random lottery selection. So on Sunday after church, April, Brock, Andrew, and I headed down to Salt Lake. We got seated just in time, and boy did we have great seats, on the floor in the middle. Once again, being the presence of the Prophet was an amazing feeling. That moment when everything goes quite and we all stand up together as he enters the room just never gets old. All three talks were fantastic. I liked Pres. Uchtdorf's comparisons to the Grinch :) and his reminder of what we should be focusing on during the Christmas season:
1. Rejoicing in the birth of our Savior
2. Pondering his influence in our lives today
3. Looking steadfastly for his coming
I also particularly liked Pres. Monson's story about the housekeeper and her gift of the Christmas star (made of old postcards). He always has the best stories. I have to say though, one of the things I enjoyed most was hearing the Tabernacle choir sing. I've only been to the Young Women's conferences so I have never heard them before. I absolutely loved it, they were amazing and the Christmas arrangements with the orchestra were so beautiful.

After the devotional ended we made our way to Temple square, along with everyone else so it was super crowded. However, seeing the lights and temple was totally worth it. There was a heavy fog so the temple looked even more amazing than usual. Thanks to April we captured it in several pictures.

This one's my favorite :)