December

I love December.

I was so excited for the Christmas season this year and now that it is here I feel as if it is passing by so quickly.  But I've been making the best of the time I have by immersing myself in Christmas "stuff," particularly crafts and baking.  Peppermint cupcakes and peppermint bark are my recent "delectable's."  

Triple chocolate cupcakes with peppermint frosting = yummy.

After 4 and a half years of marriage we still have not gotten our own stockings because I've been meaning to make them.  This year I was REALLY wanting to make it happen but unfortunately I've not had a sewing machine on hand.  After debating over what I should do, I decided I wanted to make stockings bad enough and so I've set about doing it by hand!  I'm so happy to say that they are turning out great (with a few speed bumps along the way) and it's been a nice quiet activity I do at night after Mercedes is in bed.  It's slow detailed work but quite enjoyable.

This is Mercedes' stocking.

School finished several weeks ago and the break has been WONDERFUL.  Taylor gets to be home with Mercedes and I every day and we're cherishing the time.  I'm also happy to say I got good grades!  Which is very good news because my GPA from BYU needed some help.  ( I was not very serious about my schooling back then).  I have also decided to take 6 more credits next semester and I'm starting to get motivated about seeing myself graduating...someday.  But that "someday" can actually happen if I choose to plug away at it, slowly but surely.  I figure if I take six credits a semester until I finish it will take me about... 5 "ish" years.  That may sound hopelessly long and not worth it but if I had started this when Taylor and I got married I'd be almost graduated by now.  The time is going to pass whether I do school or not, so I might as well get it done in the process.

Speaking of graduating, my sis-in-law Hannah Nelson graduated from BYU Idaho last week and we are SO PROUD of her.  She is my inspiration and I hope to finish someday, just like her.

Hannah and brother, Thomas.

I'm so excited for Christmas and very excited to begin the new year.  Oh and can I just say, I cannot wait to see Les Miserables.  Wow.

Love Mercedes' smile!  ( I think I was paranoid about touching my chin to the wood.  Germs.  Ew.)

 Merry Christmas!