wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.

I read something poignant from Ralph Waldo Emerson last night. He said, "Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself." This Christmas I hope we can all remember what we are really giving and receiving. I have been given the wonderful gift of a loving family and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that I will always be able to give the pure love of Christ to others, holding nothing back.

I love you all.

Merry Christmas!

is in love with John Denver.

As many of you know, I've had a slight obsession with cowboys and Native Americans this year (no, I'm not going to say "Indians"). This song is my absolute favorite Christmas song at the moment. I close my eyes and picture it. It makes me want to write more of my novel. I think I will tonight... if I can get through three meetings, tithing settlement, and volleyball.

"Christmas for Cowboys"
John Denver


Tall in the saddle, we spend Christmas Day,

driving the cattle over snow covered-plains.

All of the good gifts given today,

ours is the sky and the wide open range.


Back in the cities they have different ways,

football and eggnog and Christmas parades.

I'll take a blanket, I'll take the reins,

It's Christmas for cowboys wide-open plains.


A campfire for warmth as we stop for the night,

the stars overhead are Christmas tree lights.

The wind sings a hymn as we bow down to pray,

It's Christmas for cowboys, wide-open plains.


It's tall in the saddle we spend Christmas Day,

driving the cattle over snow-covered plains.

So many gifts have been opened today,

ours is the sky and the wide open range.


It's Christmas for cowboys, wide open plains.

is printing a retraction.

Okay, I spoke too soon. As usual. On Saturday I got a slip in the mailbox for a package the mail carrier couldn't deliver because we weren't home. It was from my missionary. Of course he didn't forget. I'm such a dork. I'll be writing an "I'm sorry" letter this week!

I'm going to pick it up today... I can't wait!

is 27.

I had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who expressed kind wishes by phone, text, email, facebook, and in person. I am so grateful to have you in my life. I don't expect much out of birthdays anymore, just the promise of being with the people that I love, or at least hearing from them. For the most part, my loved ones took good care of me this year.

However, there is one pebble in my shoe this birthday, or maybe it's more of a thorn in my saddle. Either way, there was one person I wanted to hear "Happy Birthday" from and I didn't. I know my missionary is busy. I know he had an eventful week last week (he had a baptism!), but all I needed were two words from him and I didn't get them. It would be understandable if it had only happened once, but it happened last year too. In 99.9% other ways he is incredibly thoughtful, but I have to admit, I'm a little peeved. Actually, more like hurt. I have already forgiven him, but I hope that he'll still say something soon.

In the meantime, my tender heart is being soothed by John Denver's "Christmas for Cowboys." I highly recommend it. It's in my new "Folky Christmas" playlist.

misses Elder Wirthlin.

Today Elder Wirthlin, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away at age 91. He was one of my favorite apostles to hear from, not that we should have favorites, but I really connected with him and the way he spoke to us. He was always centered on the mercy that is available to us through Jesus Christ and the love that we should show to each other. I read "Concern for the One" over and over again. It truly did change my life to hear his words. Here are some of my favorite quotes from that talk:

"True disciples of Jesus Christ have always been concerned for the one. Jesus Christ is our greatest example. He was surrounded by multitudes and spoke to thousands, yet He always had concern for the one. 'For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost,” He said. “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?'"

"The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole."

"Brothers and sisters, if only we had more compassion for those who are different from us, it would lighten many of the problems and sorrows in the world today. It would certainly make our families and the Church a more hallowed and heavenly place."

"Except for the Lord, we have all made mistakes. The question is not whether we will trip and fall but, rather, how will we respond? Some, after making mistakes, stray from the fold. This is unfortunate. Do you not know that the Church is a place for imperfect people to gather together—even with all their mortal frailties—and become better?....I am not aware of any sign on the door of our meetinghouses that reads 'Restricted Entrance—Perfect People Only.'"

"I know that each of you bears a concern for a loved one. Give encouragement, service, and support to them. Love them. Be kind to them. In some cases, they will return. In others, they will not. But in all cases, let us ever be worthy of the name we take upon ourselves, even that of Jesus Christ."

I know that Elder Wirthlin was a disciple of Christ and that I have greatly benefitted from hearing his wise counsel. I will miss him.

is getting in the Christmas spirit.

I'm wearing my red plaid scarf, I've got Stephen's hot chocolate in my snowman mug, a new pine air freshener is sitting on my desk (and I've disposed of the mini pumpkins in my office too), and I'm listening to a Sufjan Stevens/Carpenters/Bing Crosby/The Weepies holiday mix on Pandora. Yes, December is here. Only 25 days until Christmas! Only one day until my birthday! Life is good.

P.S. My boss decided to take a week off of work to go to Hawaii. Little does she know it's a vacation for me too. Hehe.

eats leftovers.

Three words: Turkey pot pie.


Almost as good as Thanksgiving dinner itself, but not quite! That would be blasphemy.

is thankful for the source of all blessings.

"And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ" (Moroni 10:18)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

Above all, this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for Jesus Christ who made the greatest sacrifice for me so that my life could be joyful. I know that He is the source of all blessings. I feel peace when I am obedient to His teachings. I know that these blessings are available to all who believe in Him.

finished her first square.

This is my first attempt at piecing a square for my quilt. I've mentioned it before, but I wanted to show you all. I kind of botched it (maybe you can tell around the roof area) so I decided that this pattern is too complex for the whole quilt. Instead of using this square for my quilt, I decided to sew it onto a pillowcase and send it to my missionary for Christmas.

See the little initials at the bottom? I added those just for him. I hope he likes it. :)

is thankful for piroshki.

Last night I went to the home of one of my mentees to introduce her to her new mentor. While I was there I remembered how much I love meeting with Ukrainian families in their homes. It has been a long time (four years!) since my mission in Ukraine, but I still remember that feeling. I was warmly greeted by her mother. She made us fresh piroshki (rolls) with apricot jam and poppy seeds in the middle and she even remembered that I don't drink tea and had boiled raspberries in sweetened water for me (they call it "compote"). On the way out she handed me a bag filled with even more. Oooh, I love piroshki. I love Ukrainian hospitality too and I miss living among them.

still believes in miracles.

During the protest that took place outside the LA temple, this is what took place inside, according to one temple worker:

LA Temple: The “inside” story

“My dear family, brothers and sisters, friends and leaders: My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His tender mercies and mighty miracles in our behalf. I just have to share this with you. As most of you know, I am a temple ordinance worker and work the morning shift in the LA temple every Saturday. Today, I had the privilege of translating the new assistant matron's message during our devotional.

She started like this ‘The prophet Joseph Smith said that no unhallowed hand would be able to stop this work from progressing. These past few weeks when mobs have combined and armies have gathered against the saints, the Lord has protected His house.’ She went on to say that those, like her, who were inside the temple when mobs were surrounding it, did not realize how scary and terrifying this looked on TV to the rest of us, because inside the House of the Lord all was calm and there was peace abundant.

After Proposition 8 passed, the temple began receiving threatening calls and mail from those opposing it. They were warned that more than 5,000 people would come to the temple, burn it to the ground, and stop its work. The first Thursday when the mob came, the new LA temple president called the Salt Lake City temple offices for instructions. He was instructed to call the local police and to insure the safety of those attending the temple by closing the gates. The assistant matron said today that it was a tender mercy from the Lord that the mob chose that Thursday to come since they had only one person coming to receive his own endowment that day, which he received in time to leave before trouble started. The LAPD and the FBI responded quickly to the temple presidency’s summons and patrolled the grounds and kept the mob from entering the same. Most of them had never been there before and expressed their surprise at how beautiful and peaceful it was. They were invited to come back during the Christmas season to see the lights and they promised they would.

On Thursday, November 13th a secretary in the temple was opening the mail and upon opening a large manila envelope found a smaller one inside. When she opened this one, white powder flew all around her desk. She thought this could be related to the demonstrators and feared the worst—anthrax. She contacted the president, who in turn called the Salt Lake City temple office again for instructions. The FBI, the LAPD, and even the SWAT teams were once again on the grounds to investigate, and the temple once again had to close from around 11:30am to 5pm. They closed the gates and were instructed to keep all the people there wherever they were found at the time. Those in the parking lot had to remain in the parking lot. Those entering the temple had to remain in the first floor and those already upstairs were taken to the celestial room. Then, the miracles began to happen: A brother serving as a recorder that day was a microbiologist by profession and used to deal with hazardous substances every day. He was the first to confirm that the white powder in the envelope was only talc, and put every one at ease. Then the sister coordinator upstairs was impressed to call upstairs to the sealing area, and said ‘They said we can't go down but no one said we can’t go up and I have many people in the celestial room with their ceremonial clothes on ready to work. Could they do some sealings?’ As it happened, there were four sealers present that day and they ran four sealing sessions nonstop while the temple was closed. Downstairs, someone else thought to invite those in the lobby to do some initiatories, which they promptly did for all those hours too, brothers and sisters alike. Among those waiting in the parking lot there was a large group of young men and women with their leaders who had come to do baptisms for the dead, and who waited patiently all those hours and decided when the temple was reopened to go ahead and fulfill their assignment instead of driving back home. The temple reopened in time for the 5:30pm session.

The next day when recording the ordinances, they discovered that they had performed 2,000 sacred ordinances on Thursday, only one less than the day before when three stakes had been visiting the temple. Once again, the assistant matron reminded us of the words of the prophet Joseph Smith, ‘No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing...’ But, this is not all, a prophecy was fulfilled also. When the new LA Temple President was set apart by President Uchtdorf of the First Presidency, he received a blessing and these words were pronounced: ‘The time has come for the LA temple to come out of obscurity and become an ensign for righteousness to the world under your presidency.’ Pictures of the temple have been shown on TV, in newspapers, and on the internet, not only in this country but worldwide. People of other faiths have called and sent letters to the temple thanking the Church for defending marriage and protecting the family, and commenting on how impressed they are by how beautiful and majestic the temple looks.

I can only add my own testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the power and authority of God on earth. God lives and Jesus, His only Begotten Son and our Savior is coming soon to redeem His people. I am grateful to know this and I pray we will stand firm, steadfast, and immovable while the prophecies of the signs before His coming are fulfilled. ‘Be not afraid, only believe’ He has said, and also ‘What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.’ I testify that this is true and testify it in the Holy name of whom I strive to serve, even Jesus Christ. Be faithful and safe is my humble prayer. Your sister in Christ, P.A.”

I add my own testimony to this sister's testimony of temple work as well. I know that the Lord's work is the most important work in this world and it cannot be stopped. I am grateful that the temple was unharmed. I know that the Lord will continue to protect the faithful and He has not forgotten about us. Miracles do happen in our day.