Kick Off to Christmas

On December 2nd...

We had a marvelous little Olsen Christmas Party complete with prime rib, presents and the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. 

Presents for our White Elephant/Dirty Santa (whatever you want to call it) game.

The Dinner set up.

Neil reading us How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Christmas Mad-Lib. A tradition.

Sasha was enjoying all of the Christmas stories, too!

 

At the Christmas Devotional.

Temple Square. :)

I was able to get a handful of tickets so the Olsens AND the Andersens got to go. 

 

AS WELL AS some really dear friends of ours.

It was a great second day of the month!

Kick Off to December

Well, December 2012 was quite the month for our little family. 

Travel, parties, shopping, blogging (haha, okay, that didn't really happen) "fun" car problems, no heat...

It was a great month. Really!

On December 1st, however, me and the sisters (all but Michelle) decided it would be fun to hit up City Creek Mall. 

And fun it was! 

Just shopping with them and going out to eat and catching up was a nice little refresher from the norm. Plus, Lauren and Elyse were down from Idaho (for the Devotional the next day) so it was really fun to see them. 

In the car on our way to City Creek!

The fancy drink Julie and Kimberly got. It was tasty.

I would just like to say that each one of those chicken pieces was the size of my face. It was yummy but I took half of that plate home for Neil.

Sisters. :)

New Posts

I have finished the work week. 

I am free now to catch up on blog posts.

I will get on that ASAP! 

I have a new computer now so it can handle new posts. 

NEW POSTS TO COME!!

The Day After Thanksgiving

I struggled for awhile as to what this post should be called...

"The Most Rewarding Act of Service"
"Fabulous Friday"

"Musical Medicine"

"FREAKIN' AWESOME DAY!"

I decided that though those titles represent exactly that the day after Thanksgiving held for Neil and I, it was probably best to stick with something simple. 

The day after Thanksgiving is the beloved by many, though not really myself, "Black Friday". 

Neil and I did our Black Friday shopping earlier, meaning late Thursday night, with Anna and Kyle at the Wal-Mart in Ephraim. (Pandemonium, by the way...)

No crazy day of shopping for us! Nope! We were given an opportunity to serve and I am so grateful for it!

Neil and I were given the opportunity to present a musical program at "Friday Forum" held for the inmates of the Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, UT. 

They were respectful, responsible and very kind.

I can't express how absolutely spiritual the experience was. They had their choir sing two songs and it was beautiful. They brought a strong spirit with them to the forum. So much so that it became hard for me to sing, which is rough because I sang two solos.

A few of them bore their testimonies and said how grateful they were to be in prison. To have a place that they can be to work and to learn and to repent. They were grateful for their bonds because they knew someday, those bonds would make them free.

I was uplifted and so grateful that Neil and I agreed to go. Our closing song was hymn #93 Prayer of Thanksgiving the last line of the hymn says: "Thy name ever be praised, Oh Lord make us free."

That line lingered with me. It touched my heart. All of these men in prison singing to the Lord to make them free. Not judges, not the officers of the prison but the Lord.

It was just really cool to be there and experience that.