December 19 – 25

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday week!! First off, a bit of news- after church on Sunday, I was told I was going to be released from my calling as primary president. I actually knew about the change before my meeting with the bishopric member. My second counselor was called to be the new primary president and she let me know last Thursday. This was very helpful and important knowledge to have as we were planning teachers for next year! I’m so glad my friend told me so we could make plans and so I could know it would be my last Sunday in primary. I was able to bear my testimony to the kids. They don’t know I’m being released yet since the official change will happen next Sunday. I spent a lot of time this week getting things ready to hand off to the new primary president. I tried to take care of ordering any supplies they will need in January so they will have a few less things to think about. I’m excited for the new presidency! They’ll do a fantastic job and the kids will love them!

Sunday evening, we drove around to look at Christmas lights and my parents came too! We went to Smithfield to see the light show WebAIM’s assistant director puts on. It was awesome! Then we meandered home looking at other lights and listening to Christmas music together.

Monday afternoon, my brother asked if I would deliver donuts for him. He used my Grandma Murray’s recipe and made a big batch of donuts for our aunts, uncles, and cousins that live in the area. I picked up Mark from campus when he was done and we delivered a ton of donuts! When we were at my aunt, Jolene’s, house she showed us the fox that was hunting in the fields behind her house! It was so cool! After deliveries, we had a quick dinner and then hopped on Zoom for the Murray Family Christmas party. I can’t wait until COVID is better under control so we can have these parties in person again, but for now Zoom is a good substitute. Each family gave an update and shared something they did to light the world this year.

During Mark’s lunch break on Tuesday we did an activity we called “Last minute Christmas shopping.” We went to the DI and each had a budget to find an inexpensive gift for each other. It could be a nice gift or a white elephant gift. Neither of us found anything too exciting, so we both ended up telling the other person what to get us haha. So it didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was still fun to be out together. I chose a couple books and Mark chose a couple movies.

Tuesday evening, Mark’s cousin, Carrie, came by to visit. She’s so sweet and it was fun to catch up with her! Funny enough, while she was there visiting, their second cousin, J’ana, dropped by with a Christmas gift. So we had a mini family reunion for Mark’s family!

Thursday morning, I worked earlier than normal so we could get on the road to go see Mark’s parents in Blackfoot. It’s a good thing I adjusted my schedule because it started snowing just before we arrived.

Mark spent that afternoon with his brother working on their guns. I hung out and visited as they worked. That evening, the whole family met at a barn-turned-event-center for family photos. It’s the first time the whole family has been together for a long time. The photographer was super fast and I think we got some good pictures!

Friday morning, most of the family went to help clean the church building. I was able to stay at the house and help a little with breakfast and setting out presents. We had a big breakfast with the whole family that morning, read a couple of Christmas stories, and then opened presents. We helped pay for family photos, so that was our biggest gift for Mark’s parents. Then we had Chris’s family for the sibling gift exchange. We were able to get them matching pajamas from my aunt who works at Lazy One. We gave our sister in law a gel nail polish kit, Chris got a tumbling target, and we gave the girls duo Lego blocks. I love planning presents for others so it was really fun to think of something for everyone! We’re really excited for our dates around the world that we got from Mark’s sister and her family! We had a great time visiting everyone!

Around lunch time, we were back on the road driving home. I’ve been checking the weather daily and praying there wouldn’t be too much snow. It was snowing for the first thirty minutes, but the roads were practically dry after that!

That evening, we had Christmas Eve Dinner with my parents. My mom cooked all the food, but I was in charge of setting the table. Thanks to Pinterest, it turned out really nice! We had a nice, quiet dinner with just the four of us and then read a little Christmas program before dessert.

At home that night, Mark and I watched Eloise at Christmastime and we each got to open one present.

Christmas Day was practically perfect in every way! We woke up earlyish without an alarm clock and started off by reading scriptures by the Christmas tree. We all had matching pajamas (thanks to my cousin and aunt)!

Then we looked to see what Santa left in our stockings and began opening presents. I was sooooo excited for Mark to open his dremel, Strikeman laser training system, and the Hedwig Lego set. He loved them all! Mark was so thoughtful in his gift giving and found some really cute earrings for me, a journal edition of the Old Testament (which is HUGE), Chutes & Ladders, and a donut pan (for baked cake donuts). We realized though, the donut pan is too big for our half-size oven! Oops! I guess I’ll have to bake donuts at my parents’ house until we move. Flynn excited about his burrowing bed, wool balls, and treats!

We made avocado caprese toast for breakfast. It was delicious and very festive!

After breakfast, we headed to my parents’ to give them their Christmas gifts. My mom liked her African Violet and my Dad was really excited for his candy dispenser! I had another present to open at their house from Mark. It was really big and Mark thought I might see what it was if it was delivered to our house. I had no idea what it was, but I had been joking it was a miniature pony. I planned to name him Winston. 🙂 Turns out Winston is actually an exercise bike! We’re going to have to rearrange a few things to make space for it, but it’s going to be so nice to take a break from the exercise videos I do every day.

We visited my brother for a little while. He had my name this year for our sibling gift exchange. Our theme was “favorite things.” He kept teasing he was going to give me a bee hive. Instead, he went with circus animal cookies, his favorite candies, and some chipotle powder he made. I’m happy I didn’t get any bees!!

We spent the rest of Christmas Day at home! My parents came to deliver the exercise bike and to see our presents. While Mark put together my bike, I tried to learn how to play the new game we got, Wingspan.

We decided to make a charcuterie board to munch on in the evening instead of a full dinner. It was really fun planning it and putting it together! I think it turned out well and it was delicious! We watched Encanto while eating. We thought it was an ok movie, but not our favorite.

We spent the rest of the evening watching Home Improvement (one of Mark’s gifts) while Mark built his Lego set and I colored in my new coloring book. I was really impressed Mark built Hedwig in just one evening! It was a big and complicated Lego set. It’s really cool because you can turn a handle and her wings flap!

I look forward to Christmas all year and it just goes too quickly! Luckily, we have some time planned for fun and relaxation next week too! And I can start looking forward to and planning Mark’s birthday!