Parents be warned, the following post has been rated "PG-non-believers only" for commentary about the possible non-existence of Santa Clause.

So yes, today is Christmas and I can't help but share my love for Christmas. We always celebrate Christmas day with the immediate family in our own home and tend to lounge around all day eating breakfast at 1 or 2 in the afternoon, playing with our toys, picking away at the treats left in our stockings, and then leaving no room for the wonderful dinner mom always prepares us. But my fondest memories of Christmas always go back to the night before Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Church. We, like many others, have the tradition of acting out the Nativity with Grandpa Church reading from Luke and Grandma playing Christmas music in the background. It's never been a real spiritually touching situation what with the kids all fighting who gets to be the angel and who gets to be the wiseman to hold Grandma's "treasure chest" (jewelry box) and present it to the baby Jesus. For us older children the fight has become more and more about who gets to sit out to just sit on the couch and watch. It's funny to see the little ones fighting over the same things and watch as uncle Bubba causes some sort of scene which flusters grandma but makes the rest of us laugh. It's this memory that I hold most dear from my Christmases and I'm indeed grateful for thses kinds of traditions that hold us together as a family and teach us subtle lessonsn that help us to progress spiritually despite the fact that they aren't necesarily over-powering.

Of course the rest is all fun as Santa Clause always seems to make his stop at Grandma's house right after the re-enactment is over. We scurry to our cars in the cold as he laughs merrily upon the roof-top and announces that his next few house visits will be to the Nelsons, Kings, Edlings, and other Church members. It's funny that no matter how much we crane our necks to see the man in the big red suit on the roof we can't catch a glimpse of him. A rather shocking scene caught me by surprise this year as I saw my uncle Andy sneak out the back door and up a ladder discreetly set up in the back yard! I couldn't believe it. I was crushed. I thought more of him. It's crazy what some people do in order to get a sneak peek inside Santa's bag. I hope he got what he wanted as Christmas day brought him an announcement from his wife about a new arrival due in August. Surprise! Merry Christmas!

Maybe you didn't know but I'm fascinated with snow. I love it. But since I've been back from my mission I haven't had the opportunity to really enjoy it. Therefore, I'm proposing to myself that tomorrow, I go out and play in the remains of the biggest snow storm yet to hit us here in Salt Lake. Anybody want to join? Snowball fights, fort building, snowmen, snow-angels, eating snow (except the yellow stuff of course), snow sledding, and all other such snow activities. It's definitely been too long.

Oh and just thought I would mention that one of my favorite things about snow storms is the silence of it all. Isn't it weird how in the movies and on tv they portray blizzards to be so loud and chaotic? People struggling to stay standing while screaming over the top of those loud flakes is one of the oddest things I've ever seen. It can be snowing cats and dogs (does that work for snow?) and it will still be eerily quiet out there. I love it.

Explanation

So, I've always been a little hesitant to create my own blog despite wanting to do it for so long. I seem to be an over-thinking worry wart sometimes. Case in point, I just googled "worry wart" to make sure that the "wart" is actually spelled with an a. Interestingly enough, it can be spelled with an o as well. Anywho, I first thought to myself, who is going to follow my blog? Is it a futile attempt at trying to enlighten, entertain, and update others who really have no time nor would want to spend time, if they had it, on my blog? I hope not. That thought was washed away as I have thouroughly enjoyed following other blogs of friends and family and as I realize that I need a way to document my life. Journals these days seem all too boring and limited. Plus, typing is just so much faster. So at the urging of some of my friends and after mulling it over a little too much I've decided to start blogging away with pictures, thoughts, experiences, and all that jazz. Hopefully you enjoy getting an inside look at my life as much as I enjoy getting an inside look at yours. If you feel like the chicken on the right at the computer, don't worry, I won't be offended.