Is it really December?

It is a beautiful day. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, there is a light breeze, and it is halfway through December. It is really hard for me to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree and decorated it (all 3 ft of it.) We also put up our stockings. Our house looks a little festive now but it feels like May outside. The craziest thing for me is all the geese here. There are hundreds of geese everywhere. As a little kid I always wondered where they migrated to. Now I know where . . for the snow geese, at least.

On Saturday we went to a Christmas parade. It was pretty good. Violatte and Annalee enjoyed it (especially the horses). They both were so excited to see them!

Annee stands up on her own, now. She started doing it yesterday. She hasn't tried taking a step yet but I don't think it'll be much longer. She also said three words yesterday that I really understood . . . "da-da," "ma-ma," and "stuck." She learned that third one from her sister. It's amazing what they pick up. She also is learning sign language so we can all communicate a little better. Violatte is teaching Annee some really cute ones and I love watching the two of them together.

Violatte is really excited for Christmas. She finally figured out that Santa Clause is coming. She keeps saying, "When does 'ho-ho-ho' come?" She tried saying "Santa Clause" once but gave up on that. Now she just says, "ho-ho-ho" instead.

The most exciting thing this week that we are preparing for is that our friend, Mary, is going to be baptized on Saturday. This has been such an amazing experience for us and it is so exciting to see it all work out. She has been calling me every day this week. She is so happy and so excited. I love talking to her and I love what a change I've seen in her since the beginning. I hope more than anything that her husband will eventually investigate. He is supportive but I don't think this is the right time for him.

This week has also been busy with other things. I taught in Relief Society on Sunday, I have been asked to speak at Mary's baptism, and I have also been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. I also have rehersals for the Nutcracker pretty much every single day and I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. I love Monday nights because it gives me an reason to tell everybody that I can't do anything else because it is time with my family. I really look forward to Monday nights.