It's that time of year again...

...and by that I mean the BEST time of the year! I love December and I am so excited that it's here! Last December I wrote a blog post about several of the many many things I love about the Christmas season. Those things are definitely still true and it has been so great seeing all the decorations and lights(I got to see the lights on Temple Square this weekend), having Christmas lessons and singing Christmas songs in church, buying presents for people, reading Christmas stories(I read The Christmas List over Thanksgiving break and I am going to read The Christmas Box next-both by Richard Paul Evans, and I have read some Christmas picture books too), drinking hot chocolate and eating candy canes, thinking about all of the people who are important in my life, and so much more!

I really CANNOT believe that an entire year has passed already. It completely blows my mind. I have realized that I have been saying things like this a lot in the last two years and that time probably isn't going to slow down again anytime soon so I should get used to it. It is pretty interesting to think back to a year ago and where I was at that time, who was in my life, and what was on my mind. At this Christmas season I have been reflecting back on last Christmas...

Last Christmas break everyone except Greg and Kristen were there. We had lots of good times...

Acting out the Christmas story was quite an experience...


Hyrum had grown so much....but nothing compared to how much bigger he will be when I see him this year!

I had my wisdom teeth removed and looked like a lovely squirrel...


My family discovered a love for the game Settlers of Catan that has not died out at all...


With only about a week and a half left until I head home for Christmas break, I have been pretty excited thinking about what it will be like this year. Many things will be like they always are...

*Playing lots of games as a family*Mom's delicious cooking*A very weighed down tree full of ornaments collected through the years*Wes waking up at the earliest time allowed by the parents to see what Santa brought*Plenty of snow(hopefully!!)*Much laughter*Naps by the fire burning in the fireplace*Visits from carolers and friends*Making visits to friends(and keeping our caroling very basic to avoid scaring people off)*

But there will be several new things this year as well...

*The ENTIRE family will be there(no one will be on missions or with their spouse's family etc)*A little boy will be walking around and causing excitement*Samuel will be with us for the first couple days of break*Grandma and Grandpa Skidmore will be there for a short visit around Christmas*There will be more females present than there has been in my entire life*Our family is up to 10 people now!*