Christmas of Love--and Happy New Year!!

Well, it's no surprise that this time of year is my very favorite. There is little I don't like about Christmas. I love the gift giving, the sounds, the smells, the lights --there is a crispness in the air that while cold, puts a smile on my face. This holiday season I decided to simplify and stick with the plan. It started with getting my tree in the mountains (thanks to the help of my brothers Linc and Duke). We went as a family and found some really beautiful trees. I loved this activity. And even got my Christmas card photo out of it!

My "Things I learned in 2009" are a little small, so I will put them here:
*International Admissions --an awesome place to work.
*Spain & Italy are BEAUTIFUL!*29 Mumfords - a lot of fun (even with the stomach flu!)
*Albuquerque gets snow and Newport Beach is lovely.
*Exercise - not as over-rated as I hoped.
*Christmas tree hunting is better with proper footwear.
*I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and pray you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, Me

Of course, I learned a lot more than that.
I love the young women in my ward. I love the girls I sing with and the women I serve with in Young Womens. I learned that vitamin B12 is kind of a big deal. I learned how to make divinity with my cousin Valayne. (It was awesome! I am now saving for a Bosch. :) ) It's been a very good year.

For Christmas, Hollie suggested we get my parents new pictures of my Goff grandparents. I contacted my Aunt Cindy and she was a huge help in getting this project done for us. I didn't know my grandparents too well, as they died before I was old enough to remember much. I know they lived frugally and worked very hard. This photo was taken at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Cindy's wedding. And here is my mom holding the finished product. She cried--in a good way.

I was able to stay up in Idaho and spend more time with my family this break. It was really great!! I was able to play with my nieces and nephews and I worked on scanning 100's of photos from my mission to finally make my mission scrapbook. I'm excited to get working on putting that together.
My friend Bonnie and her daughter Ava decided to come up to Idaho for New Years. She called it their "adventure". It was great to have her there - I hope they had a great time. We had a lot of family and friends ring in 2010 with us! We have a tradition in my family to go bowling on New Years Day. Our dear friend Del Ray opens the alley for us and we bowl our hearts out. I actually bowled a 135 this year (only had one game in me) and I almost beat my Dad! (He must have been having a bad game, cuz he usually has higher scores than that.) Anyway - here's a few pics from the "adventure! Not a bad way to start a great year, not a bad way at all!