It's the most, wonderful time of the year!

Whew! It has been a very busy couple weeks since I blogged last. Our calendar is very full this month with lots of things to do. Work for me is always very busy around the holidays, starting just before Thanksgiving and ending after Christmas (for Briant it seems like work slows down and the parties just begin). Our days at work are long, so I don't get to, or don't feel like doing anything at the end of the day ( that includes blogging :/ ). Great Harvest started making pumpkin rolls this year. They are like a pumpkin loaf but have cream cheese swirled inside. They are extremely delicious but a little bit of a pain to make. My boss dubbed me the pumpkin roll queen, so that is what I'll be doing at work for Christmas this year.

Great news!!! Briant's sister, Tiffany, had a little baby girl on November 25 . Her name is Madison Elizabeth Peart. She was 4lbs 12oz. She born at 3:02 pm and was 17 1/2 inches long. We are so excited to have another niece! She is super cute. We think she looks like her mommy!

Thanksgiving was great for us. I made Gram Cracker Pie, a Baldwin favorite, and we went to my parents house for dinner. Briant brought my mom a poinsettia, and she just loved that. After the meal we are usually so stuffed and feeling so fat that Briant and I try to go for a walk or something. This year we just went to the park and played a quick game of Frisbee golf. But we didn't leave without playing a few table games with the family too.

I really like to go Black Friday shopping. And when I can get it off work I always take advantage of the deals. Old Navy had some pretty good sales this year and so I kind of splurged on myself. Briant got up at 5 a.m. too and went and got the deal of the day (ask him about it; he's proud), before he had to go to work.We decided to get a new TV because we knew our old one wouldn't work after February. He ended up getting a little bit bigger TV than we excepted, which meant we had to get a new TV stand too because it wouldn't fit into our entertainment center. We ended getting everything for a way good price, thanks to Briant, our bargain shopper. Can you tell he really likes his new TV?

Briant and I are really excited, because this year for Christmas we get to go to........with his family for a week! We can't wait for warm weather, sunny beaches, relaxation, and the chance to spend some time with his family since we don't get to see them too often. Briant can't wait for the all-inclusive buffets! You can definitely expect some blogging about this when we get back, if we ever decide to come back. Briant and I decided that since we wouldn't be here we probably didn't need to decorate our house. So this is our Christmas tree:We even hung a few ornaments from it to try to make it look festive. I hope we don't kill it from all the weight, especially because Briant would be sad because Frank gave it to him for his birthday.

We had our ward Christmas party on Friday and enjoyed a really nice little program. Briant took part with his young men's group in performing synchronized newspaper ripping to the beat of "The Blue Danube" and "Deck the Halls". They call their "orchestra" the "The Ripping Warriors". During the ripping of "Deck the Halls," which included newspapers, sand paper blocks, and maracas, Briant got to play the all important cymbal part. I should have taken a video...oops. It was really cute.

Our ward asked me to take all the pictures of the kiddos on Santa's lap. We decided to join in on some of the fun.

Christmas has been coming a little early this year. We have to show off our early Christmas presents: My mom made us our very own advent calendar just like the one we had when I was a kid. Thanks Mom!!!

My brother and his wife made us this wreath. It's all real. Thanks Chris & Chantelle!!!

I'm not sure if you guys have ever seen our house. Doesn't the wreath look great on our front door? And by the way, where is all our snow? I think it's going to be late and I don't mind it one bit! We hope it doesn't come until after we get back from our big trip anyway.

I love the Christmas season. It has always filled me with happiness. But I know that this happiness doesn't come from the decorations. It isn't from the Christmas tree. It isn't from the gifts received. Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. That is where the happiness comes from that I feel each year. It comes when we give of ourselves to others thoughtlessly as Jesus gave to others. He came to us in the most humbling circumstances, taught us all so much, then gave his life so that we could live again. He made it possible for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven again through his atoning sacrifice. I'm so grateful to him for this priceless gift that he gave me and everyone.
Every year in our family, the first thing we did to celebrate the Christmas season was put up the nativity set. This always left a lasting impression on me on what we really celebrate this season. The greatest gift of all, peace and joy, given to us by Jesus Christ.