Gifts of Christmas

I had to teach a lesson last Sunday about the best gifts of Christmas. It was based on a talk by President Hunter. It really got me thinking about some of the wonderful gifts I've been given so far this year. I can't send thank-you cards for most of these, so I thought I'd mention them here.

Thank you to all of the people who put lights on their houses. Christmas lights are my favorite part of the season, I think. I love to drive around at night and admire how people decorate their houses. So, I know that it's a pain to get them up there, but thank you. All of you. (Except the people who have the giant blow-up Santa riding a Harley. My jury's still out on that one.)

Thank you to my mom and dad for watching my kids tonight so that Layne and I could go and do some "elfing". You are awesome.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who have made our Christmas season fantastic so far. All of the people who arranged and ran the Santa parade at the Star Mill were great. The Creche exhibit that we saw in Midway was fantastic and must have taken thousands of hours of work, as did the hundred or so gingerbread houses in the gingerbread exhibit. All of the volunteers at Temple Square were so friendly. My family has had a wonderful time because a lot of people cared enough to give a little of their time.

Thank you to my fifteen year old cousin who watched all of my kids an all of my sister's kids (8 in all) last week while we went to a movie. That was brave. Better yet, when we came home, they were all sitting quietly watching a movie on the couch. She's a magician. Shaylie, will you come live at my house?

Thank you to whoever ended up cleaning up the party at Layne's mom's house on Tuesday night. I felt really bad leaving the mess to go to a meeting.

Thank you to my friend who made me a beautiful star for Christmas and wrote me a card that was just a beautiful to go with it. You are amazing.

These are just a few of the things I've thought of so far, but I'm going to pay much more attention to the intangible gifts I'm given every day during this season and try to bestow a few of my own...