Worth a thousand words...

I haven't blogged in over a week! Shocking! Instead of telling you about my week, I'll give you some pictures.

Not pictured....lots of wrapping of presents. Daily trips to Wal-Mart. Lunch with the ladies. Finishing the book "Up in the Air" which I decided I didn't like. Winning the title of Shaker Box Champ for the second year in a row (Jeff wraps a present we can shake and if we guess what is in it, we win a gift card....this year it was 7 whistles for our emergency 72 hour kits). And lots of tormenting my siblings and mom. They love it.

Dr. Randle's Awesome Shindig

Dr. Randle and his family invited us over for some food and fun at his home Sunday night.

After getting lost in the hills of Orem, getting stuck in the slushy snow 3 times, and knocking on a stanger's door for directions (turns out he was Amy's former music teacher) we made it.

Lot's of good food, and I learned A LOT about Randle and his family.

Here is some of the crew.

(Top from left to right: Dr. R, me, Kelly, Amy, Katie. Middle row: Kevin, Carissa, Alicia, Natalie. Bottom: Everett, Spencer.)

Sunday Thought - The Love of God

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 21–24

Why Should We Love God?


God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.


What we seek determines what we think and do.


What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.

We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God’s spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ.

Since the beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things.

And the greatest of all good things is God.

Our Father in Heaven has given us, His children, much more than any mortal mind can comprehend. Under His direction the Great Jehovah created this wondrous world we live in. God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hours with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions.

He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all that He has.

If all that is not enough reason to love our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can learn from the words of the Apostle John, who said, “We love him, because he first loved us."

(find more when you click on the title of this post)

dear santa....

Dear Santa, baby,

slip a macbook under the tree, for me

I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight


Santa baby, an offer for a DC internship too, or a few
I'll wait up for you dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight


Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be oh so good
If you'd check off my Christmas list


Santa honey, I want you to snow blow Provo’s sidewalks, and really
that's not a lot
I've been an angel all year
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight


Santa cutie, there's one thing I really do need, the deed
of you finishing up my finals,
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight


Santa baby, fill my stocking with hundred dollar bills and
diet pepsi refills,
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight


Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought from Adobe
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me


Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
from a really good man
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry down the chimney tonight


Love,
Lexy

sometimes boys are okay

Mmmm warm, homemade apple pie. With vanilla ice cream. Could it be love? ;-)
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twins.jpg

Proof that Leah Marie Wasson and Alexa Lee were meant to be besties.

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What are roads for?

As I sat in voluntary solitary confinement Sunday, resting myself well, I watched a few movies. One of them being an old favorite Jodie Foster flick, Anna and the King. Wow, I cried.

But one line, that the Kind of Siam says, has stuck with me the last few days. And so I share it with you:


Roads are for journeys, not destinations.

Hmmm. How's that for depth?

Now, as Dr. Laura often suggests, go do the right thing.

Swines

A few of us in the newsroom got the H1N1 vaccine today. And a sucker, too, because we were good girls.  By the way, that weirdo on the left is yours truly. Center is my future fellow independently wealthy world traveler Chelsea. And on the right is Natalie, a campus editor.

In other news it snowed snowed snowed snowed snowed most of the day today. Of course the streets are a mess and I honestly kind of fear for my life walking home tonight.

And my sinuses are giving me a fun treat to deal with ever few seconds. Sniff, sniff. Other than that I'm rocking and rolling through the end of the term.

of wreaths and tea

Whilst waiting for my chamomile & mint tea to seep, I listened to some Christmas melodies and finally decorated the wreath that's been hanging bare on my door. I used orange ornaments with cream and gold accents. I know. Orange. I can't help it, the color draws me to it.

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Frolicking

I made it up to SLC last night to play with some friends. Melanie and I caught some Thai food at one of our favorite little places, Me Kong Cafe. Mmmm. Pad Thai. Though my pork was a little dry. Crap! I forgot my leftovers in Mel's fridge. She, graciously, let me nibble on her yellow curry. Once again, mmmmm.

This morning I went to silly Kathryn's bridal shower in Murray. There was a delicious brunch and much laughter and womanly chatter. Can you believe this silly girl is getting married in less than three weeks?

Now I'm back in Provo, at the Web desk for the DU. Sporting my cute new hat though.

Mel, in her sweetness of trying to be a good host, turned on her humidifier so I could have "white noise"while I slept. This is the second time she's done this for me, and both times I wake up feeling like I caught a cold. Sore throat, runny noise, cough....I was going to bring some tea in my Newseum mug to help sip this silly cold away, but, lucky for me, my roommate had taken it with her on whatever stupid errands she went on. Very frustrating.







And here's an enjoyable tune that just popped up on last.fm. I liked it.

You're in the right place, you're running with the right forces, and if the wind should howl tomorrow, let it.

-Walter Kirn

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Good News

Hey all -

Just wanted to let folks know that I've been hired as the opinion page editor for The Daily Universe. I'll now be getting 10 bucks an hour, my own computer/cubicle area, and not have to work nights/weekends (most of the time). It's not all perks and glory though. Rich warned me today about hate mail. And, there is an increase of pressure because the opinion page is one of the most consistently read pages, and it's made up of opinions, which always stirs emotion.
I'm excited though!

A 5 dollar adventure

We ventured up into the woods to get our Christmas tree this year. Turns out that it only cost 5 bucks to get a tree cutting permit in Oregon. It was quite the bonding time for the whole fam. Zoey especially loved when we tested the four wheel drive up steep snowy hills and off the road into inches of snow. Eli sampled snow from every surface he could. Jeff was mistaken for sasquatch as he went the distance to try and find the one. Max was a loyal saw carrier. Riley proved she's the burliest of us all in her frequent references to not wearing her coat. Mom was a great supervisor, and evenutally we returned to get the tree she originally had chosen. I promise it was the required 50 feet from the road. And I just looked fabulous as usual.

The view from the supervisors' perspective.

I know Max is well camoflauged here, but I promise he's there, cutting the tree like the burly woodsman he claims to be.

Jeff holds the chosen one.

Cute little round faces!

Mom "helps" the boys put the tree on the car. Take note that the lights are on and doors are open.

Due to our neglectful behavior of leaving lights on, doors open, and no engine running, our battery died. Zoey and I were frightened for a moment.

Luckily we got a hold of Stephanie. An hour and a half after hoisting the tree on top of the car and loading up to go, and just before sunset, we were rescued.

Good memories! Well worth the five bucks! And we learned what we needed in our car for emergencies, most importantly snacks and matches!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a pleasantly casual affair this year. The Smith's were gracious in hosting Thanksgiving at their house. Between the two families making dinner, it didn't seem too stressful. Stephanie set up a pretty table in their living room that all 10 of us could sit at. That was probably my favorite part, that we could all sit down together and feast.

After eating we returned home to watch "Up." Soon after we were all in a food induced coma. Even the pets.

Yay for good food and a loving family!