Little Drummer Boy - or Girl!

So, I have this thing with music. When there's a song that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, then I feel the need to analyze it - not too deeply. Just enough to get the gist of why it was written, and what was meant by the words. It's the quazi-poet in me, I guess. For example: Hey Soul Sister. I love, love LOVE!!! this song. Why? Simply because it's just a super cute love song full of randomness. It's not a typical love song, but then Train doesn't always sing typical songs. Like Drops of Jupiter. So, it makes me super happy. yes, random tangent.

So, anyways, I'm considering doing a random "Let's Discuss Christmas Music and Why it Makes Me Feel Warm and Fuzzy" segment. We'll see if it happens. So, as I took a nice, long nap (which, when I woke up, I felt drunk. Word of the wise, if you go to bed at 1 the previous night, don't take naps, because you'll never want to get up.) I decided I'd listen to some yummy Josh Groban Christmas music. So, the song that comes on just as I'm about to go to sleep is Little Drummer Boy, and my last conscious thought is "I like this song a lot."

Come they told me,
A new born King to see,
Our finest gifts we bring,
To lay before the King,
So to honor Him,
When we come.



Little Baby,
I am a poor boy too,
I have no gift to bring,
That's fit to give the King,
Shall I play for you,
On my drum?



Mary nodded,
The ox and lamb kept time,
I played my drum for Him,
I played my best for Him,

Then He smiled at me,
Me and my drum.

I took off the parum pum pums, because they aren't exactly necessary. So, anyways, part of the reason why I like this song so much, is because it brings me back memories of my piano lessons. It was one of the first Christmas songs I learned on the piano. A super simple version, but still, the Little Drummer Boy all the same. Some people find this song annoying, or pointless, but I feel it is one of the few non-hymns that really grasps the true meaning of Christmas.

Think about it, a poor boy goes to see the baby Jesus, knowing who he is, and that he deserves the best of gifts. He doesn't have much, so he gives what he can - which ends up being his talents. And, in the end, it's this poor drummer girl's gift that the baby Jesus recognizes with a smile.

Now, in relation to the Christmas season, what is the importance? Well, think about the boy's attitude. He knew he needed to give something. And, though he had little, he put his heart into the gift that he gave. Even in this Christmas season, some of us can be a little selfish. We see how little we have  - how that $2000 in my savings account is essential to college, and I can't spend a penny of it more than I have to - but, we always have things we can give. Service. Our talents. Our time. Our love. We don't need to give just fancy shamncy things. That's what the boy understood. So, this Christmas season, while you definitely shouldn't spend more than you should, try to give more of yourself than you normally would. Serve a little more. Show your love a little more. Use your talents to share the spirit a little more. *cough cough go to Vespers cough cough*

I love Christmas! Love it SO much! It makes me happy. And it makes me think of others a little bit more than I usually do. Peace on Earth and all that!

There can be no true happiness without service

It's amazing how often I forget this truth and become selfish and not think of others. But this weekend has been a great reminder!

Yesterday after school I went to Quiltfest. It's super simple (well...unless you get the yarn tangled or get loops on the back and stuff...which happened to me and Kaitlyn multiple times. Yarn is NOT my friend.) and is a lot of fun when you do it with friends. Especially when there's Christmas music on and you start singing along in an obnoxious manner. Ok, that may just be me, but we can pretend otherwise. But, I loved it, because it was super simple, and super fun, and despite the simpleness and funness, I was doing good. I think sometimes people get in the mindset that doing service is time consuming - which it can be, but not always - is boring, and is really difficult. When, in reality, a lot of the time, it isn't. And not only does service make the people you are serving happy, but it makes you happy. If you honestly put forth effort and try to think of others before yourself, you will be filled will a great happiness.

And then, today was my stake's Turkey Round-up. I'm part of the stake youth committee, and were kind of put in charge of it all, so I was at the stake center from 8:30 to about 12:00, helping the people who were bringing turkeys and keeping a tally of all of them. The leaders of the stake really wanted the youth to be involved in this, so in my ward I started a coin jar that I passed around during mutual - actually only for two weeks, because there were lots of times where we weren't all together. We ended up raising $46 dollars. Which is AMAZING considering I passed it around only two times. I was so proud of them! And so, I went to Frys with my mom this morning, with a letter that a member of the bishopric had written for me. We showed him the letter, and he let us buy 10 turkeys - he would have let us buy more, but there was this corporate thing that wouldn't let us. So, we got turkeys at 29 cents a pound, not having to do the whole buying 25 dollars worth of stuff first. There ended up being 10 dollars left. So, I went to the stake center with the turkeys, and gave the ten dollars to one of the leaders and he went to go see if he could get some more turkeys for me.

Here's the amazing thing. He went to like 4 different stores, showed them the letter, explained what we were doing (keep in mind we're gathering turkeys for the Food Bank. A legitimate donation.) and he got laughed at. All four times. He said me and my mom got lucky. My mom called it blessed. It truly was a blessing. The manager of the Frys we went to was so willing. He would have loved to let us get more than just the ten turkeys, but couldn't. As we were leaving, he kept saying that what we're doing was such a good thing. Because of him, 10 families get turkey dinners for Thanksgiving that wouldn't have before. Because of those 4 punk managers, at least two families will not get a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. We got lucky - we were blessed. It was just eye-opening for me. Because it showed me how the Lord will bless us when we do His work. He'll make it possible for us to help as many people as we are willing.

Service is awesome. I'm grateful for these experiences. Seriously, probably the best weekend I've had in a long time. On a random note, I think Gary, my pet gecko has either run away or died. I haven't seen him in a really long time. I blame my brother Michael. :( And, I miss reading. A lot. Stupid school. :( Oh! and on Monday, I have Vespers auditions! I'll be singing an duet with Johnathan Speakman. We'll be singing What Child is This, and I'll also be accompanying Katie Alston and Taylor Hansen for their duet. Wish us luck! I hope we all make it. :) I lurve Christmas music!

Family :)

So remember that one time I was in Utah for my niece's baptism? Well, one of the highlights of that trip was the chance to see my little niece Faith. I had never seen her before (except through Skype), never held her before. Which is super tough for me, because I love being an aunt and having a relationship with my nieces and nephews. So, when I got to hold her for the first time, I was super excited.

This is us getting acquainted with each other. :)

And this is us all acquainted and having fun and being happy! My count of times seeing her is up to two now - my brother and his family came down from Utah for my sister's wedding. Speaking of which.....

My sister Amy is no longer Amy Root. She's Amy Hale as of October 29. Which is awesome and weird, all at the same time. I'm so happy for her - because she's so happy, and Stephen is a great guy. But it's just weird for me, because she's three years older than me. Which means that in three years I could get married. (Actually, my brother swears I'm getting married in two years. Which kinda freaks me out.)

This was done for them by my sister in law Leigh. And I just like it lots. :) And guess what?! At the reception, I caught the bouquet! It was kinda funny.

This was taken after I caught it. Isn't Amy beautiful?! All in all, it was a pretty great wedding. I happy for Amy...and though I'm DEFINITELY not ready yet, I can't wait to get married.

So yeah, I love family, and I love when we all get together. I always miss them so much, because there's some that I hardly ever see. But then we all get together and we have lots of fun. :) My family makes me happy.