Christmas is magical!

This is my favorite time of year. And the older I get, the better it gets.

As a kid, it was all about being sneaky and hunting down the gifts. There are many fond memories of skipping the squeaky stairs to get to the Christmas tree, just to make sure Santa really came. Sometimes it was climbing up all of the shelves in the garage to see if the gifts were there. And don't forget the annual 'cutting down the christmas tree trip' that I just love!

Now we have the pleasure of enjoying Cristmas through the eyes of all the kids running around. They are so innocent and pure. They love everything! The bells, the lights, the ornaments, the Santa across the street, the snow, you name it and they love it. And I love watching their eyes light up.

Through all of that, what I love the most about Christmas is that the Spirit gets stronger and stronger. Tonight I went to our ward christmas party. The kids were wonderful, the music was beautiful and the best part is that it filled my heart with the Spirit. The best part for me was the ending. They showed the movie "The Nativity".

The first time I watched this particular movie was in Panama. I had never seen it, and we were supposed to give it out to investigators. Basically use it as a tool to enter homes and leave a message. We took it to one home, a referal, they were the Samaniegos, and they were so excited about a free movie. They went to great lengths to find a VCR to hook up to their TV. Only their TV wouldn't hook up to the VCR that we had to take, so they borrowed a TV. The funniest thing is that this all took about an hour. We finally got to watch the movie; it only last about five or seven minutes. They felt like we had tricked them and were so upset. However, it ended wonderfully, and they were baptized a few months later. These were some of my favorite people! I fell in love with them and they made my first six months in the mission bearable. And tonight, as I watched this movie, I thought of them. I remembered how comfortable I was in their home and how much they had done for me. And all this was during Christmas.

And that is what I love most about Christmas. The feelings of love that I have in my heart for the gospel and for the way that the Spirit brings peace to all. The memories that are warm and welcoming that bring tears to my eyes. And that is why I love Christmas.

these are a few of my favorite...people

Sami (fondly known as Denise after Dennis the Menace)

Gabi - brella

Erika...also Miss Marie

And if a day goes by that I don't spend time with my neices and nephews, I go through withdraw.

Noelle convinced Heather and I to hike Timp with her this summer. We had a lot of fun and were almost to the summit, when we were forced to turn around because of a storm. It was well worth it and we are even more grateful that we turned around and came home instead of trying to brave the storm while on the face of a 12,000 foot mountain. Well, it wasn't long after that, she decided that it would be lots of fun to hike Baldy.

So, she and I set out one saturday afternoon. We thought that it would be pretty easy, becuase after Timp, we can do anything. But, it was really long and hot and tiring. Before we were even halfway done, we were tired. There weren't any nice swithbacks like Timp has. This is just miles and miles and up hill climbing. No areas with a level trail. Absolutley no areas of downhill. It was just up. And I wasn't really having a lot of fun. I knew however, that if we made it to the summit, it would be well worth it.

We kept going, and I began to believe that we wouldn't make it to the summit. That we would just have to keep going so that we wouldn't be hiking in the dark. However, Noelle has more determination and stamina than I do, and we finally made it to the top. The view was spectacular and I will forever be happy knowing that I kept going and that we did make it to the top.

Sisters are all a girl needs in the world. Besides maybe sleep. I am so grateful to have sisters that are willing to do crazy things with me and are willing to help me "make it to the top". Thanks Noelle, for pushing me and for helping me to reach our goal.

And now, I look forward to doing this again someday. I think I would prefer Timp over Baldy any day, but maybe next time it won't be so bad. And plus it gives me the chance to take a few pictures to put on my blog, right?

Dedicated to "The Promised Land' Series

Who is Baruch? How about Ebed? And how in the world do they tie in with the Book of Mormon? What is Rosh Hashannah or Ha-Zikkaron? And what do they have to do with Lehi and his family? What does the date September 22nd have to do with anything we learn while we read our scriptures? What were Laman and Lemuel really like before leaving Jerusalem, to behave the way that they did in the scriptures? Where was the family located when Nephi had the same vision as his father?

Those of us who read the Book of Mormon, know all the same answers. We know what it was that lead the family into the wilderness. We know that they dwelt in a tent. We know that we don't really like Laman and Lemuel for the way they treated their family. We know that Lehi had a dream and that later Nephi had the same dream. We know that they were wealthy before they left Jerusalem.

But like most of you, that is where my thinking stops. I read what I read and I sometimes consider deeper things, but I don't really ponder on certain questions. Much like the ones that I asked in the first paragraph. And these are all questions that I found the answers to while reading the book "Day of Remembrance". Author David G. Woolley helped me to expand my imagination through his ideas and his research. I was able to see these people in my mind and really understand what they must have gone through in order to bring about the will of the Lord. I learned that there were far more historical people involved that I had never even thought about. Baruch was an actual scribe for the prophet Jeremiah. Ebed-Melech was an Ethiopian sailor and a jailer in the palace. Call me crazy, but when there is a list of names in the front of the book, I don't usually take the time to look at them. I ususally just delve right into the book and get caught up in the story. Well, that is what I did. I was surprised to learn later on that they were mentioned in the scriptures for all the world to see. But it took Mr. Woolley's talent and imagination to allow me to open my mind to that and see what was right there for me to see.

One of the ideas that I loved, was that maybe, just maybe, Lehi took others with him into the wilderness. I suppose that we will never really know what took place way back then, but it is really quite fun to ponder on what could have happened back then. One of the most intriguing to me was the idea that Hagoth went with Lehi into the wilderness. Hagoth is mentioned in the Book of Mormon as a shipbuilder. Well, in this story, he went with Lehi into the wilderness. Now, this may not have happened. No mention of this exists in the Book of Mormon. But it is fun to ponder on the idea and think of what may have happened.

Another point that I really liked was the way that Mr. Woolley connected the family of Lehi to Joseph Smith and his family and to others in Jerusalem at the time of Joseph Smith. The Lord works in ways that are mysterious to many of us. But when we really stop to think things through, we might realize that there is a connection between the 22nd of September when Joseph got the plates and the celebrations in the Jewish traditions of Rosh Hashanna and Ha-Zikkaron. Maybe I am just reading too much into what has been written thus far and when the new book comes out, I will see that I didn't understand a thing that he had written. (it's happened before) But I love that Mr. Woolley is making connections through his research that I never could have made just by reading my Book of Mormon every night.

I have never really liked Laman and Lemuel. I have always thought that they were just a little stupid. To see and angel and still complain seems pretty dumb to me. But once again, the author allowed me to see them a little differently. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like them, but I have more compassion for them. We are all like Laman and Lemuel. I think that if we had been raised the way they had been raised, we may have acted the same way. We can probably imagine that they were given whatever they wanted. They had money and lots of it. They lived very comfortably and never wanted for anything. Laman and Lemuel were so attached to their material items that they found it really hard to accept the fact that they had to leave it all behind and follow their father into the wilderness. And while I can be compassionate towards them, I do believe that from the beginning they were selfish. They wanted only what was good for them, not the family as a whole. They were not willing to live the way that the Lord asked them. And through the story that Mr. Woolley has created, it was easy for me to imagine what kind of hearts they really had.

Mr. Woolley has created a story that allows reality to mix with imagination in a way that gives permission to all who read it to see the Book of Mormon in a different light. It allows us to think outside the box. I have enjoyed reading these books and really delving into the ideas that have been presented. I love knowing that this is a story based on historical events and studying further to know which events are historical and which are not. I recommend this book to all who love the Book of Mormon. I recommend it to all who sometimes find the Boook of Mormon a tad boring, because it will open your eyes to a new world full of ideas. David Woolley has really done a marvelous job at showing us what we are missing when we read the Book of Mormon.

Sometimes when I need a good laugh, I like to watch this video just because. If you will just trust me and keep watching, you will find how surprisingly funny this is. I love it! It will even make you smile some two hours later when you think about it. Enjoy!

"Juan"

I have a student by the name of Juan(we'll call him that just in case he finds my blogspot one day). He is blond, tall, thin and extremely high maintenance! He is usually the most vocal of the kids in my eighth period class. I had a conversation with him today that made me laugh. It went something like this...

"Juan": Miss Platt, what are you doing by my desk?
Me: I'm just standing here talking.
"Juan": I don't want you to stand by my desk.
Me: Why "Juan", does it bother you?
"Juan": You intimidate me.
Me: (shock in my voice) ME...Intimidating?
"Juan": Miss Platt, can I move to a different seat?
Me: Sure, but you don't need to, I'll just stand by a different desk.

The greatest part of this conversation came 2 seconds later, when I hadn't moved, and he thought that I had, and he turned around and almost fell out of his chair, becuase he was so startled that I was still there.

There is such a strange sense of empowerment when you know that your students are intimidated by you! Today was a great day!

Exercise comes and goes in spurts for me. I go really strong for a while, then I get so tired physically, that I just can't do it anymore. I blame that on getting up at 5:00 am every day, dealing with teenagers all day long, and plain a simply, just a really weak body. But those times that I do exercise, I love! I especially love going to the gym. I am more of a gym person than I am an outdoors person. Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors, I just feel like I push myself harder in the gym. Lately, I have been going through one of my not so strong times. It's all I can do to stay awake on the drive home. I have to munch on something the whole way home in order to not be a hazard to other drivers. It's ridiculous! But today, I decided that after all the peanut m&m's, I needed to get on the treadmill and work off a few calories.

Because of my college classes, I trained myself to read and run at the same time. It makes the time fly and I get something out of it at the same time. I am reading a new book called, "The Last Lecture". It's about this man who was diagnosed with cancer; and after a very hard fight, the cancer returned, this time stronger and he was given just a few months to live. So, he decided to write a book about his life. Mostly the lessons that he had learned during his life. I have decided that there is so much to be learned from other people. He jumps all over the place in this book. From childhood, to teaching, to marriage and family. He just seems to have great advice for all who read the book. One quote that I pulled from the book really stuck with me. Probably because I have a tendancy to do the exact opposite. He says "never make a decision until you have to."

I really like this, because sometimes I feel so rushed into making spurr of the moment decisions, that afterwards, I feel like was a mistake. I am happier knowing that we do have time in this life to think things through before we make decisions; especially the big ones. I would hate to make the wrong one...