why the 'x'?

i've always been bothered by one thing during the christmas season:

the word x-mas

x-mas trees...

x-mas lights...

x-mas sales...

it's everywhere.

but why must people write x-mas at all?!

i know i shouldn't let it bother me, but for some reason this one really gets under my skin.

the christmas season is all because of the Savior.

the holiday is not called christmas by mistake people...

saying or writing x-mas, in my opinion, is just like writing a big slash through Christ's name.

it just doesn't seem right to me.

do i judge those who say/use x-mas? 

of course not.

but i'll stick to writing the 6 extra letters.

a joyous union of eggs and nogs.

it's day two of december, and as you can see below on my bucket list,
i have officially checked off two items.
score.

and now ladies and gentlemen...

i would like to formally let you all know that not only did i find dairy-free eggnog,

i found two different types of dairy-free eggnog!

...so obviously i had to buy both and do a taste test.

the competitors:

'SO DELICIOUS' Dairy Free Coconut Milk "Nog"

vs

'Silk' Soymilk "Seasonal Nog"

i typically try to steer clear of most soy products, due to health reasons, so i have to say:

 i entered this challenge with a bias.

i tried the coconut 'nog' first hoping it would be the winner.

it was definitely 'noggy'. it had the right taste, and it was just as thick as normal eggnog.

however, i usually water down my eggnog with milk to make it less thick, 

so i tried thinning it with almond milk, but it didn't mix well. yuck.

it also had a super strong after taste. 

if you've ever had coconut milk products before, you know what i mean. 

it leaves a 'thick' aftertaste/feel in your mouth. i am not a fan of that.

next was the soymilk 'seasonal nog'.

for me... it was love at first pour.

it was thinner than the coconut nog, 

and the perfect consistency for a watered-down-normal-nog-lover.

i was just as pleased when i tasted it. it had the perfect balance of the eggnog flavor, 

without being overwhelming and without the yucky aftertaste.

there you have it folks. the soy-nog wins the prize...

and my holiday devotion.

is it sad that these are the things i get excited about these days?!

it's here!

the christmas season is finally here! 

i cannot express how excited i am...

i actually get excited driving around town seeing christmas trees on the tops of cars...

seeing houses with glimmering christmas lights at night...

and looking at all the beautiful decorations people are starting to put up.

it really is the most wonderful time of the year!

and now, since it is the last day in november, 'tis time to reveal the bucket list.

tomorrow starts the official countdown to christmas!!!

i am so excited to start checking these babies off.

did you make your list yet?! 

missionaries.

last week, the husband, chloe and i were on one of our frequent walks 

when i saw a group of people walking ahead of us.

i could tell right away that this group was not on the same type of walk we were on.

in fact, i could tell, almost immediately that this small group of about 5 individuals were missionaries. 

i think nowadays just about everyone has seen an LDS missionary.

they can be spotted a mile away.

pants/suit, white shirt, tie, and the infamous name tag indicating that they are missionaries 

for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

these missionaries were not LDS, and i have no idea what church they belong to,

but it made me think about missionary work in general...

i have a huge amount of respect for anyone, of any religion, who chooses to do missionary work.

especially in this day and age.

to give up your time to spread a message of happiness is a wonderful thing.

i don't think you can make an argument against that.
you may not hold the same beliefs as the individuals carrying out the message,
but the sacrifice and devotion to their faith is admirable.

missionaries, of all faiths, have the door slammed on them daily.
they are yelled at. called idiots.
if someone has a differing opinion, we all have a tendency to disagree, argue, belittle, or ignore.
but its my hope, that all of us can look at these people who are dedicating their time,
with more respect.
whether you agree with their message or not,
you can change their entire day by taking a minute to just say "hi".
you can make a big difference in their life.

there is really no major point to this post, other than to say:
i am extremely grateful for those who chose to do missionary work. 

especially to the young men and women from the LDS church 

who dedicate their time and leave their homes to be "full time missionaries".

{young men serve 2 year missions; young women serve 18 month missions}

thank you, to all the missionaries out there. 

perfection.

 just because these are pretty awesome...

 it's officially one week until thanksgiving!

that also means i've officially been sugar free for 21 days now.

that, my friends, is a true miracle.

{but you can bet i am already planning out my thanksgiving day desserts!}

what are your favorite holiday treats?!

are you with me?

if you didn't know already...i love the holidays.

i love everything about them.

i love the music.

i love the lights.

the food...

the movies.

the family gatherings.

i love it all. 

now, i'm also one of those who likes to celebrate each holiday as its own.

i can't stand how people rush though one holiday to get to the next one.

christmas commercials in october? 

no thank you.

christmas music before thanksgiving?

no thank you.

ok. ok... i lied.

typically i have the "no christmas music until the day after thanksgiving" rule.

then you can hear christmas songs blasting from every speaker i can get my hands on.

this year i am breaking that rule.

thanksgiving isn't until the 28th this year! 

that just didn't give us enough holiday cheer time. 

SO...

christmas music will officially start playing in our home at the end of this week.

{i am so excited!}

all that being said...

i saw a cute idea that i wanted to share with you.

{in hopes that you might share in the fun with me and do it too!}

and although its still 'thanksgiving time' in my mind,

 it takes a little preparation so i wanted to share it with you now.

this year i've made...

a christmas bucket list.

you make a list of 25 things that you want to do during the holiday season,

then, the goal is to do at least one thing on your list per day up until christmas.

a couple things from my list:

"buy a real christmas tree"

"take chloe to go see santa"

"make paper snowflakes"

i cannot wait to share the rest of my list with you, 

and then subsequently, post {with pictures} as i check things off.

i love this idea because i feel like every year i forget something.

after the holidays i'm always saying, "i wish we remembered to do x,y, or z".

not gonna happen this year!

i'm on a mission.

are you with me?!

{i've broken another rule by putting chloe in a christmas onsie already.
i had to though...it was too cute and will be too small in december. sigh.}

baby blessing.

in the LDS church, babies are not baptized.

it is our belief that individuals can be baptized starting at the age of eight.

we see the age of 8 as"the age of accoutability"

which means simply:

an eight year old knows wrong from right.

then can choose to make good and bad choices.

at the age of eight, a child can choose to be baptized.

when a child is born into an LDS family,
rather than being baptized,
they are given a baby blessing.
this blessing is typically given at church
during their first couple months of life.

in the blessing the child is officially given their name
as well as a blessing of health and happiness.
each baby's blessing is unique to the individual child.
for those non-lds folk reading, a blessing is king of like a prayer.
 {i'll write more about blessings in the near future}

i was lucky enough to have many family members attend baby c's blessing.
all of of the husbands immediate family were there
along with some extended family who were able to fly in from out of town.
almost all of my immediate family came too,
which was lucky for me because i didn't ask most of them until the day before.
i was really nervous, and didn't want to pressure them to come,
and I was nervous because many of them had never attended an LDS church service before.

it was such a special day, and to be able to share it with family made it even better.
here are some pictures we took after church:

{two of my 3 older brothers}

{my mom...aka grandma}

{the husbands' dad and grandfather}

{all the girls}

{cousins}

{it's a good thing you cannot tell baby c had spit up EVERYWHERE and was screaming throughout all the pictures}