In other news . . .

We finished our classes for the semester. I think RT might have a little more grading to do, but we're done with all of our exams and such. I am so relieved to be finished for the semester. It's been good to take a class, and I'm so glad I did it, but I was very ready to be done. The exam for my class was in essay form, and I was really struggling to have things to say for the last few questions. We were supposed to talk about the themes that were demonstrated by certain terms or quotes from the books and poems, and I just didn't think there were any themes, or even anything especially interesting, related to the last few questions that I answered, so I wrote a bunch of stuff, and don't ask me what it was. What else could I do? I'll probably get away with it too--that's the nature of literature classes, I've found. I was the last person to finish the test (that's how it always is), and as I gave my test to the teacher, he thanked me for taking his class and told me he had enjoyed having me in the class. I could tell he meant it, and that made me feel good. It really was a good class--but I'm definitely going to keep majoring in a science field.

RT's department had a Christmas party, and K and I went too. All the people RT knows were excited to meet K. One of the department secretaries introduced K to a ten-month old girl holding a piece of equipment called a banana plug--you have to start them early so that they'll get on the right path, you know. And yes, K was very interested in playing with it. They gave us tickets for a drawing as we came in. The drawing started while I was somewhere changing K's diaper, and as I came back in I heard them repeating the same number because they couldn't find the person with that ticket. I checked my ticket and realized it was my number! So we came home with a nice poinsettia, which looks very pretty on our table when it is cleared off. It was fun to meet the people RT works with, and we also got some nice food.

We also had a ward trip to the cannery, which I arranged because I am on the Emergency Preparedness Committee. We had a great time. It was interesting to be part of the process of canning the food--fill up the cans, pat them to let the air out so the contents will settle ( often making room for another cup or so of food!), add an oxygen absorber, put on the lid, use the canning machine (which I got to try--it's pretty cool), and put on a label. We are so blessed to have these canneries as a resource, because they have some great long-term food storage for a very low price, and a great way to make the food last. I came home with three bags of wheat, two bags of beans, and a can of potato flakes (which I hear are good in bread). The entire time we were working, one of the people who works there (it is a mission call) was telling us all sorts of things about what we need to store and how we can store it. Just before we left, he told us he had a Christmas present for us, and we followed him out to his suburban, which had the two back seats taken out to make room for a bunch of used five-gallon water jugs (the blue ones that you see in dentist offices and such) that he had gotten for free from the Dollar Store. We each came home with one--wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do? I'm also excited to have learned about a way to get water storage containers.

On Sunday we had our ward Christmas program (we have it very early because half of our ward leaves once finals are over). A friend and I played the piano, just like we did last year. I felt the spirit so strongly at times, especially when the entire congregation sang together. I thought about how exciting it must have been for those who had been waiting for Christ to know that He was finally here to fulfill His mission on the earth. I felt grateful for our Savior's great love for us and for all He was so willing to do to bring about our salvation and exaltation. I remember tears came to my eyes as we sang "Gloria" from Angels We Have Heard on High. It was a reminder to me of the glory of Christ and also the glory that can be ours through Him.

It has suddenly gotten a lot colder. Winter is coming.