A Thrill of Hope

    SO as I mentioned in my last post we have been very car-less this month which has put a little bit of a damper on our holiday preparations but I'm pleased to report we are finally a two car family again and all is right in the world! We got a small commuter car for Chad this last weekend and now, 5 days before Christmas, we finally know our budget and can start preparing for the 25th.  Buying a car is obviously no care-free affair and it takes a pretty penny out of your Christmas bonus so our budget is minuscule and we've come to the conclusion that getting a car for Christmas is good enough. Or at least I have come to that conclusion, Chad's still trying to squeeze the budget dry and make it extravagant but I'm honestly just happy to be able to leave the house at will.
    The past few days have been filled with running around, getting the car registered/insured/getting tires replaced/blah blah blah , shopping, getting groceries, returning Library books, dropping off cookies and Christmas cards and going none stop to try and get caught up from the weeks with no errands. But I realized a major advantage to not having the car and just having the one to share with Chad. We had to communicate our schedules and desires very VERY clearly. He was home on time because he knew I would explode if I couldn't get out of the house before 6pm and when he got home I was ready with a detailed schedule of our evening. Most of which was not important tasks but instead, Christmas themed events to go to together and family to visit. We spent a lot of time together and eliminated a lot of unneeded holiday hustling. I'm glad we have a second car but I'm so glad we didn't for a while. Turns out, a lot of the errands I thought I needed to do, we could do without this year.
  Christmas is going to be beautiful, it always is. I laugh now thinking back on our first Christmas as a little Merrell family and how little we had, how all our gifts (literally all 3-5 of them under the tree) were from DI or Goodwill and how completely blissful we were! I'm so glad I'm not getting a used pair of sparkly silver very fake ugg boots like that year, but I'm even more glad that that bliss and gratitude has never left our hearts. I'm so grateful to have married Chad and started such a wonderful crazy thing with him. We're so grateful for the Saviors birth, life, ministry and atonement and the way it inspires and saves us. We've been thinking a lot about hope this year, hope and faith specifically and as I sang oh holy night with our stake choir this year, the phrase "a thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices."  has become my anthem. I know no matter how weary our personal worlds become, how discouraged or downtrodden things may seem, we have a thrill of hope provided by our Savior to inspire us, rejuvinate our heavy hearts and give light to our darkest days.

May all your days be bright with the light and hope of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas!