Something about Christmas

Ahhhhh. :) I LOVE Christmastime!!! Something about it just makes me feel so calm, happy, and peaceful. I feel so at peace with the world and with who I am. It is a welcome and refreshing break from the "norm" of winter and the whole year. I love it :) Yes, it can be stressful with money and shopping and making food and everything. But man, it is so great. My one word do describe Christmas:

*JOY*


Everyone is smiling, neighbors reach out to each other, there is singing, gift exchanging, tons of service, and everyone seems united in a special way. My favorite part is that I get to spend every second with my wonderful family. I also get to focus on my Savior and all that he has done for me and the major blessing the gospel is in my life. Christmas break has been fantastic so far, and I can't wait to even more!! :)

Here is how it has gone so far...
After school got out on Friday, I rushed home and got my suitcases in the car and headed out to Salt Lake with my mom and grandparents. We met my dad at one of my personal favorite restaurants, Este Pizza, and ate dinner there. I then bid farewell to Grams, Gramps, and my mom (yes, they went to the David Archuleta Christmas concert. I was quite jealous.), and my dad took me out to the airport!! I then hugged him bye, walked in the airport, and started my wonderful adventure! I got to fly out to Colorado (by myself! :] eep!!) to see my amazing friend Sierra from EFY this summer!! It was my Christmas present this year and it was SOOO much fun!! I got my ticket, did security, checked my bag, boarded, flew, landed, found my suitcase in the GIGANTIC tent that is Denver International Airport, and in the end was quite proud of the thing I had just accomplished!! :) It sounds lame, but I felt pretty cool. Haha. Me, the little 14 year old, flying to Denver by myself! Haha I don't know. I just thought it was sweet. Heh heh. :) Anyways, I found Sierra and it was SOOO fun to see her!!!!!! I missed her so much!! Ahh! And for the next week, we just partied! :) Partied, partied, partied! We went ice skating, and I have decided that we are the greatest ice dancing partners ever! Possibly also the most clumsy. Haha! We both were horrible ice skaters, but decided to make the most of it and "danced" all over the outdoor rink. Yeah, I think everyone thought we were nuts :) Haha! After 5 days of nonstop fun and laughing hysterically, it was time to come home! Which i was sad about, but couldn't wait to be with my family!!

I flew home late late late on the 22nd. It was so good to see my family!! :) The morning of the 23, I went out to SL with my momma while my siblings were at my cousins and my dad was at work. I love my momma!! :) She is the best!! Then we picked up my siblings and went out to my dads office in SLC and spent time there at his company "Christmas party". Haha. Santa came, and what my dad's business did for a Christmas present is they gave each employee a picture of their family with Santa. Which was a cute idea! Here is the problem. My siblings and I all agreed to do a funny face picture instead of a serious smiling one. So we get up there, and I'm holding my baby sis, and didn't notice that Ian and Molly decided to smile normal. So we get the picture later that afternoon, and yep. They all look super cute and smiley, and I'm the only one pulling a totally dorky (but hilarious) face! Haha its awful!! And also pretty funny because the last time we took a picture with Santa, it is the same thing. My siblings all look darling, and I (accidentally this time) am pulling some ridiculous face! Oh man. Haha.

Later that night I got to hang out with one of my best friends, Rachel Cottle. That girl is absolutely hilarious. Let me tell you. When me and her get together, we laugh like the whole time. I think I have more funny moments and jokes with her then anyone else. She's great :)

Christmas Eve was such a fun day!! In the morning, I just hung out with the fam. We made lots of food for the party that night, and just played games and stuff together. Then we went out to this AMAZING AMAZING Christmas concert. It was at the Cathedral of the Madeline in SL, and if you haven't seen it before, it is a GORGEOUS building. Seriously, its beautiful. It was a Catholic church, and the inside is spectacular. My personal favorite was the stain glassed windows. Stunning. But anyways, it was a catholic group that sang, and there were little kids from probably the age of 8 to adults. They were phenomenal. I can't even describe to you how beautiful their voices were. They handed out a book of all the lyrics, and the songs they sang were so great. Some were even sing alongs, and we got to sing with the choir. The organ was SO so cool. You could feel it in your heart. No joke. Ahh. It was a beautiful concert. I felt the spirit very strongly there, and it totally got me into Christmas mode. Amazing.

Then we went to the Nelson family Christmas party. It was super fun! We ate a great dinner, had a singing/ scripture reading program, and then a white elephant gift exchange. So funny! I love my family :)

That night, I had a "sleepover" with my siblings. Can I just say how much I love them? My sisters are the sweetest, funniest, and most darling girls I know. I adore them. They're so great. And my brother is awesome. Obnoxious, but awesome. :) When we don't argue, we have fun together and get along pretty well! haha! But we watched Elf, and it was lots of fun!! By the way, I love that movie. Hahaha. So great. It's a Christmas classic. "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" haha!

THen, CHRISTMAS MORNING!!! My stink of a brother woke me up at 7 a.m. by throwing pillows in my face. What a bum :) But it was great!! I got a UNC sweatshirt, boots, a photography book, and slippers! Oh, and 2 super cute headbands! Haha! My grandparents came over then, and we ate breakfast. Hootenanny pancakes. Delicious :) Then we just delivered some neighbor gifts, and then went to the Moon family Christmas party. So, the Moon's are known for always being late. Without fail, at least one family is always late. So this time, we drove up to my aunts, 40 MINUTES LATE, and guess what. We're the first ones there. Haha!! I thought it was pretty funny! Anyways, we ate, exchanged gifts, had a "talent show", and just played games and talked. It was lots of fun!!

Then today was Sunday. I LOVE SUNDAYS!!!! Not even kidding you, they are one of my favorite days of the week. I love them! They are so great! We had an awesome lesson in Sunday School about the second coming. My mom spoke in Sacrament meeting. That was great. And young womens was awesome, as usual!! :) I love my YW group!!

Anyways, it has been a fabulous break! And I can't wait for this week!! Snow, skiing, family, friends, and.... my birthday! YES!!! I will finally be 15. booh yah! Haha! Anyways, Merry Christmas!!! :)

xox abby

Family Pictures

Temple Square and Joseph Smith

Today was a fun Sunday! My parents both had to speak in another ward. My dad is a High Councilman in our stake and so he speaks in other wards like every month, but today my mom had to speak too. So, we went to Sacrament meeting in the other ward, and then decided to "ditch" sunday school and young womens and head out to Temple Square. It was actually tons of fun! I really enjoyed it. I love the Salt Lake Temple. It is such a gorgeous building!!! All of Temple Square is gorgeous, actually. I always feel so peaceful there. We walked around the visitor's center for quite a while. We got to talk to tons of sister missionaries. My dad is supper (maybe a little too) social, so of course we had to introduce ourselves to tons of missionaries. It was actually really fun! :) I would LOVE to go on a mission. I think it would be the most amazing experience!! It would be unlike anything else I will ever do, and I think it would be so rewarding. I'm sure my testimony would grow exponentially. I would love to dedicate my life for two years entirely to the gospel. I've decided that I'm going to live my life in a way that I could go on one, and if that is the direction my life leads me, I will definitely go. Another cool thing we did was watch the Joseph Smith movie. Sadly, we walked in after it had started, so we missed the first half or so of it. But it brought me to tears. I cannot even BEGIN to describe how amazing Joseph Smith is. I admire him tremendously, and can't imagine going through what he did. He is one of my "heroes", or whatever you want to call it. I also admire Emma Smith so much. Like, wow. That woman is so incredible. I'm begging my mom to get Emma Smith (the movie) on netflix. Any of you want to come watch it with me? I honestly think she is one of the most amazing women I've ever heard of. Her strength, courage, determination, faith, and perseverance are beyond incredible. Honestly, she is a phenomenal woman. And I admire her and her example so much!

DONE.

I'm done.

I'm done getting walked all over.

I'm done feeling like nobody cares about me.

I'm done aimlessly following.

I'm done changing who I am to get somebody to like me.

I'm done sitting back and watching my life tick away while i sit miserably in the corner.

Sorry everyone, this post isn't going to be that exciting. But I need to get out how I'm feeling. I've made a decision. And it is a decision that is going to change me, and change how I act. Lately, my life has been sort of a parade. I've been the audience, sitting back and watching. I follow. I feel like I go around and half the people don't want me there. Mistakes I've made in the past have been eating me alive. I've been so lost and confused lately. I've shut my mouth and hung my head. I've been walked over and hurt. I've felt ashamed and insignificant. To be honest I just haven't liked who I am that much. I fake a lot of smiles. Several days I hurt and just don't want anyone to know so I act like everything is fine. I haven't been very happy. But I'm done. I'm a new girl. I'm going to keep my head held high and walk proud, because I know I have something special. I am an individual. I'm not small and unwanted, even though I have been thinking that for a long time. No. I know there is something more inside me. So i'm going to try and find it. Today is a new day. A new chapter in my life. And I'm the author. My life is taking a turning point! And I have a feeling it's going to lead to a much happier life. I'm special. I know I am. I have just been pushing that thought deeper and deeper this past little while. I've been afraid to let it out. But not any more. It's time to show the world Abby Moon. And who she really is. I'm no longer going to hide behind a mask because I'm afraid to show my face. No I'm going to go show the world my smile, and if they make fun of me I'll just laugh along with them. Because I've learned something. Its how I think of myself that really counts. Not what anybody else things. "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent". Sorry you had to hear me babble and ramble. It just I wanted to get that out. It seems more powerful now. I'm going to keep my head held high!! And that I promise you.

Beautiful

Every day is so wonderful
And suddenly it's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain, feel so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Tryin' hard to fill the emptiness, the piece is gone
Left the puzzle undone, ain't that the way it is?

'Cause you are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down, oh no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today

No matter what we do
No matter what we say
We're the song that's out of tune
So full of beautiful mistakes

'Cause we are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won't bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring us down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today



One more quicky. I wrote this poem a while ago. As you can probably tell, it was after an EXTREMELY difficult time period. Wow. Looking back I'm amazed at what happened. I wrote this (bad) poem at a point where I was about to give up. But instead, I was smart enough to switch up my attitude. It made things so much better. I don't know why I didn't do it before. And this past month or two, I have been having very similar feelings toward myself. They aren't as bad, might I add, but the same idea. And I don't know how I was stupid enough to forget this lesson I had already learned. But I read this poem and it reminded me. I know it's not that great, but to me it says a lot about what happened. It's amazing what impact your attitude has on a situation. Don't judge me on the level of my writing please :) I'm not an author!!

A blank page lies before me
I see opportunities to no end.
In front there is a shining hope
And joy from heaven angels did send!

Behind me I hear a thunderous storm.
I turn to look at those chapters in my life
I’ve never seen such desolate darkness before;
So much regret, loneliness, sadness, and strife.

So how did I get from thunder to sun?
What in my life stopped the rain?
I read the last written sentence, and a light bulb turns on
It’s so simple: my attitude changed.

All of the sudden, the earth starts to smile,
I hear the birds in the trees start to sing.
I begin to see all the beauty in my life,
The darkness is gone, let freedom now ring!

I look down at myself, and see deep, jagged scars
Remnants of that time that will always remain
I should be ashamed, I should want them gone,
But they’re something I’m glad that I gained.

I learned a great lesson in those chapters of life,
A lesson that changed how I view the pouring rain.
And though it was hard, and I wandered along,
It was an experience I don’t think I’d change.

Without a few thunderstorms every now and again,
The brightest things become harder to see.
The grass is now greener, flowers now sweeter,
And in the end I’m a happier me.

You must experience the dark to know of the light,
To feel the true joy, you must also know pain.
And wandering the pages of that terrible time,
Taught me that now I can DANCE in the rain.



Sorry for the dragger of a post. Thanks for listening!! I love you all (all, 2 of you? I think? Haha) Have a great day!

XOX abigail

sometimes i hate my life.

now is one of those times.

yuck.

throwing up every 10 seconds and crying is not a very good combination.
i'm miserable.

Yesterday...

... was an AWESOME day!! It was so much fun. I love my friends :)

To start off the lovely day, okay well actually the morning wasn't so lovely. In fact the morning was quite awful! But the day definitely got much better. I went to lunch with one of my closest friends. She's awesome!! Her name is Madi and she's a junior. I actually talked to her for the first time like 3 months ago, but she is super cool and we've become good friends really fast! She's one of the most real, quality girls I know. Madi, if you ever find out I have this blog, which i doubt you will, haha, I love you lots :) But anyways, we went to lunch at her cute grandmas house. Her grandma is darling and it was fun to be able to meet her. I love how she and Madi are such good friends. Lunch was tons of fun!

And they day just kept getting better!! I went over to my friend Kayla's house and we got a present ready for our awesome friend Maryn's birthday party. (guess what. We bought it and got it ready and everything, and we totally forgot to bring it to the party. We're brilliant, huh?) While we were at Kayla's house, we learned some VERY exciting news. :) Baha. Oh man. We were just singing and jumping up and down and everything! It was grand. :) Then Madi picked us up and we went over to Maryn's! Can you say party??? I can :) It was a blast!! I love my friends so much! Haha!! We played the name game, ate chinese food, talked, LAUGHED and LAUGHED, played Mario Kart, and ate a brilliant desert. It was so good! Crepes with ice cream and toppings. Two of my favorite foods (crepes and ice cream)!! It was so yum. Sadly, I had to leave like 2 hours early, so I didn't get to enjoy all the other fun things they did. But it was still a blast!


Maryn Jenkins, happy birthday on the 6th!! And thanks for inviting me to your party!! You are such a fun friend, and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to get to know you and become friends with you! You are so creative, I only wish I was 1/10 at creative as you! You are so fun and unique and kind and happy. I love being around you! And I love having seminary with you. Your testimony is so strong and I love hearing your input in class! Thanks for being my friend and for all the fun times we've had, and I'm looking forward to many more!! We definitely should hang out more often. Anyways, happy happy birthday!! :) I hope your day is just fabulous, you totally deserve it!! Thanks again! I love you!! :)

Love, Abigail Moon

The temple :)

Just went and did baptisms for the dead with two girls I love a ton. What the perfect way to spend a Thursday afternoon :) I love the Bountiful temple and am so blessed to be able to see it's light and beauty every day. I felt the spirit so strong as those priesthood brethren place their hands on my head. I am definitely going back soon :)