Back to Life, Back to Surreality!

So.... I'm back on American soil! It's the weirdest feeling. It feels fantastic to be home, but it also feels surreal. I am loving my big bed and all my pillows, seeing old friends and my family, eating Cafe Rio (already went with Sarah and Melissa today!), shopping at Gap (not yet) and having ice in my drinks... but I am missing my German family in little ways as well. Plus, it doesn't QUITE feel real yet. I feel as though I am stepping back into my old life, and yet it's completely different. Even all of the rooms in my house look completely different... New furniture and all rearranged in places... There are new stores near my house and the freeway exits off of the Draper/Sandy Walmart is completed. These are little changes, but it's still different to see. Then, there's the fact that many of my friends have left Utah, something that I would like to do again in a few months. I'm happy for them all, but again, it's just different...

In a way, the differences also make things exciting. It's motivating for me to get a start on a new life... to create new adventures. I'm excited to find a new job and to venture forward into the "new me." I have changed and grown SO much in the last year, and I believe more in myself, and more in my Savior. I am ready to take a few leaps, fall down a lot, and figure out where I fit into the world...where I really want and need to be.

Tonight for Christmas Eve, we had the usual traditions of a finger-food dinner, reading the scriptural stories of Christ's birth (Bible and Book of Mormon), playing Name-That-Tune, opening a few gifts... then we added a movie in there as well. It was perfect... I'm glad that I got to be home for Christmas. As I said before, I'm a lucky girl.
*muah*

Song of the Day: It's Christmas Eve, so... Let's make my FAVORITE Christmas song our song choice for the day, shall we? Yes, we shall. Here is Amy Grant with her song, Breath of Heaven, with beautiful clips from "The Nativity Story" film. Enjoy!