Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

We certainly got a White Christmas this year, which couldn't have been more perfect.  Ok, technically, it snowed on Christmas night, through the day after (or "Boxing Day" to you Canadians, eh?), but the snow started Christmas afternoon, so I'm calling it.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, actually.  We woke up to a true winter wonderland Sunday morning, with almost 8 inches of snow (quite rare for good old NC).  Church was canceled, of course, because people in the south have a very strange prejudice against snowplows and the tax money needed to pay for them, so we had our own church at home, complete with Sacrament Meeting (Jeff had gotten permission from the Bishop), simultaneous Sunday School and Primary, and combined Priesthood/Relief Society.

Sacrament Meeting was actually really great.  I loved seeing Jeff and Dave bless the sacrament and pass it to all of us, making me very appreciative and thankful, all over again, for the priesthood and the privilege of having worthy priesthood holders in my home.   Jarom was our youth speaker, and he read most of Luke 2, and then bore his testimony about the Savior, with only a little help.  Jeff gave the same Christmas themed talk that he had given the week before in our ward, and we sang lots of Christmas songs.

My mom was a good sport and taught Primary while I taught Sunday School, since I had already prepared the lesson, and it was a really great one that week, all about prophecies of Christ's second coming from the old testament, which I thought was very appropriate.  I was just bummed that I wouldn't be able to teach it to my regular class.

My favorite scripture was from Zechariah 12:10 and 13:6, and the prophecy that the Jews will see Christ at his Second Coming in all His glory, the Messiah that they have looked for, and they will see the wounds in His hands, and ask Him what they are, and He will tell them that He was "pierced" in "the house of my friends."  Then they will realize who He is, and what they have done, and they will experience complete bitterness for what they have lost.  I think that is something that we all must be careful of, that we don't miss our own opportunities to recognize the Savior and invite him to be part of our lives, to ensure that we never have that kind of bitterness. 

My dad taught the Plan of Salvation from Gospel Principles for the 3rd hour, which was a great return to basics for us and a real "hello!" introduction to LDS theology for Malick.  But he really was a sweetheart about the whole thing, even dressing up in his suit for the meetings. 

After the whole thing was over we realized that we ended up having an actual 3 hour block, which was pretty cool.  Each meeting was such a spiritual feast, and I really enjoyed the insights that everyone shared, and their individual perspectives that brought such unique offerings to the table.  And since there weren't as many people, I could make as many comments as I wanted, which I usually don't let myself do.  I swear, I'm such a loudmouth.  :o)

 After lunch we really enjoyed the snow, sending the men and the kids out to play.  Malick was very excited because not only was it the first time that he had seen snow, it was likely one of the only times that he would see snow in his whole life, since he is only in Georgia for 4 months, and his country, The Gambia, is right next to the equator.  We checked the weather there, and the day that it snowed, it was 94 degrees in his capital city.

Well, they had as much fun as they possibly could, having a snowball fight, sledding, and making a classic snowman.  I had rain boots for the kids that worked fine, especially with several layers, and a couple of pairs of socks, but all the men had to wear what our neighbor, Julian McKimmon, used to call, "Alabama snow boots," which are just plastic bags tied around your shoes.  As a native Alabaman, we figured he knew what he was talking about.  They stayed out for several hours, and when everyone came in we all enjoyed hot chocolate and wassail (Malick's favorite).

It was a perfect day.