The last few weeks of my last semester ever were full of bittersweet feelings. I would randomly start to tear up in classrooms that I realized I only had a few more days in. I sat and talked to my professors more. I walked around campus more than usual to see places that were important to me, like that one place by the Maeser where I sat and cried to my dad about life as a sophomore, or the route we'd walk to church when I was single, trying to casually speed up or slow our pace to walk with guys we liked.
I got to go up to the terrace of the Kimball Tower before Thanksgiving break with Dr. B and his 110 class, a rite of passage for any graduating geography student. It was beautiful. Man, I love this school and this place. Thinking about how I've changed since freshman year is something my mind has been buried in a lot this semester. This university means so much to me.
Thanksgiving was spent in Maple Valley for the first time in four years. It was perfect. We made Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses since Ryan & I would be in Utah for Christmas, and I got to bake apple pies with my mom all day. We spent Thanksgiving with both sides of the family and saw lots of people we hadn't see in ages.
And yes, I totally put on my wedding dress and walked around the house for a lil while.
It was great. [: Yeahh.
Back in Provo, the lights were up on campus. We passed the two-year anniversary of our first date (TWO YEARS. How is that possible). We got a free tree from Ryan's brother and I spent every moment I could studying next to it and its bright, twinkly glow. Sunday nights found us sitting in the living room with our fake fireplace and the Carpenters' Christmas album going, too. [: I wish I could keep a tree up all year. That little scene made me so happy.
We continued our tradition of making graham-cracker houses with Andrew & KayCee, who ended up GETTING ENGAGED two days after Christmas. We are ecstatic for them.
Ryan & I made a school, complete with a sledding hill, snowman-building, and snowball fight. Frankly we were really, really proud of that thing. The details Ryan came up with were really quite genius, and his determination was adorable.
Andrew & KayCee made a holiday version of the Teotihuacan pyramids. I wish I had gotten a picture of the front of the little gummy bear tourists. They were holding "cameras" (brown mini-M&Ms). [:
I finished my last final ever and walked out of the Kimball Tower feeling less sad than I thought I would be. The pressures and stress of finals actually made for quite a bit of relief when I was done, and when it was all over I found myself feeling that I really was ready to be done and to move on to post-graduate life. The sunset was gorgeous that night.
We spent an evening at Temple Square in Salt Lake, admiring the thousands of lights and the beautiful displays. Being at a temple with Ryan is always so much fun. He gets so giddy and always kisses me randomly, following up with "Thanks for marrying me." We are so happy to know that we have been sealed together forever in one of God's temples. I'm unbelievably lucky to have this guy.
Christmas Eve at the Grays brought another gorgeous sunset over the Salt Lake Valley. Though I'm still bitter about them moving before I could spend a Christmas in Ketchikan [: , it was a fantastic time. We ate, talked, played games, laughed till we cried.
When it was time for bed, we read an excerpt from a talk given by Jeffrey R. Holland almost 40 years ago, called
"Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come from a Store". It was a talk I had never heard before. In it, Elder Holland thoughtfully expressed what it must have been like to be Mary or Joseph, bringing forth the Son of God in utter poverty. As the chosen reader I had to stop several times because I simply couldn't keep reading. The Spirit bore so strongly to me the truthfulness of the words and beautiful gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who descended below "every human pain and disappointment," every one of
my pains and disappointments, so that I could cast my burden at His feet and be forgiven and comforted. I don't even know how I would be living my life if I didn't know these eternal truths. The gospel of Jesus Christ is my life and the source of every happiness in it!
The next day we lounged, played video games, and ate pie for breakfast, and I even got to Skype with Elder Krop, thousands of miles away in Argentina, for a few minutes. It snowed all day. It was just us four adults, quiet and different from what I am used to on Christmas Day. But it was a good different, because I was still with people I loved.
Life is good.
