Christmas! (numero uno)

Since Justin and I will be flying to Utah to spend the holidays with family, we decided to open the majority of our presents from each other last night since we are going to be pretty busy until we leave, and since we wanted to pack a lot of what we were getting. We found some sweet deals on black friday so we both got clothes, clothes, and more nice warm clothes for Christmas. After we shopped we handed each other our loot and wrapped the other persons gifts. No surprise there, but we got some great stuff and at least we know we will like it! It was still really fun opening and finally getting the clothes we bought a couple weeks ago, and I also got to open one that was a surprise. Justin got me THE most amazing luxurious and softest robes on the planet. I have never had a robe and I have really been wanting a really nice one and mine is amazing. I was super excited. 

We had a little too much fun taking some pictures of our first Christmas celebration, enjoy!

  

Me showing the tree some love

That is one very excited/sexy Justin!

Merry (early) Christmas!

We took a little break to watch our beloved "Headlines". Merry Christmas Mr. Leno!

VERY excited for my first present!!!

Poor Justin, he didn't get what he asked Santa for.

I totally look like a vampire here, and I am not talking about my abnormally good looks. I am talking about my pale, glow in the dark skin and flaming red eyes. My skin is seriously as white as the wall. I like to call it porcelain, it makes me sound fancy. 

Ahhhh new robe. Ahhhh Christmas wrapping paper!

Justin and his goods 

Me and Mine!

As a child we always had to pose with all of our presents and Justin did too, so naturally it has carried on.  We do it with our Birthday presents too.  I don't think I could actually open presents and then not compile them and pose with them.  It would seem so wrong!

How Cold Is It?

-Minnesota is so cold, that when Justin and I went to get into our car this morning, the doors were frozen shut. Literally frozen. It took us a few minutes of chipping at it and prying to get in.(apparently there is some spray that will defrost your doors that everyone told me about, and I was advised NEVER to put hot water on it to defrost it which is what I told Justin we should do this a.m. Good thing I was warned) 

- Minnesota is so cold, that at work we have a back door and there is a thick layer of ice around the bottom and the seam of the door on the INSIDE!

-Minnesota is so cold that when we were cleaning our coreway, Justin was inside and sprayed some windex on the window and it started freezing on contact.

-Minnesota is so cold that my poor husband will most likely catch pneumonia and perish while walking to his classes.

-Minnesota is so cold that I could still see my breath in the car until I was almost all the way to work.

- Minnesota is so cold that the high today was -2 and the current temp is -9, but lets be serious, it is not NEAR that warm. With the wind-chill the temp is actually -27.

In case you have not caught on, ITS FREEZING! Seriously today was one of the coldest days I have ever experienced. Many school districts were cancelled or delayed and people missed work because it was too icy and frigid! Good ol' Minnesota. Can't wait for some nice Utah weather where the temps are still on the plus side!

This is the back door at my work. This is inside and that is ice that is along the bottom of the door and all along where the doors meet. It is insane!

p.s. Thanks again for the coat mom, you have NO idea how much I love it!

p.p.s If any of you caught on to the match game reference you are either old or loved to watch old game shows with you mom like I did when I was little! haha

FYI

For your information......

-On average it has been about 10 degrees here, and that is in the middle of the day, and that is also without factoring in the wind chill

-I got an early Christmas present in the mail that my mom authorized me to utilize early. It is the North Face nuptse in black. It is the most incredible and warm coat and I think I might actually be in love with it!

- Justin is studying, studying, and studying some more and preparing his talk for church tomorrow. 

- Usually I don't have a huge desire to see anything in the theaters or maybe just one movie that is out looks really good to me, but I have a HUGE list of movies I want to see that are playing or that start over Christmas.  

-And the biggest FYI of all, is 5 DAYS.  5 days until we fly home for the holidays! We are going back to Utah from the 18th to the 8th of January. Thats right, 3 whole weeks.  And Justin's family is all going to be together, and I was thinking in my head, and my family has not all been together since my wedding almost 2 years ago so that is going to be awesome!! And we get to meet our niece and our nephew and my sisters fiance.  It is going to be an amazing 3 weeks people!  

What are all of your holiday plans? I hope you all get to spend it with family and those you love.

Wednesday's Read

Hi all. Hope you are all having a great day and staying warmer then I am! This time of year with lights on houses, snowflakes in the air, and endless amounts of sweet treats and goodies put me in the mood to share with you a fairy tale, or more so a retelling of a Grimm's fairy tale that is enjoyable for all ages. The read for this Wednesday is, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.  Shannon Hale made a name for herself with The Princess Academy (which is also great) so you may have heard of her.  As mentioned above, The Goose Girl is based on an old Grimms fairy tale, and Shannon interprets it and beautifully fills in all of the pieces.  It is a very sweet, romantic, funny and all around delightful tale of identity theft (she should have shredded those pre-approved credit card applications!) I had a lot of fun reading this book, and it has a couple sequels that are from the point of view of other characters from the Goose Girl.  So turn on your Christmas tree lights, grab a blanket, a sweet morsel and snuggle up with the Goose Girl, you will love it.  And while you are at it, grab the Princess Academy. My mom liked it better of the two, I think I liked the Goose Girl better. You be the judge.

FHE

For Family Home Evening last night first we watched this, the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  It was really nice and it looked so beautiful there.  Then we watched ELF, which in my opinions is one of the best Christmas movies of all time.  Every year when we watch it, we just can't stop laughing.

 

We also got tummy aches from eating too many cookies. Justin had a cookie exchange with the MHA class and so basically everyone baked a ton of cookies and brought 4 for everyone. Well like 20 people each giving us 4 or more cookies amounts to over 80 cookies that we have in our kitchen tempting us! It is really fun though to have lots of different kinds. Someone even made sugar cookies in the shape of Minnesota! So if you live close to us, and you have an urge for something sweet, stop on by the Atkinson residence and we will hook you up with some cookies.

A Holiday Treat For You

To our dear blog readers, here is a little holiday cheer for you. Thanks for coming to our blog and have a fabulous day!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Wednesday's Read

Hello all. It is once again time for Wednesday's Read.  Now that it is miserably cold outside, it is my favorite time of year to have a good read.  I love getting in comfy clothes and curling up with a blanket, a great book and some of my personal favorite cold weather foods such as ramen noodles, any kind of soup, cinnamon sugar toast or mac and cheese (and yes I am aware that I have the eating habits of a 6 year old).  And since I eat like a grade schooler, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite "early reader" books.  And for the record, I found and read this book this summer and loved it! Who says a 23 year old can't shop in the kids section at B & N and find something great? Not me!

The book is called The Mysterious Benedict Society,  by Trenton Lee Stewart.  With a title like that I was basically sold already, and I also fell in love with the cover art, but when I turned it over and read this:

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules....

I was pretty much sold. I consider myself quite a gifted child and I was up for the challenge!! I bought the book on the spot.  This book is very fun, interesting and entertaining. I will also tell you that there were very few little tests that I actually figured out on my own.  This book was written for kids in late elementary to middle school age, but I loved it all the same.

* There is also a sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, which is just as fun. Check these books out or give them to a great kid for christmas!*

Joseph B Wirthlin

Last night the Apostle Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away peacefully in his sleep.  We are very grateful for this man and for the wonderful words he has shared with so many throughout his life.  Being out here in Minnesota, the word does not relay very quickly so we just found out this afternoon of his passing.  When such a great man passes away it is a loss for us on this earth, but I imagine a marvelous reunion in heaven.  His wife passed away in 2006 and I can only imagine what a wonderful moment this was for them.  We were especially grateful for his last talk this past conference, " Come what may and Love it."  I know it has become an instant favorite of many, and it was my favorite talk of this past session.  Justin and I are firm believers in laughing through things and this talk was very inspirational and sweet.  You can read about his passing at ksl.com and click here to read the talk mentioned above.  Thank you Elder Wirthlin for your faith, devotion, and your wonderful words that we will always remember you by.