Christmas Angels

Christmas this year was spectacular! I had so much fun with my family and I love all the gifts that I received! I got a coat and ski googles! I got cute clothes and candy! I got to talk to my cousin Brigham who's serving in Tucson and my friend Tyrel in Peru. I spent all day with family and I loved it! But the story I want to tell happened on Christmas Eve. We had just gotten home from our loud and loving Christmas Eve party at Grandma Teichert's. Taffy and Tony and their kids and Tami and Casey and their kids and Sulli and Michelle and Kinley were at the house with us and we were having a loud time! It was a fun family atmosphere that I love! And in the midst of the excitement we got a knock on the door. Connor went to the door fairly quickly. When he opened the door, there was nobody there. Instead there was a jar on the porch that said, "Tessa's Christmas Jar."

No name, no trace of anybody. My nephew Tel shouted out the door, "Thank you Christmas Angels!" and we laughed because who comes up with that kind of a sentence? Just Tel. Then Connor brought the jar over to me. It was filled with coins and bills. I was puzzled and surprised that someone would leave me a jar of money. Whoever gave me this gift of money was inspired and very thoughtful and sensitive to my needs. Since going to college, I have become a stresser. My biggest stresses are grades and money. I never seem to be satisfied with my grades and I am usually feeling pinched in the money department. I took the jar and went into my room where I opened it and counted what was given to me. And I started to cry. There was over $100 in the jar. I knelt down by my bed and cried and gave thanks to Heavenly Father for the giver(s) of this gift because there wasn't a name on the card. He is so mindful of me. He used other people to help me. Tel has never said such a true statement in all his life. Whoever gifted me the jar, were indeed my Christmas Angels. I was overcome with gratitude. I don't now who all pitched in to help me, but if you read this and you had a part in this gift, please know that I am completely in your debt and I'm extremely grateful.

This Christmas I had to really humble myself. I had to put myself on a Christmas budget. I felt like the little drummer boy, what can I give? I didn't have a lot of money and so I had to do something that I thought I wouldn't do. I shopped at DI for a few gifts and I made a homemade gift for my mom. I felt terrible that I wasn't in a position to give more. I felt a little bit like a cheap skate. I didn't like it. While I was struggling with these feelings, I watched this video:

It teaches that the true meaning of Christmas isn't monetary. It's about Christ. I was filled with the Spirit of Christ while watching this video. I was giving what I could and that was good enough. The important thing that I needed to remember was that Christ came to this earth in the humblest of circumstances. He is the real gift. He's what is really important. Christ should be the center of our lives, now and always. He is the Gift.

This Christmas has been an important and impactful one in my life. I'm grateful for the circumstances surrounding me this Christmas and for all the wonderful people in my life. I'm most grateful for the mindfulness and love of a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.

Today's the Day I got my Sister Back!

I know I never really lost my sister, but facetime is not the same as real time! And today I got to see my sis for reals! She called me earlier this morning and asked me what my day was gonna be like, and I said, Well, I got class at 9 and then work til 5. And then she called Mom and asked if there was any way they could come to Provo and surprise me at work. What she didn't know was that I was already going to surprise her! So I got to the airport (public transportation is actually AWESOME) and waited for Mom. And then when Mom got there she had this great idea. We waited for Livi and when we saw her, I hid behind a wall and Mom went and greeted Livi. Then they went over to Baggage Claim and they had their backs to me and so I snuck up on them and tapped Livi on the shoulder and said, Excuse me. And she turned around and then saw it was me and we froke out! It was so exciting! I'm so happy to have my Sis back and that she's only a text away now! Yay for being best friends with my sister! I love her a kajillion and she was good to Peru and Peru was good to her and now she can come to school with me and we can be good together again!

After 3 months, we're still on the same brain wave. We were shopping at TJ Maxx and we were talking as we were shopping on different isles. We were saying how it's Christmas and we don't really need anything, and then we got to the end of the isle and saw the same sweater and at the same time said, But I do need that! And then we looked at each other and just laughed and hugged and said, well, we still are the same!

And now just some of my favorite pics of me and my sister.