Our First SNOW

It snowed!! We don't know long it will last, but the snow today made everything look a little bit more magical! 

(disregard the fact that I was sporting my diet coke this morning while posing for my "first snow in Utah" picture) 

A Utah {Adventure}

We have arrived. We are now, as of January 3rd, residents of the state of Utah. We moved into our humble home and have been busily trying to get things in order and establish some sort of routine here. As of now, we have completely unpacked, we have hung out with friends, we have stocked our fridge and our cupboards, and we are feverishly looking for jobs. So far so good in Utah land! 

Needless to say we are enjoying our time here! Even though we are anxious to get jobs, it has been nice to get a little time to relax and adjust to this transition. At about 3 or 4 pm the past few days, Kenny and I have gone on long walks to enjoy the fresh air and see our new city. As we are walking, we spend a lot of time reflecting on all of the change going on in our lives & we talk about what we hope for our future here.

 If there has been one thing I have been reminded of since we have moved here it is that for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them. Each day I find myself praying for comfort and peace during this transition. I know for sure that I have been blessed with great feelings of peace as we sit on our couch in our cute little apartment and feel at home. I have faith that we will get jobs, and that we will make more friends, but right now I am just happy that we have a new place to call home. 

"It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!"

It is officially Christmas in the Norton household! Well, actually, it was officially the Christmas season in our house on November 25th - the day after Thanksgiving. What can I say?! I am just really excited for Christmas this year. {remember this post} The reason why Christmas began so early (besides because of my excitement), was because we hit the Black Friday sales for Christmas decorations. Before I started getting excited about Christmas, I wasn't sure if we were even going to decorate this year (with the pending move and all)....but once I started getting excited it was all downhill from there. We stocked up on decorations for very reasonable prices and the next thing you know, our whole house is decorated & ready for the holidays!

One of the things that I am most excited about this year (in regards to our decorations) is our Christmas tree. I grew up with fake Christmas trees, while Mr. Norton, on the other hand, grew up with real Christmas trees! It was not hard to convince me that we should get a real tree this year. (Although I may be regretting that decision when we are packing and there are still pine needles on the floor) The smell of the fresh Christmas tree when you walk in the door & seeing those pretty lights lit up at night make it all worth it for now!

To get in the Christmas spirit we have already added a Christmas music station to Pandora, we watched "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer" & we even bought a gingerbread house to decorate. Tonight we plan on watching "Santa Clause is 'Comen to Town" & reading about The Christmas Story in the scriptures. (PS. Can I just say that I love the new Christmas website that the church has?!)

As I have thought about how different this Christmas season is going to be from all the others of my 22 years of life, I hope that this year I can make it different because I spend more time pondering the true gift of Christmas - our Savior, our friend - Jesus Christ. It fills my heart with so much joy as I think about how He truly was a gift - the most wonderful gift. It is my hope that this Christmas Mr. Norton and I spend more time talking about the Savior than about Christmas gifts & holiday parties. Because I know that if we do, we will be blessed with a very special Christmas spirit in our home that will make everything that much more enjoyable.

Christmas is a-comen'!

Ok - so I am usually one of those people who does not appreciate people listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving has passed. I have always felt that Christmas is reserved for Christmas time, and I don't want to be sick of Christmas before it's even over! (That's how I justify my theory) However, this year something strange has happend! ...I find myself looking forward to Christmas more than ever.  (and it is not even Thanksgiving yet!!) Thoughts about decorations, christmas cards, and gifts have fluttered into my mind. I may or may not have been to Joanns craft store today to look at Christmas decorations, and I may or may not have put together and ordered our Christmas cards.

So excited!! (Don't let the old me know I have done this - I for sure have committed some sort of crime!)