On the sixth day of Christmas...

... There was more snow and extremely cold weather! Extreme weather amuses me. Here we are with near perfect control over our environment- we control our class schedules, we control our hair color, we control whether our coffee is short or tall, caf or decaf, we even control who we're "friends" with by monitoring our social circles on Facebook. Then POOF! It snows a lot and all of a sudden we don’t have as much control as we thought- flights get canceled, events are postponed, and packages just won't be delivered on time. Despite our attempts at dominance over the variables of life, we can still be put in our place by a snow storm. Random fact here: tonight it’s going to be colder in New Mexico than it is in Chicago, Minneapolis, and even Fairbanks. What gives?

Anyways, the point of all this musing about control is just to ask the question- who is in control of your life? When things get crazy, who do you go to? Granted, a snow storm is probably one of the smaller storms any of us will face in life, but sometimes a snow storm is a good reminder to me that I’m really not in charge. It’s kind of a comforting feeling. Wherever you are today- snowed in or not, take comfort in the fact that you don’t have to have it all under control. Jesus does. And He’s looking out for you!

Happy New Year, 

Jasmine

On the fifth day of Christmas...

... There was snow! There’s something about a blanket of snow that can make even the drab grey of winter look picturesque. I feel like I’m living in a Norman Rockwell painting right now. Yay for snowflakes that are all unique! Yay for the crunch of snow under my boots! Yay for winter hats, and mittens, and my puffy jacket that makes me look like a marshmallow!

I think I hear sleigh bells. Glistening snow- check. Beautiful sight- check. Happy tonight- check. 

Yep- I went walking in a winter wonderland! 

This is my favorite version of Winter Wonderland. Do enjoy!

~Jazzy

On the fourth day of Christmas...

... Starbucks brought back their holiday drinks! Oh the joy of Christmas flavored coffees! Peppermint mochas, toffee Frappuccinos, gingerbread and eggnog lattes... The phrase "comfort and joy" comes to mind... There's something ridiculously comforting about sitting in a cozy corner at Starbucks, slowly sipping my drink, and taking time to daydream a bit. When I'm here, at one of my favorite places in the world, time stands still for half a second. And there's almost nothing that brings joy to my day faster than a trip to Starbucks. I love everything about this place! I love the smell of the coffee. I love the decor, and the lighting in my favorite corner. I love it when I come in and the barista knows my name! I love that something as small as serving somebody coffee can bring a smile to their face and joy to their day.

The holiday season can be so rushed sometimes that it's easy to look past people. Today what's something you can do to bring a moment of comfort and joy to someone around you?

With a sigh of contentment,
~Jasmine

On the third day of Christmas...

... There was an amazing Christmas song!

So, one of my favorite things in the world is the ocean. I love the vastness of it, and the way the waves never look the same. I also love warm weather and country music. Where is this train of thought going you may wonder? Well here it is. One of my new favorite modern Christmas songs as of last year is Kenny Chesney's "All I Want For Christmas Is A Real Good Tan." Now, I realize that we're all supposed to be singing about snow, and ice skating, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but sometimes the cold weather gets to me, and I find myself wishing I was the one roasting- somewhere on a beach!

Dreaming of warmer weather tonight...

~Jasmine

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

... There were luminaries! It's one of the traditions at my house every year to get together with friends, get all bundled up and go to our local college to walk through the thousands of luminaries they have spread out all over the campus. I'm not sure how widespread the practice of putting up luminaries is, but explaining what they are to someone who's never seen one usually results in a perplexed look. What are luminaries you ask? They're paper lunch bags filled with dirt with a candle inside. Yep. That's all they are. And one may wonder just what it is that's so wonderful about them. Honestly, I don't know. I think it's one of those things that's special because it's attached to so many good memories- not because it's necessarily spectacular. For me, there's something peaceful about getting all wrapped up in my coat and scarf and wandering around the college at night amongst the flickering lights of a thousand New Mexican paper lanterns. The dark of the winter night is contrasted by the glow of the candles, and somewhere in the distance, Christmas carols can be heard. Sometimes there's so much comfort in the simplest of traditions. Sometimes, the things we love don't have to make sense to anyone else.

Take time to enjoy the simple things that are special just to you.

~Jazzy

On the first day of Christmas...

... There was a Christmas tree hunt! My family has a tradition of "hunting down" our Christmas tree. As in we wander around in the sticks for a couple of hours and hope to find a tree that 1. is some sort of pine and 2. generally resembles the shape of a Christmas tree. (I say 'generally' in the broadest sense possible) Many a year has our tree looked more like a bush than an evergreen meant for decoration. This year however, we decided to "branch out" from our normal routine of tromping through the desert and venture instead to the nearest Home Depot. Oh my gosh! The trees look like Christmas trees! There's no two-trunkers, and they all have branches all the way around, not just on one side! It's difficult for me to explain the amount of excitement we all felt at selecting our tree. Oh how we loved our tree! Oh the excitement of a Christmas tree full enough to hold all of our ornaments! At that moment the joy of Christmas was overflowing in our hearts and we just wanted to share it with everyone including the random couple in the aisle next to us.

It's the little things... hope your holiday season is full of little things that make your heart sing.

~Jasmine

12 Days of Christmas!

Oh my gosh! It's Christmas time again! I've had a little bit of trouble adjusting after coming home from the heat and humidity of Fiji- to cold weather and Christmas preparations! I'm so excited though, because I have new inspiration for my photography and writing! It's the 12 days of my Christmas! Now while I'm fairly certain my 12 days won't include such exciting things as 5 golden rings, swimming swans, or multiple ladies dancing, I'm extremely excited to document and share 12 special parts of this year's Christmas.