Merry Christmas To All!

...and to all a good night.

My first semester of college is over. As is Christmas.

I have made many new friends, experienced many new things (including an actual Homecoming dance, which I never had in high school), learned much from my professors, made it through my first round of finals, grown closer to my family, and remembered just how much I am truly blessed.

I learned how to waltz this semester -- and foxtrot, salsa, cha-cha, rumba....
I learned that Germans don't really use the term "Tannenbaum" for a Christmas tree. Instead, they use the word "Weihnachtsenbaum" which means, literally, "Christmas tree."
I learned that finals are not all that bad, and that studying is best accomplished when there are breaks for fun and relaxation.
I learned to appreciate my family -- especially my grandparents -- after my grandmother suffered a stroke shortly after Thanksgiving. Since then, she has improved to the point where she can now walk on her own, as well as feed, dress, and wash herself. However, she is still having trouble speaking, and your prayers are greatly appreciated. I also met two great uncles for the first time this Christmas. (No, they don't own a second-hand lion from Africa.)
I've also been blessed with my first automobile this year, a '79 AMC Concord, which is so much more than a car for me. My grandfather put in hundreds of hours of work on it, repairing the body and replacing just about any part in the engine that he possibly could. His efforts even led him to look for part in the junkyard one day for hours in the pouring down rain. He painted the starter purple (my favorite color) and welded two pennies under the hood, one bearing the year that I was born (1992) and the other bearing the year that I graduated high school (2011). Although I didn't ask for anything for Christmas this year, I did know that this one gift was coming, and my family didn't really listen to my request besides...I suppose being the only granddaughter on both sides of the family has its perks.

For the future, I plan to continue blogging EXTREMELY sporadically, so don't bother checking back for, at the least, another month...or two...or three. I may have something big to post by then, but I'm not counting my chickens just yet. If any of you who visited my blog previously have noted that Beast is missing, there is a good reason for it. Hopefully you'll see it again soon.

So from here, have a blessed new year. Remember the Reason for the season.

~Psalm 146~