Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. -Dr. Seuss

The other Saturday Mr. Bluth was in full swing with his finals and I managed to keep myself busy with a few trips to the grocery store. We had a heavy snowfall and the snow just kept coming which made walking to the grocery store a little difficult. The bags were dragging my shoulders and my whole posture forward which brought my eyes down. Before reaching our apartment I managed to look up and I was struck by the beauty of the snow covered street. I stopped thinking about how heavy my bags were and how I wish I would have made Mr. Bluth stop to get milk and appreciated the chance I had to be out and enjoying life. There really is beauty all around.

The rest of the month has been spent with Mr. Bluth finishing his semester and a long couple of weeks of finals. We also managed to celebrate Mr. Bluth's liberation at the end of the semester by trying to cram all the holiday festivities into one night. Zoo lights and the Christkindlemarket were our top favorites and we were able to enjoy both of those activities on a night that was relatively warm.

The sprinkles on top of our December Sundae actually occurred yesterday because we were able to spend time with some amazing people. We first had a feast with Sister Carmen. Sister Carmen is from the Philippines and has lived in Chicago for awhile. She was baptized into the Church 13 years ago and she is extremely dedicated and faithful. Just one example of her dedication is how she has worked in the temple every week for the past 10 years. While traveling around Chicago is fairly easy with public transportation attending the temple is almost not possible. She has found a way after taking multiple buses, a couple trains and a long walk so that she can arrive in about two hours.

We arrived for lunch and found ourselves a feast and we ended up taking a huge Trader Joe's bag home because she insisted we take the leftovers home.

We were spoiled with her love and she has a gift to make us strive to be more like Christ.

We later went to a fiesta with a family from Guatemala and found that practicing Spanish was not the best part of the night. The six tables with Christmas decorations and the other walls with trinkets sure made our night. Zoo lights did not even compare to their home.

Finally we ended the night with some close friends and lucked out with some great white elephant gifts.

There has been a lot of things to be wrapped up in this month and we are grateful for the moments we have had to reflect on Jesus Christ and feel of His love through small moments such as looking up on the way home from the grocery store to devouring an Oreintal feast. His Spirit and light is manifested in so many ways.

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Cold

Frigid


That would be the best word to describe the experience we had two weeks ago at the BYU vs Notre Dame game. We decided to make the trip into a low-cost affair. That just means we didn't purchase tickets beforehand and hoped we'd get lucky somehow. This is more Mr. Bluth's style than Mrs. Bluth's. She likes to plan stuff out. Anyways we loaded up and headed out of Chicago on Saturday. We were bundled in several layers and prepared for what was to supposed to be a pretty cold game. A few toll roads into Indiana and we started to hit the snow flurries.


Freezing


Growing up whenever Mr. Bluth would go to a BYU game his Dad and him would drive up behind the stadium as close as they could. They would look for a small spot where they could parallel park in the neighborhoods that were not too far away. I have a lot of memories of getting out of the car, grabbing the binoculars and cushy seat, and taking off at a brisk walk towards the sound of the stadium. As a young kid, I would practically have to run to keep up with my Dad's long strides (were they really as long as I remember? he's only 5'9").

I thought we would do the same thing for the game in South Bend. You know, just drive around and park in some neighborhood that was far enough away not too pay and close enough that we could hike to the stadium in a reasonable amount of time. It was not to be so. Unfortunately anywhere within walking distance is $20+ or "no parking." Oops.


Icy


We parked about as far away as you can and still have to pay for parking. Getting out of the car and my first thought was "Uh-oh, I don't know how long I can handle this--how is Mrs. Bluth going to handle it?" Mrs. Bluth is not known for her love of the cold, nor football.  We trudged to Notre Dame and passed right through campus (basically an Americanized Hogwarts). We saw touchdown Jesus. For tickets we saw plenty of scalpers but weren't ready to buy. I asked the BYU will call people if they had any left with the BYU fans. Yes, but at face value. $70.

We kept wondering around and just as the game was starting, a guy asked Mrs. Bluth if she still needed a ticket. He offered her an extra that he had for free. She has a strange power over men--I have yet to understand it. I found us a scalper who sold us two, right next to each other, for $25 total. Now we had three tickets and it had only cost us $25 for tickets and $20 for parking. Our plan was slowly working.


Glacial


Our seats had little pads! Sure beat sitting on the frozen, wooden plank. We were rather high up but I had a much better view than when I had gone last year and was sitting on about row 8. And we were only a section removed from all the BYU fans. We could feel their support, if not their warmth. There was no warmth to be felt anywhere.

I wish I had more to say about the game. I wish the weather were a side note to a terrific battle of a game. But the game was rather forgettable. And not just because of the outcome. Both teams looked a little sluggish and not Rudy-motivated.

The people around us were cordial and kind. The crowd in general had a great vibe to it because college football is all that matters on Saturday afternoons in South Bend. And except for the poor drunk girl that fell down the stairs, the whole section was a good time.


Frostbit


It didn't snow like that heavy-as-a-blanket snow that sometimes falls. It was just a really light snow. It would swirl around the stadium like a giant toilet. It seemed to be blowing from touchdown Jesus over and into the stadium and then out the other side. But it wasn't the snow that made things awfully cold--it was the wind. That cold wind would cut right through your coat, hoody, shirt, and thermal undies.

As halftime approached, Mrs. Bluth's toes were beginning to hurt because of the cold. She wasn't sure how much longer she would last. We found a warm room at halftime and I rubbed her feet. They were wet. The three pairs of socks had made her feet sweat. Which was now making her feet extra cold. We threw in a couple of hand warmers into her boots and bought some watered-down hot cocoa and agreed to only stay as long as we were both having fun. We lasted until well into the fourth. After BYU's 4th down attempt failed and Notre Dame was set to run out the clock we took off. We warmed up and voided our bladders in the basketball stadium and marched the long trail back to our car.

It turned out to be a $100 dollar day after gas, tolls, tickets, parking, hot cocoa, and hand warmers. And a bang-up great experience. Just a tad chilly.

#Panorama

#Coldkids

#touchdownjesus

#snowinatoilet