Merry Christmas Letter

Dear Family, Friends, and Loved Ones,

As we come to the end of yet another year, I am filled with gratitude for all of the love and support that you have given me over the many years of my life, in which you have known me. Some of you may know that I have been living in Provo, Utah for the past 6 months. I love it out here. Yes, it gets a little cold, and a little "white", and I sometimes get a little homesick, but I love it!

Why Provo you may ask? Well, I got a job out here this summer, working at one of my church's camps. It was a youth camp, I was a counselor working with high school aged kids. I LOVED it! I applied to work again this coming summer, we'll see if I get it. While I was working out here, I fell in love with Provo. I loved the atmosphere here. It is a college town. For those of you who don't know, BYU is located here, so there are TONS of people living here that are kind of living the same life I am right now. And, I just love it!

I am living in an apartment with 5 other girls. It is a 3 bedroom apartment, 2 bathrooms. I'm sure you're probably thinking to yourself, "How in the world do 6 girls share 2 bathrooms?" Well, let me tell you, it's tough, but possible. I think that one of the biggest struggles with moving out, and away from home, was realizing what a little amount of stuff I had. I realized that I didn't have anything for cooking, which was very difficult since I LOVE to cook and bake (a trait that I got from my Papa). And, I realized that living on your own was a lot harder than it looked. But, I've been making it.

I work right now as a substitute teacher, in the Provo School District. I love my job. Sometimes I get those classes where they make me want to just pull my hair out (I still don't understand how my mom does it). But, for the most part, I love my job. My mom once told me that if you love your job, you will never have to work a day in your life. And, I agree with that 100%, which is why I have decided to go into teaching. My favorite grades, right now, to teach are 5th and 6th grade. I can't wait until I turn 21, so I can start subbing high school, which is what I really want to teach.

I get the opportunity to go home for Christmas. One of the wonderful things about my job is that I get to have 2 full weeks off of work. While most of my friends around here don't get to go home for Christmas, because they have to work, I get to go home for the whole break! I'm excited to see my family, even though I was just there 2 weeks ago. But, I think that the hardest part about being away from home is missing my family.

I have a boyfriend, named Brandon. He is currently serving his mission, in the Mexico Hermosillo mission. He has been gone for about 19 months, and will be coming home in May. I cannot wait to see him again, especially after this LONG wait. He is doing really well, I get weekly e-mails from him, that let me know how he is doing, and that the work is going well.

I hope that you and your family will remember what this holiday season is really about. Jesus is the reason for the season. I love you, and hope that you have a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Terri