Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone! I have been in full blown break mode and have neglected my blog! I'll do my best to remember all the details of our amazing break! It was truly amazing for so many reasons.
Shortly after Desmond's birthday we all got the nasty cold that was going around. I started the sick train, then Desmond hopped on, then Marshall finished our sick train. We were all feeling better around Christmas time though! However we did ring in the New Year sick once again.
Christmas was really great! We spent the morning at our house opening up presents and then went to church with my family. The whole service was Christmas music, it was beautiful. My little sister and her husband were able to sing and it was one of the highlights of my Christmas. After sacrament meeting we went up to Marshall's parents house and spent some time there. We're so lucky to have both grown up in the same area. It makes holidays so great because we get to see everyone. Around dinner time we went back to my parents house for Christmas dinner. It was SO delicious!!
Christmas with Desmond this year I made a mental note to stay off of social media. It's just too hard when you see your friends children who are Desmond's age understanding and experiencing Christmas. It's so hard to explain. I am so happy that they are growing, developing, hitting milestones, it's never been a jealousy thing; I would never want them to not have their normal life. It's just hard when your life isn't that. My hope is that some day the ache will ease in this area for me. I also hope that there will be a day where we can participate in the "magic of Christmas" with Desmond.
I will say this though, when you're child doesn't understand Santa, elves, reindeer, the "magic" part of Christmas, it is a lot easier to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Christ. I spent most of Christmas thinking about the Savior and His Atonement for me and especially Desmond. Most of my years on this Earth (when it comes to the Atonement), I've mainly focused on the "over coming sin" part of the Atonement. This past year the 2nd part of the Atonement has come to mean more and more to me. Not only did my Savior suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins of the world, died on the cross, but 3 days later He was resurrected and received His immortal body. As I focused on the birth of our Savior this holiday season, my thoughts constantly returned to this. In this life Desmond may not experience a "typical" mortal experience because of how his temporal brain is wired. However, because of Christ someday my boy will get his immortal body. 

Alma 40:23 "The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame."

This is what Christmas meant to me this year and what helped me "endure to the end" of 2016. I think I can speak for Marshall in this area; 2016 was so hard for us. The roller coaster ride of getting to Desmond being diagnosed and then that in turn changing our life forever was so hard. We were so happy to see 2016 go. We are so looking forward to 2017 and what it has to offer. We are well aware that things will stay hard. My life this year will consist of 17+ hours of therapy every week and being Desmond's support in that. I will be a wife, a mother, and I will do my best to help Desmond meet his milestones. I am confident that this year is going to be better because Christ was born and because He lives.

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things in Christ which strengtheneth me."

Article of Faith 3 "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

I have so much to hope for and so much to be faithful to because of these promises. If I keep the laws, commandments, and covenants I have made, I am promised that I can do all things. I am promised that my little family will be together forever. I am promised that my little Desmond will get his perfect body. This is the only way I'm able to step out of 2016 and into 2017 ready to take it on. 

The only way is Christ. Here we come 2017!