Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas to you all!
I love this season as the year comes to a close and gives us an opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months and look forward to the next 12 months.
As you may have noticed, I have a somewhat unusual picture headlining this year's Christmas Card. It only took over 6 years from the time I first tried to train for a marathon in 2007 before being plagued with various injuries, illnesses and two surgeries to reconstruct the lateral ligaments in both ankles, but I can finally say that yes, I am a marathoner!
This was the major focus of 2013 for me as I planned and prepared for, and eventually ran the Top of Utah Marathon on September 21, 2013, but with no sled! I really do admire those dogs! Haha! I have a lot of family, friends, health care providers, and even strangers who all supported and cheered me on and helped me to the finish line, so thank you to all who made this dream come true!
In addition to the Marathon, I also had a great opportunity to walk the Huntsville Half Marathon with Dad a week later on September 28, 2013. He did such a fantastic job (I was the one that was hobbling to the finish line!).
Another event from this year was my first trip to the Mayan Riviera on the Yucatan Peninsula in February.
That was a great adventure and so fun to share with some of my family.
In addition to these fun adventures, I am now in my 11th year at the Department of the Interior Solicitor's Office, and I continue to serve as the Relief Society President in my LDS ward. My greatest joy, however, has been the the time I've had to spend with my family. Through all these adventures this year I definitely had some intense personal and professional challenges, but those challenges, in turn, presented some great learning experiences and personal triumphs that were only possible through the Savior whose birth we celebrate and for whom I am eternally grateful.
And so, as yet another wonderful year closes and we look forward to a new year, I want to share this beautiful thought from Henry B. Eyring, who currently serves as First Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church:
We can with confidence set a goal to make this Christmas brighter than the last and each year that follows brighter still. The trials of mortality may increase in intensity, yet for us, darkness need not increase if we focus our eyes more singly on the light that streams down on us as we follow the Master.Love and peace and best wishes for a happy new year,
Susannah
