Looking Forward to 2011

Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” 




Lord you have brought Adam and I through many trials and blessings this year, thank you for them all. We have become stronger Christians because of this and have a sense of renewed passion to follow you. Please continue to strengthen our marriage and put each other first.

Thank you for your everlasting GRACE, and may we continue to demonstrate that same grace towards others.

Thank you for the wonder in my children's eyes, they have been such a blessing.

 Lord may we continue to seek YOUR vision in 2011, because without you we are nothing. 

Christmas 3 Ways in 3 Days

Christmas 3 ways because every year it is a challenge splitting up the holidays since my parents are divorced I have to keep in mind my Mom, Dad, and my hubbys side of the family. 3 Days because we celebrated the 24th, 25th, and 26th.

 Sooo this year it went like this......

We went to church Christmas Eve with my mom (who declines to be in pictures :))

Vogue

Then we headed to my Mom's House for the rest of the evening. She had treats and goodies to eat, Christmas decorations up and all with just moving in I give her tons and tons of credit. 

Christmas morning my mom gave the kids a really cute book and a barn with animals to go with it~ They have been playing and fighting over it non-stop. I might also add that my wonderful husband made breakfast for everyone and then took Gregory outside to play, this is what they did...

Yes playing in the leaves in December, no cold weather no snow... Oh ya I live in California.... 

When our time came to a close with my mom and brother we were off to Adams parents.

Gregory played outside with his cousins before he fell asleep. Poor guy was not feeling to well but you cant tell by looking at this picture!

Opening his new basketball hoop

I just put this one up cause I liked how my hair looked.

Grace got a new car seat :)

The third way I experienced Christmas was in my heart, where I was with my dad. We couldn't be together this year...but next for sure. He got to enjoy a REAL WHITE CHRISTMAS!~~

The next day we decided that our present to our kids would be an outing with them. 

Can you guess where we went????

Yes we went to go see the dinos out by cabazon.

Haahhahahahaha me in my natural dramatic state

Then we took a drive to Palm Springs, drove around and walked around.

I could have this back drop for my backyard any day!

Random Pic the hubster took

I liked this one.

Elvis Estate

More beauty

All in all it was a great three days.

Overflowing Love

Its 2:50 in the morning

Pitter patter of little feet down the hall

I smile in the dark

Gregory's little silhouette standing next to our bed

"Do you want to get in, I ask?"

"Yes", he says

I pick him up grinning from ear to ear, lay him down

I snuggle up with him, do you want me to kiss you I ask? (He likes his forehead kissed) Yes he whispers

I kiss him basking in the joy that only a parent full of love can

He talks randomly about pickles, and starts to mess with Adam poking him, I smile


He falls asleep, I lay there transported to the time when I would lay with my parents feeling totally secure and protected with not a care in the world.


Overflowing Love is all I feel before I fall back asleep

So Many Posts, So little Time

Sorry I have been slacking off on posting the latest and greatest over at our house so here we go...

Dec 14th 2010- 3rd Anniversary

Let me preface..... No babysitter aka staying your butt at home.....

Sooooo we made the best of it, Adam had wanted to take me to the melting Pot but since that wasn't going to happen, I got a little creative. 

My Fav Wine

 Roses...awww

Love

Using our Rotisserie, is there anything more romantic than cooking together???

More Love

Made Fondue with Havarti, Jarlsberg and White Wine

To accompany our fondue we had hot Italian sausage, rustic French banquette,  lemon and olive oil sauteed broccoli, Italian sausage and pecorino roman cheese ravioli, and apples.

And it didn't come out exactly as it should, but nonetheless delicious.

For dessert Belgian Dark and Milk Chocolate with Strawberries, Pound Cake, Pretzels and Marshmallows. (We ended up celebrating the 15th as well wit the dessert...we were way to full on our actual anniversary to fit it in.)


Amazing Night, Amazing 3 years.

December 16th 2010

Christmas Now. So I said this post was coming, here is how we started making our own memories...

We will be starting a tradition where we bake for Adam's Entire Office...Easier said than done when you are also trying to teach your 2 year old how do make, roll, cut out, and frost the dough. 

Baking Cookies

                                                                     

 He informed me he needed to fix the dough...I said go ahead.

After 5 hours had passed and it was midnight thirty Adam and I were finally done, and tired. 

I love that my hubby can work a 13 hour day and come home help with the cookies, run to walmart to grab some things, come back home and help me clean up.

He was wwwippppppppppped outttt

Another part of our Christmas is it is very important for us to include all our family.Part of our routine will be alternating holidays between the bunch. Year out here and year with my Dad. That can be tricky and it would be great if everybody would congregate in one location but that's not going to happen so we make it work. We stay flexible, and try not to set our ways in cement. 

Another tradition we have will be no Santa. I never in 1 million years thought I would be saying that but here is our thinking...First off in order for this belief to start you must outright lie to your kids. And its not just once but over and over. I was devastated when I found out he was not real and I then questioned if my parents lied to me about anything else. After much pray and consideration this blog post sums it up for us. 

http://atheism.about.com/od/christmasholidayseason/p/SantaMyth.htm

The Santa Claus Myth Promotes Materialism:

The entire Santa Claus myth is based on the idea of children getting gifts. There’s nothing wrong with getting gifts, but Santa Claus makes it the focus on the entire holiday. Children are encouraged to conform their behavior to parental expectation in order to receive ever more presents rather than simply lumps of coal. In order to make Christmas lists, kids pay close attention to what advertisers tell them they should want, effectively encouraging unbridled consumerism.

Santa Claus is Too Similar to Jesus and God:

The parallels between Santa Claus and Jesus or God are numerous. Santa Claus is a nearly all-powerful, supernatural person who dispenses rewards and punishment to people all over the world based upon whether they adhere to a pre-defined code of conduct. His existence is implausible or impossible, but faith is expected if one is to receive the rewards. Believers should regard this as blasphemous; non-believers shouldn’t want their kids prepared in this way to adopt Christianity or theism.

Parents Have to Lie About Santa Claus:

Perhaps the most serious objection to perpetuating belief in Santa Claus among children is also the simplest: in order to do so, parents have to lie to their children. You can’t encourage the belief without dishonesty, and it’s not a “little white lie” that is for their own good or that might protect them from harm. Parents should not persistently lie to children without overwhelmingly good reasons, so this puts supporters of the Santa Claus myth on the defensive.

Parents’ Lies About Santa Claus Have to Grow:

In order to get kids to believe in Santa Claus, it’s not enough to commit a couple of simple lies and move on. As with any lie, it’s necessary to construct more and more elaborate lies and defenses as time passes. Skeptical questions about Santa must be met with detailed lies about Santa’s powers. “Evidence” of Santa Claus must be created once mere stories of Santa prove insufficient. It’s unethical for parents to perpetuate elaborate deceptions on children unless it’s for a greater good.

December 21 2010

GRACIE IS ALMOST WALKING!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK LITTLE ONE.

Oh and by the way, I never understood people who said :oh just wait till they are walking.... I love that they are walking its soo much fun. I would rather chase than carry any day. 

ok my time is up....Ciao for now....