WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SUNSET!!

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FEELS LIKE A LONG DAY!

I woke up this morning and realized that I had scheduled my Wordless Wednesday post for today! Okay, I'm getting a little too ahead of myself, or getting a little too excited about posting! Anywho, my in-laws got in last night, and we went out to dinner with them at their favorite restaurant, and also exchanged Christmas gifts with them!

Veronica being silly for papa & grandma before we went out to eat.

Miranda hamming it up for the camera again! This was at the restaurant.

This morning, my mother in-law and I took the three little ones to Cal Skate and it was great because one of our friends met us there with his kids, plus they had a craft going on! When it was time to go, my boys could not find their shoes for anything! We finally came to the conclusion that someone took it by accident. Well, thank goodness, the manager called us shortly after we got home and told us they found them in a totally different area where we left them! I'm so glad the roller skating rink is very close to where we live! Anyway, after we picked them up, the three little ones & I went to Costco and stocked up! I love it there! I was THIS CLOSE to getting them the Guitar Hero for their Wii, but they said they didn't care about it...LOL. Of course, we get home and my older kids were like, "Whaaaaatttttttt???????" Oh well, you snooze, you lose! I'm sure if they were with us I would have bought it.

My camera takes sucky pictures inside of there! Here is Veronica with my mother in law at the skating rink.

The craft table. I have no idea what they ended up making! It looked like a fur ball with antennas! I don't even think they took it home with them..lol.

They do love arts & crafts!

He was like, "What am I supposed to do???"

"NOT ME!" MONDAY

Here's to another week of things that I absolutely did NOT do!

• I did not dare go to Target on Christmas Eve morning just to buy one more present. But, to my surprise, there was hardly anyone there! Praise the Lord!

• I did not have intentions (again) to bake tons of different cookies this year, and I absolutely did just that! (Do you get the joke here)?

• I did not send my Christmas cards out on Christmas Eve either! I would not wait to order them a few days before. I have way more organizing skills than that!
  

• I did not almost tell my kids what their "big" surprise gift was this year. Nope, not me! I totally do not have a big mouth about those kinds of things!

• I am not glad that my sister and her family won't be back in two weeks, so I can wait to buy their gifts after the sales!

• I totally DID NOT have blog withdrawals when my server went down for two days. I did not think about all the posts I missed reading, plus the posts I could have written. I know I am not into blogging that much!
  

MCKmama is not doing a NMM today, so there is no linky. But, if you want to participate next week, click here for her blog!

CHRISTMAS IS NOT OVER YET!

My mom was supposed to come to our house on Christmas day, but she ended up getting sick. So, because of that, we planned on getting together at her place on Sunday afternoon to exchange gifts. My mom is so awesome. She became a single mom when my sister and I were 10 & 12 years old. When I think back, I took her for granted so many times. I know she did the best she knew how, and I can only imagine how hard it must have been for her. Now as a mother myself, I am able to totally appreciate the sacrifices she made for us. She is really close to my children! They call her "mama", as do my nephews. She really is a great grandma (mama)!

Here is my mom beginning to open the gift that my son Eli made. He made an art easel at Home Depot, and made an ornament painting at Michael's. He decided he wanted to give this to her.

She realizes it is something he made, and she is so touched by it. She LOVES handmade gifts!
She's getting emotional. And look at my two older kids on the right, whispering to each other because they knew she was going to get teary eyed!! We got a couple of more things for her, but I don't know why I didn't take pictures of her opening them! One of them was the Mama Mia DVD which she totally loved! She was hoping I would get it for her. She's been waiting for it to come out on DVD. Now, if you are paying attention..you'll notice they are now wearing different clothes. My mom got them new outfits & Target gift cards! They loved it all!
They were having fun playing War, and then I think the boys started to cheat! Look at their grins, and look at my daughter's expression! She's so not down with that! Can you see Veronica's frustration as she's "checking" out their cards! LOL

It was a great afternoon/early evening spent with my mom. My hubby ended up working today, so he missed it! But, we still have two more Christmas exchanges coming up! My in-laws will be here tomorrow through Wednesday morning, and my sister and her family will be back her next Friday! Fun times ahead!!

YOU'RE GONNA MISS THIS MOMENT

My parents have been divorced since 1979. I was ten years old at the time. I can't even imagine my children going through something like that at their age. It's devastating, to say the least. But, that's another post in itself!

My dad got remarried pretty quickly. I would say at least a year later. I'm pretty sure that it was out of rebound, but they are still married to this day. Unfortunately, we're not very close to him. Yes, we will see him every so often, but this has been the case for a long time now. I don't want to put all the blame on my step mom, but we know she has had the control of my dad from day one. Call it insecurity, but it is what it is. As much as we want our kids to have that relationship with him, it is a two way street. Boy, that just gave me a glimpse on how the Lord wants a relationship with us! It's a two way street!!

Anyway, all our kids (mine and my sisters) do know and love him, but they don't question why we don't see him as much. I think that is just what they are used to, and don't know any different. So, you can imagine the joy my sister and I have when our kids are all together with my dad. It's like one of those "rare moments." I know this is so terrible to say, but if my dad was not married to her, he would be the best grandpa. He's got the best combinations. Patience, gentleness, and affection. He's getting up there in age, so I will definitely miss the moments that he will see all his grandchildren in one place and enjoy them while he's still on this earth.

December 2008

To read more of "You're Gonna Miss This Moment", or to join in on the fun, click here.

SEEMS LIKE 4-EVA!

Oh my gosh, my server went bonko all of a sudden yesterday so I was unable to get online practically all day to post about our Christmas, and I couldn't even log on today. I know it's only been a couple of days, but I totally felt like I was missing out in blog land!!! I mean, I know I wasn't totally "out of touch" because I have internet on my phone, and I could go to your blogs if I wanted, but it just wasn't the same! Anyway, it finally got fixed tonight, and I couldn't wait to "blog" after our home fellowship!

Anyway, Christmas was great, and very relaxing! I know there are TONS of Christmas pictures on blogs, so I'll spare you..lol. Let's just say that the kids were blessed! Not because they got everything they asked for on their lists (which they didn't), but because they got what they didn't expect. As a family gift this year, we got them the Wii, and they were totally besides themselves when they unwrapped the box! It's funny because I took them to the mall today to use their Game Stop gift cards, and what did they buy? Games for their DS's!!! I really want to get the Wii Fit though. My friend has it and she really likes it!

Anyway, look forward to not doing anything tomorrow. My in-laws are arriving on Monday, and we have a New Years Eve celebration going on at church, well, on New Years Eve.. Should be fun! Good stuff coming up!

Okay, I lied..here's one picture! My daughter excited about the $50 she got!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

CHRISTMAS PAST This weeks theme is recalling our favorite Christmas memory.

One of my favorite memories that comes to mind is when I was probably around 7 or 8 years old. My parents were still married at the time and we had ALOT of family friends. We weren't even related to them, but we called them our aunties and uncles. We were always going to "family" parties! I just remember all of us getting together for Christmas and there being TONS of presents for every family, and of course, tons of food. There was never any drama. The adults would have their conversations going on while us kids would just play together. Unfortunately, after my parents divorce when I was ten, it just wasn't the same. There were no more "family" parties to attend. I can imagine that it would just be too awkward/different for everybody. Okay..now this is turning into a downer! Anyway, I just remember that time in my life being one of the happiest of my childhood. And you know I don't even remember a specific gift, I just remember the wonderful times spent as a family. I just pray that my children look back and have fond Christmas memories with our family and friends, too!

To read more TT, or to share your own, click here to go Grace Alone.

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

HOSTED BY ANGIE AT:Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it. If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll.

Okay..just for the record, she wasn't sticking her tongue out to be bratty..lol. She was in a goofy mood because I started taking pictures of her. Honestly, that bugs the tar out of me when I see kids stick their tongues out at someone. It just looks so obnoxious! Anyway, I just thought it looked so contradicting how she's sticking her tongue out while holding her Sunday school craft that says, "Jesus Loves You." Future evangelist?

Silly girl!
To view more Wordful Wednesday click here to vist Angie @Seven Clown Circus. Or, to view more Wordless Wednesdays, check out Nikowas blog @ Knowledge House Academy!

LUNCH FUN!

My friend, Mariela, had a potluck lunch at her house yesterday, and it was nice and relaxing! Well, not relaxing when the boys were yelling or when the girls were playing and screaming with their high pitched voices. But, regardless, there was good food, great fellowship, and fun all around! Since the kids are on school break, we are just going to play it by ear..day to day! It's so nice to not have to get up and worry about school! I'll be busy for the next couple of days just shopping and getting things ready for Christmas. I'm not even stressing about it, surprisingly. I know it's all going to work out!

L-R: Carmen, Carmen's mom and niece, ME, Sue, and Mariela's hubby

My two older kids just hangin' out!

My friend Mariela with my three youngest kiddos. They love her!

Boys and video games!

and more games...Girls & their dolls!My friend Carmen brought a simple craft for the kids to do! We were cutting out scriptures from an old calender and gluing them on to glitter paper, and then attaching a magnet to the back!

"NOT ME!" MONDAY

Another week of things that I did not do!! If you want to read other posts or join in on the fun..click here!!

I am absolutely not going to finish Christmas shopping a couple of days before Christmas! I'm not that crazy and so not a procrastinator!

I totally did not complain about driving in the rain! I'm not that petty considering that there are people that have to shovel snow just to get out of their driveways!

I'm so not looking forward to my kids having a break from school. What am I going to do on those days that we're not homeschooling? I definitely won't be blogging!!!

I so don't need a new camera because I have not dropped mine at least thirty-eight times in the last couple of months, including a tumble down a few steps after walking out of a friends house! Not me..silly..the CAMERA!

I totally did not surprise my youngest son by taking only him with me to Starbuck's for hot chocolate, and then come home to not hear my other kids complaining as to why I didn't take "them!"

QUICK FIX

What do you give a five and a six year old when they're upset because they can't go back to church in the evening? Yes, I know..it's AWESOME that they L.O.V.E. going as opposed to being forced to go! It's just that it is so stinkin' cold outside, I don't want them running back and forth from the cafe to the gym in the freezing, rainy weather. And it's not like we leave right after service either. We're there for at least another two hours afterward just hangin' out! So, I told my hubby just to go back with the older kids and I'll stay home with the little ones. Plus, I have a little headache, and I just want to relax. Anyway, so back to my question. What would you give? Well, this is what I did, and it made them happy campers!! Talk about instant transformation!

Hot cocoa..MmmMmm!It's all about the glazed!

Mouthfull!

"Now this is what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

I'M SUCH THE LAGGER!

I am so not ready for Christmas! I think this is the first year that I started my Christmas cards this late. Well, better late than never, right? I've received a few picture cards so far, and I love seeing them all displayed on my fridge! I'm so thankful for Costco's great photo card prices, and I just ordered mine online! Plus, this year they are bigger and better! Anyway, you've all seen these pictures before because they are on my blog, but I thought I'd share with you on what I ended up choosing. So, let me ask you all a quick question. When you receive photo cards, do you keep them in an album or throw them away? **Oh, and I just realized I copied the card before I fixed the mistakes on them! I forgot to add MY name, and I had to change "Danny" to "Daniel."** That's what I get for ordering them so late at night!

ANOTHER CHRISTMAS PARTY!

Do you remember my friend's women's bible study/white elephant gift exchange party I went to not too long ago? If not, you can read about it here. Well, last night they had their official Christmas party at her house. We were originally not going to go tonight because of prior commitments, but plans changed at the last minute. I'm glad we went because it was so much fun. There was lots of food, worship, fellowship, games, & she had presents for all the kids! Oh..and for the main meal, my friend Mary served her homemade tamales, refried beans, and Spanish rice! Yummy! Fun times..again!

My daughters and some of their friends

Appetizers! Yummy! Those stuffed mushrooms were the bomb! This wasn't even all of it!

Me, Sarah, & Mary

Fellowship

Me & the hubby

Worship!

"Who knows the words to Feliz Navidad?"

Opening their first Christmas gifts of the year!