My cousin took some group pictures of us to be blown up for the parents.
I took a few photos of my brother and sister in law... My brother Peter is a camera hog. He loves taking pictures, if he had his way I would be following him around with a camera.
We always take pictures with each other, each sister with a brother or sister and sister. I love this picture of Peter and Catherine.
That morning we weren't really looking forward to getting dressed and running around outside in the cold with mountain lions roaming the hills... okay the last one was an isolated fear of mine. What would you expect with big signs saying "At your own risk". We ended up having fun and enjoying the incredible location.
I took some pictures of my cousin Eileen and her family this past weekend for Christmas. Cristian, her son, is the funniest kid to photograph. He has so much character and does exactly what you tell him. These were my favorite shots, I thought they came out pretty good...
I haven't blogged about much of anything in the past couple of weeks... so that explains the two post in one day!
We got our Christmas decorations up a couple of weeks back and I didn't have a chance to share. Since my family goes all out decorating our home for the season, this will Part 1 - The Family Room and Foyer.
Thomas Kinkade "Home for Christmas
Our stocking collection has grown over the past years, there used to be six. Six turned into seven when I was a little girl and we got our puppy Tiff. Seven turned into eight when my Sis n law came along and now eight is nine with my brother's girlfriend. We don't hang our stockings on the mantle but on the entry door... first thing you see when you walk in.
We've had this gingerbread family since I was very young. We were never allowed to play with them. They had to sit nicely in there spots, just to be looked at. Dad and Mom and four kids - that's us!
Family room tree that's done in rustic ornaments and all the ornaments that we've collected over the years.
I love the house when it's decorated for Christmas. This room is my favorite to sit in with the fire and lights glistening.
I took some pictures on the way to work this rainy morning. Clouds are so fascinating to me. They change shape right before your eyes and are never the same, day to day. A rainy morning brought such incredible beauty...
I have been so behind in my shopping this year. As of today, I've purchased one gift... Uno.一個.один.một. ONE GIFT.
Things just aren't going as planned. I know what I want to buy, It's just a matter of how to do it! I was telling someone last night that I will be doing most of my shopping the week of Christmas. Talk about a mad dash to the finish.
I've had my fair share of rushing to the stores and checking out the good sales, crowds, messes... BUT I have refrained from buying onesinglething.
I was shopping at a local store and came across this.
An aisle full of pillows. Kids paradise. There was a Mom and her little girl on the other side and the mom was telling her daughter, "Go ahead". Tempting... When the mad rush of shopping gets too crazy, look for an aisle like this and jump!
Every Christmas I look forward to wasting time on Elf Yourself. I made one of my mom and her siblings, most of them, and now made one of me and my siblings! Check it out...
This is going to be a quick one, but I feel like I'm neglecting my blog! I had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Good food, family time, and great church - Need I say more? It was wonderful. So unlike myself, I forgot my camera at my job! So no pictures from my end. I was so bummed and I didn't even think to use my phone. Oh well!
Now back to the normal things of life, work and obligations. I am getting into the Christmas spirit, we put up our family room tree on Friday night/Saturday morning. I'll post a picture here later on tonight or tomorrow.
We still have a ton of decorating to do in our home, but life is a little busy right now. We have bugs (sick bugs) going around our church and home. I am determined to stay as far away from all the sicky people and maybe, just maybe get by.
Hope you all ate tons of bird and had a great time with Family!
Just a few hours until we dig into the turkey! Okay, maybe not a few hours, but we eat pretty early around here. Turkey goes in around 3Am and we start picking at it at 11AM. Pretty early considering most people aren't even ready to go by then.
As I type I am listening to my aunt sing Circle in the Sand. She's been dancing and singing all.night.long. My mom and sister came over to spend some time with my Gramms and to help her out with the food and putting the massive turkey in the oven at 3AM. We walked in the door, drenched from abnormal SoCal rain, and heard music blaring. My aunt has a professional like karaoke machine that she brings to family gatherings and lets all the "kids" belt out tunes in tune and some not so in tune. Whooweee!
Top on my list this year and every years to be Thankful for is one sure thing - God's been so faithful to me. Even when I get panicked and forget that He is, indeed, there, He still loves me once I come to my senses. *Sigh* He's incredibly awesome.
Be thankful in everything! Bad times, the best of times, when things are just right and life is smooth sailing, when everything crashes around you - Be Thankful!
Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey, spend time with your family and enjoy this day.
I was going through my 2 story high pile of mail, really maybe 1 story, and found this piece of mail that could not possibly have been sent to me! I checked the back and I was wrong, It had my name on it... why would someone send this to me? Ha!
Maybe I'll call for a free gift...
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A couple of weeks back my sister and I made dinner for everyone. I made my chicken pasta and she made a salad with her incredible homemade dressing. She treated us all to yummy tuxedo brownies with strawberries....
A couple of weeks back I went to the park with my nephew... He is so much fun and a happy distraction for me. I can watch him for hours and love to hear him try to form words. He is actually on his way over here to spend some time with his aunties!
Anyway, after he'd exhausted us on the swings, basketball court, slides, and everything else on the playground, he settled down with his water cup, a rare moment for this rambunctious boy.
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This past week at our community group meeting we had the kids make thank you cards for God. This one girl, we'll call her Sally, always tugs at my heart. Her sister and brother have had it hard this year. They've been homeless and now live in a family members garage. Yet, through it all she smiles. She loves Jesus with all her heart and her favorite thing to do is to sing. A recent song that she picked up goes like this, "Faith, faith, faith just a little bit of faith. Faith, faith, faith, just a little bit of faith, you don't need a whole lot just use what you got..." What a testimony she is to me.
She made this incredible card and I just had to share it with you.
Searching and looking for answers, comfort and peace has been my main goal these past few days. God's peace will overflow on me at certain times throughout the day. He takes away all the fear and anxiety and helps me to remember that everything is okay.
Last night my dad taught about courage. Do you need courage? I sure do. The enemy of courage is fear. Did you know that we can suffer real and imagined fear? I think I have the biggest imagination on the face of this earth, you might be thinking the same thing about yourself. Fear torments and cripples you.
A lot of times we have fear of the unknown. I am fearful of the unknown. It's hard to remember that the unknown to us is not unknown to God. If you've placed your life in His hands it shouldn't matter.
At this time in this trial, I feel so alone at times. I want to lean on someone that I can see and feel, physically. I have to continually remind myself that I am not alone, God is there. When it comes down to it, in this life, it's really just me and Him. No one else can save me, He is the only one.
I am encouraged and get strength by those in my life, my Pastor's wife is a gem and she's helped me to make some sense of things. My sisters and mother have been those that I lean on when I can. Don't be afraid to let someone else help bear your burden! Talking about it will not make it worse, it will make it better! My Pastor's wife reminded me that there is strength in numbers!
My sister sent me this incredible passage that has now come to life to me. This incredible, loving, God I serve is so wonderful.
Psalm 103 He is kind He forgives our sins He heals us He protects us He provides for us strength for each day He brings justice He shows us how great He is He is merciful His love never fails He is not always angry He doesn't punish us as we deserve His love is greater than the distance between heaven and earth He removes our sins far from us, as far as the East to the West He is kind as a parent He knows how fragile we are He keeps his promises He rules over His creation
Be strong and of a good courage! Remember, you are not alone!
I don't usually get too personal on here, feelings and such, but sometimes I need an outlet that doesn't communicate back to me. Understand?
Have you ever felt like there are a thousand fearful thoughts in your head asking for your attention at the same time. Seems at times that I am going crazy and I want to thrown in the towel, but I keep telling myself, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind. His Word doesn't lie. It's all in how we choose to accept it.
Right now, my worlds rocking, but I am praying that He'll get me through this in one piece. After all, He shields me with His wings (Psalm 57:1) and He won't lead me astray.
In Psalm 55 David cries to God and wishes for wings like a dove so he can fly away and be at rest... Yet, he says that if he flew away he'd wander off and remain in the wilderness. This is marked with Selah, in other words, think about it. I want to be tucked safely under HIS wings and not wander off and remain in a wilderness!
As you can tell, I am in no mood to blog right now. I need to clear my mind and even if I wanted to, I am absorbed in this right now.
I will be back to share the good side if life soon. Everyone else, Keep the Faith! He's never failed anyone, EVER! (secretly talking to myself!) =)
I wanted to write a quick post for all my blog buddies. This fire is bad. Very, very bad. An hour after the Corona fire started, our skies turned brown and the smoke was overtaking our city on it's way to the ocean.
The winds have been blowing ash and smoke all over. Our home smells like fire and eyes are burning, heads are pounding. This fire has gone from bad to worse.
I am about 10 miles from the fire now and it's creeping closer. The sun is a burning orange color, I took some photos but don't have the connection to upload here.
Pray for the SoCal residents that are in the middle of these fires and those in Los Angeles and all the firefighters.
This brings to mind the scriptures in Acts 2 where we're warned about the coming of the Lord. The sun will be dark, the moon will turn to blood, and vapours of smoke on the earth. Whether or not this has anything to do with those days, He's coming soon!
As I said in a previous post, I messed up my back sometime in the last couple of weeks and it's gotten progressively worse.
Going to the Chiropractor is no fun. I don't like people massaging me. It hurts. A deep tissue massage KILLS.
I felt pretty good as I laid down on the board/bed... whatever it is, and relaxed my body while my skirt was yanked down, slightly, and the little vibrating "thing" was placed on my lower back. I'm left alone for a few minutes and use this time to plead and beg God to not let it hurt.
The Doctor comes back in and begins to massage and shoot the breeze, chatting about his techniques and how I ripped my muscles around my spine... everything is going good and I feel like God really is going to numb me from the pain. Before I know it he's massaging my bum/hip and talking about an increase in taxes for California. My thoughts are, Hey,you're too close to my bum to talk about paying taxes.
Everything feels good minus the couple of sore spots that he feels need extra attention. I am focused on his shoes as my face is scrunched in the head rest. He decides to crack my back and hits down so hard that the bottom of my spine feels like it came out of my skin. I wanted to stand up and smack him in the face, "Hello, I have an injury, Buster!"
"What happened?" He asked after I screamed. I managed to yelp, "It hurts here", as I pat my back. He then wiggles my back to find out where the pain came from, no pain. Then he wants to crack again. I was too chicken to tell him not to, so I just smacked him in my head. He cracks it and everything is fine.
After he massaged my back and legs with a massive massager that makes you jiggle all over, he left so that I could gather myself.
I scoot off the bed/board and yelp, again. It's bad. Very bad. I whimper my way over to my purse and bend a few inches... I'm stuck. Here I am standing with my arms hanging down and my butt in the air.
He comes in looking concerned while I think, You better look concerned buddy, you broke my back!, "What is hurting?" he ask.
After a few back exercises I limp out to the lobby and thank God that my sweet mom came with me.
I pay, and wobble out to the car. My mom ask, "How are you feeling?". I whimper in response, "Ooooowweeee".
I've officially started my Christmas shopping! I went shopping on Friday night with my sisters and there was something for the Mom that I couldn't resist buying. I now have a plan to buy a couple of things each week prior to Christmas in order to afford the mass amount of gifts that will be purchased with my teeny tiny paycheck. Oh my.
I kinked my back a couple of weeks ago and things just got progressively worse from sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I got into the chiropractor on Saturday and prayed and asked everyone else to pray, dramatic, that it wouldn't be too bad. I must say, I dislike the chiropractor more than the dentist! My body is so sensitive and bruises easily, so I am guaranteed to leave with finger and elbow bruises. Sure enough, my back and bum were bruised and hurt-ing. This called for 1/2 a painkiller that I do not like taking. I end up talking so fast about nothing and wear myself out. I was drained by the time Saturday night showed up.
Sunday morning I woke up and bundled myself in front of the TV only to be startled by huge military planes flying over, very low. That always makes me a little jumpy. I spent some time at the park with my nephew on a perfect Fall day and watched as more planes flew over. Interesting...
On Sunday night, we had an unbelievable, make you feel goooood, service. I love it when God speaks directly to your situation and provides answers! If I could put words to the feeling, I would love to share, but I can't. It's just something that everyone should feel in their lifetime.
I woke up this morning with sore stomach muscles from all those sit ups I did yesterday. Okay, who am I kidding, sit ups? Me? No. A Friend of my sister and I took us out to eat after church. We chatted and laughed so much that I must have sucked in too much air! Just like a baby. Ha ha. I had hiccups for a good 20-30 minutes. Who knew hiccups could be so painful! Hence the sore stomach muscles.
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My cousin asked me to change up her blog layout and make it more her style. This is the outcome...
You can see the rest of her blog here - Say What?!
It's time for Christmas, according to me! I love changing my blog for the Christmas season. This year I wanted a classic, not cute, Christmas layout. Let me know what you think!
Michelle at Edgy Inspirational Blog posted her review and is giving away a copy of Siri Mitchell's new historical, A Constant Heart. Leave a comment to win a free copy!
I am sure she will actually send out the book she's giving away... something that I still haven't done! *cringe*
I cannot believe that it's been two years since I stumbled upon the blogging world! Blogging is one of my favorite things to do. I love reading everyone's blogs and sharing about things in my life.
Thank you to all my bloggy friends who come by and read my thoughts.
I've gathered my top 6 post over the past two years; I know 6 is an odd number but I couldn't narrow it down. Re-reading each post below made me laugh and cry all over again!
America is the greatest country! She's is strong, courageous, and full of faith!
Last night was a horrible loss for John McCain. A good man and American hero. I will be the first to say that I did not agree with everything he stood for but I did agree with him more than I did with Barrak Obama. It was a known fact, at least to me, that the man I was voting for was not going to become the President-Elect, but, I knew that I needed to stand for what I believed in.
Last night we saw History, some of the most unbelievable American history. Whoever says that the color of ones skin changes the way they vote or treat someone is NOT American. I love the fact that we have an African-American President-Elect! I just don't agree with his politics and I fear what the next four years hold for our families, our troops and the rest of the world.
As an American you can't help but feel the excitement of the moment... but it wasn't long lived. Above all, God is in control and ultimately His will is done. He has a purpose. As a Christian, we are to pray for the authority over us, this is pleasing to God.
I respect our new President and pray that he proves me wrong.
NOW can we (I mean I, since I seem to be the only one that talks about such in my world) move pass the political talk and start blogging about life? Personal life, not life as an American. I wonder how long this will last... Ha Ha.
By Mid-afternoon we headed over to California Adventure. E-ver-y-one had the same idea. It was packed and hot.
The minute you stepped into the park, you can tell it was pumpkin season. Candy corn ws everywhere.
Candy corn stalks and candy corn cactus! First Stop - Hollywood
Playhouse Disney What's more fun this standing in line in the hot sun for 20 minutes? My thoughts exactly. But it was well worth it, the minute we walked into the playhouse, settled on the floor in a massive room full of kids and parents, we knew this was up Cristian's alley. What's better that tool puppets and tigger? It was so cute and the quality of the show was incredible.
Disney Animation Building I can spend hours in here. When you walk in, the main room is massive, dark and cool and covered with huge screens playing still shots from the Disney animated movies. In the center are plush sofas for sitting.
There are different rooms with interactive attractions that take you behind the scenes of Disney's animation. Our feet needed some rest so the first thing we did was see Turtle Talk with Crush. Crush, the turtle dude from Finding Nemo, interacted with the audience. How Disney does it is a mystery.
In Animation Academy they show how to draw Disney characters with real Disney Animators. Below is a showing of how animation is achieved. This Toy Story setup shows characters that are slightly different than the others. The setup begins to spin super fast... and magic happens.
We headed back to get the stroller and this is what we came upon... not an easy task, trying to figure out which one is yours and how to get it out. We ran into country fall Mickey and Minney as they ran away from the crowd.
Second Stop - Bug's Land
By this time, the weather was beautiful. The sky's were picture perfect! Cristian is a water kid. He loves showers and baths, he's already in the middle of swimming lessons. The minute I saw the water zone, I knew we had to stop... As you can see below, he l-o-v-e-d it! We continued onto Bug Land and went on a few kiddie rides. Cristian was now almost over the screaming fear of Disneyland.
As we waited for my aunt and cousin to get off the roller coaster I took some pictures of the California sunset. It was the perfect day to be at Disney.
We headed back to Disneyland for the night, along with the other multi-trillion people.
Third Stop - The French Market and Fireworks
The French Market is my favorite restaurant in Disneyland. My parents would always take us to The Blue Bayou or the French Market. Both are located in New Orleans Square. The food is scrumptious and the atmosphere is priceless. The Blue Bayou is a swankier restaurant compared to the other dining places in Disneyland. The inside makes you feel like you are outside. Tables overlook the swamp that is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The French Market is located next to the train station with dimly lit lanterns and iron gating all the way around. You stand in line for your food and then sit down to a serenade of Jazz. I ordered Clam Chowder in a sourdough bowl and a Salad with their famous blue cheese dressing. My family is big on blue cheese. We love it! We split this chocolate cake with a white chocolate castle on top.
After a long long dinner we headed over to the castle to get seats for the firework show. By this time, my feet hurt so bad, I didn't care of there was bird poo on the floor, I was going to sit! I sat under this massive flower bulb...
We waited a good hour for the show to start. I took pictures of the crowd all around the circular square that didn't come out very well. The mass of people was overwhelming. No walking space, barely room to sit on the floor and tuck your feet and hands in.
If you haven't seen the firework show at Disneyland you are missing out. This was my favorite part of the whole day. Incredible! I took a long video to post here... It is worth watching!
Part one - Disneyland Fireworks
Part two - Disneyland Fireworks
All in all, it was a fun Disney day with my favorite kid!
October is a busy month around here. Everything seems to be going and going and going... no time for a breather!
I'm working on Part 2 of my Disneyland trip. That will be up shortly. As for now, I had some random stuff to share.
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I just finished Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck, the funniest book I've read. After about 3 weeks... I turned the last page. Like I said, no time to breathe let alone read! Sweet Caroline is a must buy, great message. I struggled with the ending, but I understand why the author chose to end it the way she did. Now, I am trying to get my hands on book #2, Love Starts with Elle. I'm told this will fill in the blanks.
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I am in the middle of a costume frenzy... trying to figure out what to be for our Harvest Party on Friday night. The teachers are putting together a party for the kids and their family and friends. Horse rides, games, grilled corn, candy galore and all the other Halloween festivities. I was told by my sweet sister that maybe I should be a horse... not going to happen.
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To get us in the Fall spirit, my co-worker gave me the below candy bag. After reading the label he put on, makes you think twice about eating it!
Our sweet Tiffany that I told you about here is gone. The most beautiful dog, ever.
The past few weeks she has been taking little walks in the front yard when she knows we are not home. She never left the yard, in 18 years... with the exception of the one time she was talked into running away with another dog of ours. Some say that dogs and cats run away when they know they are getting ready to die...
Last night, we came home from going out to eat after church, my brother, SIL, their nephew and I turned on our street and two men were standing by the curb. I thought this was odd since it was about 10:45 PM. I said, "maybe we should call the police..." since that is the answer to all strange men standing by your street. I looked down and there she was. My mind didn't quite register that that was her until we drove down a our street and then I just moaned and cried.
She had wandered down the street and was hit by a car. Two neighbors pulled her out of the street and took care of calling the police and animal control for us.
As our family sat together, we cried over her and prayed and thanked God for this special gift He gave us. He fashioned the perfect dog for us. May sound far fetched to some, but God cares about even the smallest things in our lives.
She was our baby. We grew up together. Our house will be lonely without her.
Our stocking collection has grown over the past years, there used to be six. Six turned into seven when I was a little girl and we got our puppy Tiff. Seven turned into eight when my Sis n law came along and now eight is nine with my brother's girlfriend. We don't hang our stockings on the mantle but on the entry door... first thing you see when you walk in. 
We've had this gingerbread family since I was very young. We were never allowed to play with them. They had to sit nicely in there spots, just to be looked at. Dad and Mom and four kids - that's us!
Family room tree that's done in rustic ornaments and all the ornaments that we've collected over the years.
Maybe I'll call for a free gift...
You can see the rest of her blog here - 
Candy corn stalks and candy corn cactus!
