Christmas 2012

I hope when my kids are grown and have moved out 

they will look back at their Christmases with us 

with feelings of warmth, peacefulness, and joy.

Christmas Eve we had a wonderful baked ham dinner with the company of friends from church and work. Followed by a little devotional complete with stories and Christmas hymns.

We placed the presents under the tree (not previously done due to a little boy's inability to leave them alone, also the reason that only the top half of the tree had dangly ornaments).

All month long Gracie asked, "Is it Christmas time today?" After answering 'yes' she would follow with, "Santa is coming tonight?"  Ironic that on the one night I would have said 'yes' to her second question she fell asleep without meaning to.

Christmas Morning

Sporting their new PJs.

I'm always a little saddened when the last present is opened; 

longing for the spirit of this season to last a little longer.

This Christmas was a simple one.  

But I think we succeeded in creating the feelings I hope they remember.

He is one!

Little Mike turned one last month.  He wasn't sure about any of it; the singing, the candle, or the cake.  

He gave us a puzzled look as we enthusiastically encouraged him to blow.  

Maybe he thought it was a trick, and he was going to have nothing to do with it.

After some coaxing from the girls, we got him to relax,

and even smile.

But the second we helped him blow out the candle, we were back to square one.

We placed a slice in front of him, but he figured something wasn't right, 

so he swiftly picked it up and threw it on the ground.  

Eventually, with the help of a cup, we got him to dive in. 

Don't let his apparent calm (what some would call--serious) demeanor fool you.  At one years old, he has managed to completely rule our household.  Everything about this kid seems to be magnified when compared to my other kids at his age.  He makes daily rounds of emptying every drawer, shelf, and cupboard of all their contents.  He climbs any surface that is within reach, often found on top of chairs, desks, and bathroom sinks.  I feel like I repeatedly find him seconds away from serious injury.  He finds the toilet to be a perfect place to deposit objects.  He can be relentless when it comes to wanting to be picked up; following me around screaming until his goal is accomplished.  If I had to sum this stage up in one word it would be--Exhausting.

I blame this on Grandma, she cursed big Mike to have a kid just like him.  And he seems to be living up to the standard.  Heaven has a sense of humor because He waited to send little Mike to our family until the time when Grandma would be living with us, so now on the days I work, she gets to relive Mikey all over again.  But if his current behavior is any indication he will turn out like his dad--lucky be the girl that ends up with him.

Legos, Trains, and Turkey

The last 6 weeks of the year always go by in a blur.  So much to celebrate.  So much to do.  As much as I love this time of year, I'm often glad when it's over and we can go back to our calm, uneventful life.

One of the blogs I follow is doing marathon posting until the end of the year.

 In hopes of catching up, I'm going to follow their example.

Legoland (November 20, 2012)

K12 had great discount tickets.  We had family in town.  

The girls have always wanted to go.  We made it happen.

Mike was post-night-shift and he wasn't able to join us, so I was super thankful for family that was up for going, and not only helped keep track of the girls, but were also willing to go on rides (like the Lego version of tea-cups) with them, that often make me want to hurl.

Or roller coasters that my insides can no longer handle.

This was Raquel and Elena's first roller-coaster ride.  I love their expressions!

As you can see, the girls had a great time.  And the Lego displays were very impressive.

Trains

For  the past couple of years Mike has been collecting wooden train tracks and trains.  It started out as a small box from a yard sale, then another, and another.  Then one day he happened to see how much these cost in a retail store; now he'll never be able to stop. (He has this same problem with Duplo blocks).

With the added Miller siblings here for Thanksgiving, and an evening of not much going on, they assembled a pretty awesome arrangement.

Thanksgiving 2012

A holiday to gather with friends and family, reflect on your blessings, and eat great food.

Really, how can you not love it?  This year did not disappoint.  

The turkey was juicy, the potatoes perfect, the desserts fantastic,

and the company delightful.

Mud Run November 2012

It's good for us to have company.  It takes us out of our routine.  We visit places we wouldn't otherwise.  And it definitely makes us more adventurous.

My sister-in-law, Raquel, and her cute family spent the week of Thanksgiving with us.  We decided to start of with a bang by doing a mud run.  It'd been one of those things on my bucket list, and since they were game, we signed up.

The Mudflaps

Here we are ready to start.  It was cloudy and cold--and it never got better--more on that later.

 There were down-hills,

and up-hills,

and tires,

and tunnels,

and walls,

 and more walls,

and a 200 ft slide.

Here we are post-slide thinking we were muddy.

But it was only the beginning...

 Israel--fully embracing it.

Me--becoming aware of how cold it was...brrrr.

Shortly after this mud lake, we crawl-swam through a final mud pit to reach the end.

Finished...and still smiling.

Up to this point we'd had an absolute blast.  However, somewhere in the course of the race we lost our car key, Mike--being the stud that he is--re-ran the first half in hopes of finding it.  In the mean time we were sprayed with COLD water to wash the mud off, which wasn't the smartest idea. Cold-cloudy weather + soaking wet clothes + waiting for the hour it took for Grandma to bring us the spare key = mis.er.a.ble.  It was during this eternal waiting period that we started wondering why anyone would ever do this...again.  We understood doing it once because you don't know any better, but given our hypothermic state, we swore through chattering teeth never to do it again.

But now that a month has past and wounds have healed, soreness has faded, and warmth has returned, it doesn't seem so bad.  In fact, it was seriously fun!  At work, there's been talk of doing a mud run with some of my coworkers and I just might do it.

October 31st

Having recently finished the original Star Wars Trilogy, and with the help of some pirate-costume-finds at the swap meet, the initial plan was to go as a mix of both pirates and Star Wars characters.  But when we took out the costume bin and the girls saw our past oriental garb, things quickly changed, and this was the result (again):

Mike jumped on the change-of-costume development, making this the result:

A lot has happened since Halloween, there's been a mud run, Legoland, a birthday celebration, Thanksgiving, and a 10 year anniversary, not to mention the ever changing nature of these kids.

  I'd like to start 2013 with a clean slate, let's see if I make it.

9 years old

I remember turning 9.  We'd been in the US for only a few weeks and I was trying to navigate through a foggy world of incomprehensible gibberish.  My parents had gone back to Mexico to gather the rest of our belongings, leaving us with family friends.  And though they were gone, I woke up that morning to the most amazing birthday present.  Somehow while asleep, the weather had magically orchestrated something I had never before seen.  And I was sure, that the fresh layer of snow that covered the ground on that mid-April morning was there because it was my birthday.

Raquel and Mike ready for their Daddy-Daughter Date 9/22/2012

I don't really have memories of my birthdays prior to my 9th.  Maybe it stands out because that year brought so many changes.  Maybe it was because I was in a new environment.  Maybe it was the snow.   What ever the reason, it seems somewhat surreal to think that, as of 2 months ago, I now have a 9 year old.

It was out of the blue, but what Raquel really wanted for her birthday was to go horseback riding.  (I think it was because she had just seen Brave.)  We tried to make it a surprise and told her we were going hiking. I asked her to close her eyes as we approached the stables. However, as soon as we got out of the car, the horses made sufficient nickers to give it away.

It was just the two of us and we were both pretty excited.  I hadn't been horseback riding since I was 6 or 7 (and it really wasn't true riding because someone on the ground led the horse the entire time).

We rode for about an hour, and within 20 minutes I realized that the ride was going to be 40 minutes too long.  The way you sit, combined with the galloping motion, takes a toll on specific parts of your body.  Some which surprised me...like my knees.  But I stuck with it until it was over, despite my left knee's throbs.

Raquel was a champ, she did great.  But she too agreed that, though fun, it was a lot harder than she expected.  Lets just say, she's not singing up for any return trips any time soon.

When we got home we celebrated with cake, which Elena and Gracie helped make while we were gone.

I don't know how much of her 9th birthday she'll remember, maybe the soreness we experienced for days following will make it more memorable.  Regardless, I hope she knows, and always remembers, how blessed we feel to have her.