Did your Christmas Eve look like mine?

Yesterday Olivia and I had the BEST day. We stayed home and baked. Olivia was my official taster of EVERYTHING.......

M&M Cookies......

Sugar Cookies...... (The dough is still chilling in the fridge..... on my to do list tomorrow!)

Hershey Kiss Cookies....

Then I made 7 loaves of whole wheat bread......

And steamed 6 dozen tamales.......

It was a GREAT day!

Giving a Gift to the Savior....

Thanks Heather for posting this on your blog. I too had to share...

Josh Groban has an amazing voice and this is a perfect song for this time of the year. As we rush around trying to find the perfect present or stressing about what to give the neighbors (this is where I am today) we need to all take time to give to those in need this year.

My kids got a great letter from Santa this year. In the letter he talks about the true meaning of Christmas and how Christ was God's gift to the world. Santa reminds us that we need to give a gift back to the Savior and serve others. It says that "Christ was the perfect example of kindness, love and service to others. Serving is a gift from the heart." I will never forget watching Hayden's eyes fill up tears as he read this letter. He truly felt the Spirit and I was thankful that he recognized that. Last year we adopted a family for Christmas. It was a remarkable experience for our family. As we wrapped the gifts Hayden had tears in his eyes and he said that he felt something different as we bought the presents and now as we wrapped them. We talked about serving and helping others in need and how the Holy Ghost can testify to us that what we are doing is truly Christlike. My kids asked to adopt another family this year and unfortunately, our financial circumstances are quite different from one year ago. We have decided to serve without "buying gifts". We can serve one another or our neighbors or those we don't know. I think this will be another truly memorable Christmas for our family. We hope it will be for you too! Merry Christmas!

A great read......

OK so many of you know that I am NOT, NOT a reader. My friend Jill will call all the time and ask, "I need a good book. Do you have one?" Then I politely remind her that "HELLO, I DO NOT READ!" Mitzi, on the other hand, can read a whole Harry Potter book in one sitting, and mind you she HAS done that! I cannot remember a time when I liked to read. I was the kid in the class that had a difficult time reading and when I did read I didn't comprehend very much. I could get the gist of the story, but not details such as setting or climax of the book. Half of the time I don't even know character names. I made my way through school by taking required literature classes during summer school when there wasn't enough time to read books so we watched the movies instead. BRILLIANT!! Finally as a senior in high school I was tested for learning disabilities. Turns out I am partially dyslexic. I don't mix my letters up but there is something lacking. (Now you know what is wrong with me! LOL) In fact, I can read a book much faster if I hold the book upside down.

Anyway, now that I can read for pleasure, I do enjoy reading books from time to time, but it takes me a while to get through them. I am glad that Jill lives next door so she can pass the good books on to me. Sarah's Key is a GREAT book. It isn't one that is happy and joyful, but since I enjoy historical fiction books, this one was right up my alley.... 1942 Paris and the rounding-up thousands of Parisian Jews to be sent to Auschwitz. What a tragic story and one that will tug on your heart strings. To read more about the book click here. If anyone knows of other historical fiction books I should read, please pass them along.

Finally a quadding trip.......

On Saturday we had another great trip to the desert with our kids and our neighbors. In total we had 12 quads and 15 people out riding.

We decided to go to Box Canyon. The kids were hoping there was some water still running in the canyon from the rains at Thanksgiving. We were all disappointed.... we are expecting more rain this weekend so we hope to have a muddy ride either this weekend or next. Here is a picture as we are winding our way into the canyon:

And one on our way out.....

Here is the view from on top of one of the mountains. I could ride these trails all day!



Cole did an amazing job riding his own quad. 2 summers ago he had a "crash and burn" at the cabin and because he didn't have his helmet on there was quite a lot of blood. He has been quite nervous about riding ever since. We go on rides that will build his confidence as well as challenge him a bit. He looked like a pro. Hayden thinks he is pro and rides like it. Olivia is aching to ride her own bike, but for now she is fairly content to ride with Sal or I.

We were hoping to ride to Martinez Mine but since no one had their GPS and it was late in the day we decided to do a little ride. We stopped at this little hill for lunch. We quickly noticed the cross at the bottom. A 36 year old man was killed here last month. A great reminder to the kids and even us adults about being responsible while riding. We reminisced about the riding day that Sal had a flat tire and had to sit at this same spot waiting for us to bring him back a new tire. That was also the same day Cole's original quad was stolen. Needless to say that WASN'T a good riding day.

We are planning on going again this weekend. Maybe this time we will make it to the mine.

Tag... I am it....... How well do you know me Christmas Style?

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Of course Wrapping Paper!

2. Real tree or Artificial? I would love to have a real tree, but in AZ it just doesn't work too well. The needles end up on the floor before Dec 15th. With an artificial tree we can put it up after Thanksgiving and keep it up until New Years.

3. When do you put up the tree? The day after Thanksgiving ALWAYS

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually on New Years Day.

5. Do you like eggnog? Ugh NO!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Cabbage Patch Doll from my aunt Claudia or my ghetto blaster from Santa! Ghetto Blaster... LOL those were the days.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad

8. Easiest person/people to buy for? Olivia or my Mom

9. Do you have a nativity set? Nope, but I wish I did.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail!! I love to get something fun in the mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? No such thing!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Grinch, Marry Christmas Charlie Brown

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I decide what to buy everyone.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pozole and Sugar Cookies

16. Lights on the tree? Colored lights

17. Favorite Christmas song? Faith Hill, "Where are you Christmas?"

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We stay home and let the kids enjoy their presents.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? If I sing the song...

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? In the morning after the kids have a chance to look in their stockings

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? When people stress over buying "things" or worry about not spending enough money.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? My favorite part of putting up the tree is listening to my kids as they pull their ornaments from the box. "oh, I remember this one" or "Remember when we picked this one out?" I LOVE remembering.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? To continue to be blessed in all aspects of our life.

NOW, I tag Brooke, Mitzi, Shani and Jessica......

My precious baby girl.....

After having 2 boys everyone said, "you have to keep trying until you get a girl." Sal and I had agreed that we would have 3 kids and it would be just fine if we had 3 boys. After all I am and have always been quite the tomboy. I am a huge sports fan and I would like nothing more than to spend every weekend from August to January watching football. Or better yet.... during March Madness... don't even think about calling! Every Thursday through Sunday is spent watching Cinderella teams knock off the Nationally ranked teams. I ALWAYS cheer for the underdogs because I was once that underdog and we nearly knocked off the #1 team - Marcos de Niza. Oh well that was over 15 years ago..... boy am I old!

Anyway, I honestly cannot imagine my life without my girly girl. She loves her baby dolls and must sleep with all 6 of them gently tucked into their OWN blankies. Olivia loves fingernail polish and makeup, taste testing everything made in the kitchen but most importantly she LOVES me. She is almost smothering at times with the hugs and the kisses. She is constantly saying "I love YOU Mom!" (Emphasis on the "you".) She wakes each morning and asks "What's for dinner?" At that point of my day I am not even sure what's for breakfast. I am sad every day when she says, "Mom, I am getting big." I realize the inevitable is happening. She is indeed getting big and there isn't a darn thing I can do about it EXCEPT soak up every minute with her. I am truly enjoying the journey of being a mother.