Friday, December 31, 2010

MOPS outing to Victoria gardens

One of our final MOPS outing was to Victoria Gardens for a visit with Santa. Alison wanted nothing to do with him. Since we were there before it opened we had a Santa and the place to ourselves!
Here she is telling Santa what she wanted..baby clothes for Argue and Sammie (yes you read that correctly..a post about them is coming soon), but this is as close as she would come!

We love our MOPS group, its outings and our new friends!

Logan's Candycane

Before Christmas, Greg, Alison and I paid a visit to Logan's Candy Warehouse in Ontario. My sister in law told me about the neat candy cane making demonstrations, and I couldn't believe that I had lived in the city of Ontario for 20+ years, and I had never heard of this place. One evening after Greg got home from work we headed over there. Despite getting there early, it was still crowded. Here the candy maker is stirring the sugar.
He pulls it and pulls it on this hook to change the color to white.


Here he put all 5 stripes together...

The hunk of candy being kept warm while he pulls it into the right size and length. 

Here she is forming the candy cane..

and there they are all lined up in a row!
She was soo intently watching, but wanted to know if when she got one.

Well she was in luck, because for a $1.25 you could mold your own candy cane straight from the candy cane maker. She saw a sample in the shape of a heart, 
and that's what she wanted to make.
She was soo excited...and loved the demonstration too!
Mommy bent hers into a regular candy cane. The letter "j" for Jesus as Alison put it.
What a sweet face..literally!
Still so proud of her heart.. Thanks Daddy for taking us to such a neat place!! 
We had soo much fun!


Cookie Decorating at the Mission Inn

Yes, I know Christmas is over! Yes, I know I am WAY behind on my blogging!!G and M kept me extremely busy during the Christmas season. Am I complaining..Absolutely not! But with being gone so much and then taking the time to edit all images, I had to put things on the back burner and blogging was one of them! Rest assure my fellow reader (I don't know how many of you are there..but hopefully at least one!)...I am rested, all caught up on editing, and feeling like I am on top of everything...so..let the blogging resume!!

About three weeks ago, Kevin and Dana invited us to join them on a chilly Friday night at the Mission Inn. We had never been so we piled up our warm clothes and headed out! There were lots of people, thousands and thousands of twinkling lights, reindeer, carriage rides, an ice skating rink, and of course...cookie decorating! 
Kelsea spotted the place and chose to do this for her treat. 
Alison looks up to Kelsea soo much that whatever she is doing..Alison is close behind!
They were were soo excited..and got started right away!! My daughter was in heaven...
cookie decorating with some of her most favorite people!
One of her masterpieces


They couldn't resist...the cookies were just too delicious!
So happy..even with a the tummy ache she had on the way home!
Thanks for a night and the invitation! We had a blast!!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Moments

and dinner with your 89 1/2 year grandpa who still drives...is
PRICELESS!!
We had a such a great time at Outback with him..a dinner I will never forget!

Merry Christmas...

from our family to yours!



Monday, December 20, 2010

Lip gloss

This little girl loves her lip gloss. Notice she doesn't call it "chapsips"anymore.
*sigh* 
She is growing up.

Cousins

 
These two just love each other..and I love that! Jadie and Ali are 6 weeks apart, and it is so funny to watch them together! Cousins are so special, and I am grateful that Alison has lots of them!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

How lovely are your branches..
 especially when decorated by a three year old! 
Alison, like her dad, really enjoys decorating the tree. It is a very serious matter as each ornament must be placed exactly right on the perfect branch.
I love sitting back and watching them work.
 
 And what I love the most is that 30+ ornaments get placed on or near the same branch in the 3 feet and under region! Greg must have asked me a 100 times if I wanted him to "fix" all those ornaments in the same spot. Absolutely...NOT!! I love it!!

 They did a great job decorating our beautiful tree this year!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mom

Why is this post two days late?? Partly because I didn't want to write this post (like usual it makes me so sad), and two I have been SOO incredibly busy! Well as you can see my busyness has come to end, so now I have time for things like this.
8 years...It has been 8 years since she took her last breath here on earth and 
the first breath of eternal life. 
I remember December 13, 2002 so vividly. The day started off OK. I had spent the night with mom in her hospital room. Auntie Laurie came during breakfast time to help her eat. We had been visited by the doctor in the morning and somewhere between the doctor's visit and eating jello, Mom aspirated some of the jello into her lungs. I don't know how it happened or what happened next because it all went so fast, but the next thing I knew we were being told this was the end for her. I can see her mouth as clear as it was yesterday, "Mija, I see the white light. The angels are calling me." I have no idea how I got the courage..but I told her "then go mommy...go." (With all that I was, I wanted to get her up and take her home so we could go back to the way things were..cooking in the kitchen, unfortunately that wasn't going to happen). I knew then that as a sad as it was going to be for us, she was going somewhere far bigger, more beautiful, and more peaceful than I could ever imagine. I think most everyone was there but I can only picture certain people. Pastor Dave, Temple, and Mr. & Mrs. Bowden had come to give her a blessing. Margaret and Johnny Russ had been there with us the whole day. I remember being outside her room and then the nurses calling for us as the machines began to beep. The next thing I knew...she was gone.

My mom taught me soo many things growing up. She showed me how to be selfless, what it meant to work hard, love people no matter what they do back to you, and most importantly she showed me what it looked liked to be devoted to your family.

 
She was soo goofy. Telling stories in their entirety was her specialty.   
We were constantly laughing and having a good time. 
She was my best friend.
  
This year has seemed to be a rough for me in so many ways, which has caused me to miss her the most since she has been gone. I long to run into her arms, barry my face in her chest, let my tears fall all the while she rubs my hair and tells me everything will be ok. 
  I am grateful that I can feel her presence and her guidance despite her absence. 
I hear her advice, and seem to know what she would say when I need it. Coincidence..no. 
Is she my guardian angel...absolutely!  
 
During one of my many moments of missing her recently and thinking back 8 years ago, I asked Greg how do we make it through that first Christmas. Did we celebrate Christmas? What did we do?? I can't remember, but somehow we did.  
Aunty Connie gave us a poem that first Christmas that I thought I would share.

My First Christmas in Heaven
I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,reflecting on the snow
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,  see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away, We really aren't apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones, You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year. 


I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold. 
It was always most important the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, my Father said to do.
I can't count the blessing or love He has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and Wipe away that tear
Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year




I miss you so much mom! I love you!!
(Thank you Dana for the flowers! They are beautiful!)


Today my readers...you get a special treat! A guest author...his blogging debut....

To the greatest Mother-in Law and best friend a Son-in Law could ever have!  
Cindy you are missed so much not just by your girls!  I miss you more than anyone would ever know because I normally do not talk about these kinds of things.  This being 8 years since you entered heaven, I thought I need to write something as I sat here and cried as Steph made her post.  Cindy you are missed so very much by your girls!   There is not a day that goes by that your girls, as well as I, do not think about and miss you!  You were always the person that was there for me when I needed something.  You were my best friend very shortly after Steph and I started dating.  I miss all of the times that we spent together, especially the trips to Disneyland with Steph and I.  You influenced me to be a person who does for others first and how to be selfless!  I am truly grateful for all that you did for me and all of the many lessons I learned from you!  I just want to say thank you for allowing me to marry your daughter who is the Greatest Wife, Women, Best Friend, and Mother in the World!  
She is all of these things because of You!  Thank You!
 Cindy I miss you very much!  I Love You!!
Love,
Greg


 







Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday


 ooopps....

Happy Wednesday