The Reason for the Season

The Christmas season has officially begun at our house. We started by decorating our tree. Steve and I assembled our tree one night after the kids went to sleep and put all the lights on it. So it was all ready for the Christopher and Stephanie the next day to decorate. When Stephanie woke-up in the morning, she was so excited and happy! "Christmas Tree! Christmas Tree!" she kept exclaiming. I think she thought it grew in our house overnight!

This past weekend we had our ward Christmas Party. My primary counselors and I helped to organize a Nativity Scene. It turned out so wonderful. I was a little nervous, because you never know how the kids will act when they are on the stage. When we were costuming our numerous hosts of angels and shepherds, it was mass chaos. The children were all so excited, they couldn't help it. We managed to get them all costumed and lined-up. We had to lead them through the chapel to get to the stage and this really helped to quite them down. We reminded them that the Chapel was a very special place, and we kept the lights low. Once they were on-stage, it was like our own little Christmas miracle. The spirit was so strong, you could see it shining in the children's eyes. Christopher was a little shepherd, and he was so adorable. A narrator read from a script I put together based on Luke 2, Matthew 2 and III Nephi. And the children sang "Away in a Manger," "Joy to the World", and "Silent Night." Stephen was one of the wise-men. He is such a good dad! It was beautiful, humble and simple. A great way to start out the Christmas season. The next day at church, several primary children bore their testimonies about how much they enjoyed participating in the nativity scene and how much they love primary...It doesen't get much better than that for a primary president!

Halloween photos

Here (finally) are a couple of photos from Halloween. It was a fun, halloween-packed day for the kidos. We started with a Halloween party at Christopher's pre-school. Stephanie and I stayed to join in on the fun. Christopher was Superman. He likes to tell me all about Superman and how he has a secrect "didentity" and "transforms" from a guy in a suit to Superman. Stephanie attended the pre-school party as "Blue's Clues." She loves to pretend to be a puppy. She crawls around much of the day with her little tongue hanging out.
Halloween night we went to the church for Trunk-or-Treat. For this event, Stephanie went as a monkey. She had had enough of the costume thing, and refused to put the Blue's Clues costume back on. So I got out Christopher's old costumes and convinced her to be a monkey. As primary president, I was in charge of organizing Trunk-or-Treat. My counselor's and I set up a little area where the kids could play a couple of carnival games in addition to trick-or-treating from car to car. It was a fun night. And we were completely exhausted when it was all over!

A Fun Family Night

We try every Monday night to have Family Home Evening. After dinner we try to plan out the next weeks events, and then sing a song, have a prayer, have a short gospel story or lesson and end with another song, prayer and a fun treat. Sounds pretty simple, right? Then why is it usually so hard? It seems that every Monday afternoon, the kids refuse to take a nap, so they are grumpy and tired by dinner time. And most Monday nights, it seems that Stephen is extra busy at the clinic, and doesn't get home until almost 7:00. We usually don't get started with FHE until 8:00. And by that time, someone, if not all of us, feels like crying.
Well, this time, everything went right for a change...
The kids did not take their naps (as usual), but I was determined to have a fun family night. I fed them early, and Stephen was home from work by 6:15. We started by 7:00, and it seemed to make a big difference. With Thanksgiving next week, we talked about our blessings. We sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", which Christopher is learning in primary. He really loves the song, and the truly wonderful thing is that he understands it. When he offered the opening prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for the beautiful world that we live in. I felt so happy, I felt like crying. But not from usual frustration...but from pure joy of knowing that my little boy was gaining a testimony. For the lesson, I asked each family member to name three things they are thankful for. Christopher said "Jesus, my family and my friends." I then asked Stephanie the same question. I didn't really expect her to fully understand the question. But guess what?! She did!! She very seriously placed her index finger at the side of her cocked head and said "Hmmmm...I know! Mommy, Daddy and 'Sisapher' (her word for Christopher). How about that! I didn't even prompt her! And the cutest thing is that after she said this, she knew that she had said something very wise and was very proud of herself. She cupped her chin in her two hands and gave us all a huge smile. So adorable! After this little discussion, we played a memory blessing game, found in this month's issue of the "Friend" and Christopher set-up a homemade version of bowling involving tennis balls and vacuum attachments. Then we ate yummy chocolate chip cookies together that I had made earlier in the day. No crying, no fighting, no drama! Although the time was short, I feel we really came closer as a family, and each came away with thankful hearts for the blessing of our little family.

Pumpkin Carving

Christopher and Stephanie had a wonderful time carving pumpkins this year. The kids and I hollowed them out and got them all ready for Daddy to carve once he got home from work. As you can see, Christopher really appreciated pumpkin carving this year! He had a great time!
(Sorry these photos are so late in coming! My digital camera has been slowly dying an agonizing death, and finally stopped working all together. So, I had to take pictures at Halloween with at disposable camera. I'm waiting for the great Christmas sales to buy a new one.)

A Trip to "Colonial" Orange County

Last week, Stephen had a couple of days off work, so we went to visit family in the O.C. Orange County is such a terrific place to visit. It has everything! Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, prime shopping and even "historical" parks! We visited the Cerritos Heritage Park. The park features a "colonial island" sourrounded by a moat of water filled with ducks, turtles and fish. The island has colonial style buildings that act as playground equipment with slides, ladders and jungle gyms! We spent several hours at this fun park. Christopher and Stephanie loved feeding the ducks and I enjoyed the beautiful 72 degree weather, green grass, trees, and soothing sounds of the waterfall. If only we could afford to live in the OC...Of course, when you live in the desert, the grass always looks greener on the other side :-).

The Greatest Show...in 29 Palms, CA!

A few weeks ago, we took Chris and Stephie to their first circus! A traveling circus came to 29 Palms complete with elephants, dancing horses, acrobats and clowns. If you ask Christopher and Stephanie, it was definetly the "Greatest Show on Earth." Stephanie was tired and grumpy when we first arrived, but as soon as the elephants appeared, she was sold! Christopher enjoyed the acrobats and motorcycle stunt riders. For several days afterward, he would practice his own special tumbling moves that he planned to use when he grew-up and became an acrobat. It was so fun to enjoy the circus through the eyes of my children. They didn't notice that the costumes were a bit tattered and faded and that the ring-master seemed to have lost his spark. Or that the bleachers we sat on were uncomfortable. They were truly engrosed in the magic of dancing horses, death-defying motorcylce stunts, and the pure sugar rush of cotton candy!

A Trip to Phoenix

We recently spent a weekend with my brother, Stephen, and his wife, Carma, in Phoenix, AZ. Stephen is attending law school at AZ state. Phoenix is only about 5 hours from Yucca Valley, so the drive is really not too bad. We all went the the Phoenix zoo and had a great time. The Phoenix zoo is like a beautiful oasis in the middle of the AZ desset. It has lush, tropical landscaping and large, beautiful habitats for their animals. And there are cute red-eared slider turtles swimming in all the ponds. One of the highlights was the "Monkey Village" where we could actually walk into the squirrel monkey habitat and see them playing right there in the trees. The adorable ring-tail lemurs and meercats were also a great hit with Christopher and Stephanie. The zoo even had a fun splash park where they could run around and act like little wild animals too. After the zoo, my brother Steve and my husband Steve attended General Priesthood meeting while the kids and I took a nap. That night we went to a great-tasting BBQ restaurant that is near Carma and Stephen's apartment.
On Sunday, we went to Stephen and Carma's house and watched General Conference with them and they cooked us a delicious chicken dinner. It was such a blessing to visit with family and watch our Christopher and Stephanie interact with their Aunt and Uncle. I think it is so important that children know that they are loved by lots and lots of people. Christopher and Stephanie don't have the opportunity to see extended family often enough. Steve and Carma are both terrific with children and will make great parents.
It was a great trip and we are looking forward to having Stephen and Carma come and visit our home at Thanksgiving! And thank you Carma for the great pictures!

"We're So Glad When Daddy Is Home!"

We all love it when it's Saturday and Daddy is home to play! Steve bought himself a new tent (he often goes camping with the Boy Scouts) and pitched it in the front room to give it a test run. I spent the day cleaning bathrooms and catching up on church work while Christopher and Stephanie had a fun time with their daddy. Later that day, Christopher went to the church to help Stephen fill up the font for a baptism. Christopher loves hanging out at the church with his dad. It's so nice that he is old enough now that he can accompany Stephen on some of his various bishopric responsibilities. Christopher has helped Stephen prepare for several Baptisms this year. It has been a real blessing. At the beginning of the year, Christopher equated Baptism with dying. I think he heard someone talk about how baptism can be compared symbolically to death and resurrection. You couldn't even mention the word "baptism" without him getting pretty upset. But know that he has helped his father set-up for several baptisms and "witnessed" them for himself, he is no longer afraid. He even told me proudly "When I'm 8, I'm going to be baptized!" Christopher's primary teacher even joked that by the time Christopher is 8, he'll be able to set everything up himself for his own baptism! I'm so thankful that Stephen is such a great father! I don't know how I'd do it without him!

First Day of Preschool

Christopher has started his second year of preschool. He really enjoys it this year. He has several buddies that he likes to hang out with. Christopher is a smart little guy and does well in school. Most of the the topics they cover in preschool he already knows. The greatest benefit Christopher receives from preschool are people skills. When Christopher first started going to school last year, he was very shy and prone to numerous meltdowns when it came to sharing and taking turns. Now Christopher knows what it means to be a good friend and he tries to make sure that his friends get their fair share. He is such a good little friend now! For his birthday, Christopher received a brand new bike. At his party, Christopher's friends wanted to try it out. I was worried for a moment that Christopher might refuse to share his new bike, and have a meltdown. But no! He was excited to let all his friends take a turn riding his new bike, and he genuinely enjoyed letting them ride it. It is so rewarding to see Christopher learning to care about others' feelings and their happiness. He is really growing up!

Stephanie Turns Two...

Stephanie's birthday was August 26 and she has now officially entered the tumultuous year of two! We had a simple birthday party for her and she was spoiled with a really fun kitchen set that her mother spent hours researching on line, and her father lovingly spent even more hours putting together. Needless to say, she loves it!

At two years old, Stephanie knows what she wants, and will tell you in complete sentences. Many of her sentences start with "I need..." such as "I need dat juice!" She also melts my heart when she says "Mommy, I yub (love) you!" out of the clear blue with no prompting. She is also learning how to show interest in what others have to say by exclaiming "Weally! (Really!)" when you describe something to her. She can just about sing the ABC's all by herself as well as "I am a Child of God," and "Twinkle, Twinkle". She also likes to make up her own little lullabies to sing to her baby dolls. Stephanie loves to color and play with playdough. She has also developed and interest in torturing her older brother to see how loudly she can make him scream before mom puts her in time-out. After time-out she is very contrite and tells me over and over again "Sowy, Mommy! Sowy!" and gives Christopher a big hug. "That's okay, Baby," Christopher replies. "It was an accident." As you can see, she has us all wrapped around her little finger! Who can blame us?

Legoland

While visiting San Diego for a friend's wedding, we took the kids to Legoland. We have a surprisingly wonderful library here in Yucca Valley that had a great summer reading program. We participated and got all kinds of free stuff, including a kids pass to Legoland.

Christopher had a blast. He was able to go on several of the rides, but poor Stephie was only able to go on 2 or 3 rides due to height restrictions. She had the most fun just sitting down and playing at the different Lego stations. She is in a Lego phase right now and plays with them almost every day. She loves to line them up and stack them up all nice and orderly. She found all the purple legos from a huge bin and lined them all up in a row. I find her toys and dolls often lined up neatly in similar fashion. (It's so interesting to see the contrast between the chaos that is the very essence of a two-year-old and her attempt to bring order to her little whirl-wind world. )

The most exciting part of the day came when Christopher burned his finger on a light near Legoland USA where they have little Lego cities based on cities across the country. Chris had a long day and was in no mood to be stoic. Fortunately, there was a First-aid station right around the corner. The medic was very nice and helpful, although you would have thought he was performing major surgery without anesthetic the way Christopher reacted. In the end, Christopher got a commemorative lego as a memento and letter in the mail wishing him well. It was an exciting day!

July- Mimi and Ben's Wedding in San Diego

In mid-July we attended a wedding for my good friend Mimi in San Diego. We made a family vacation of the event, going to Legoland and the beach. The sealing was so wonderful in the beautiful San Diego temple. The reception was so fun and family friendly. The reception was held on the naval base, directly on the beach. The kids danced the night away in the moonlight reflecting off the ocean. And oh, yeah...Christopher pulled the fire alarm at the hotel. And the hotel was on the Miramar Marine base. I was panicked that I we would be hauled off and interrogated as suspected terrorists. Christopher kept screaming "I don't want to go to jail" as I dragged him to the Front Desk to let them know what had happened. Fortunately, the hotel management, the base MPs and the firefighters were thankful that I immediately alerted the front desk that it was my sweet little angel who had pulled the alarm, and there was no fire. Everyone was very nice and understanding. Christopher and I sincerely apologized and we got off without a fine. Christopher even got a firefighter badge sticker and a quick lesson from the firefighters on the rules of when to pull the alarm. Honestly, Christopher did not know what the alarm was and just thought it looked like something fun to play with. And I know you are all wondering...Where in the world was I? I had ducked inside the room for 15 seconds to retrieve the room key. I swear it was only 15 seconds! The moral of the story...duct tape yourself to your children when you are staying in a hotel.

4th of July

We went to Stephen's Aunt and Uncle's home in Cypress to celebrate the 4th with Stephen's sister and her family. We had such a fun-packed day. We went to the beach, saw the movie "Wall-E" and saw the firework display in Long Beach, complete with fee all-can-eat candy for the kids. Christopher and Stephanie were so exhausted that they both fell asleep during the firework show, even though speakers playing patriotic music were blasting directly at us.

June

My niece Alicia visits us from Utah. Here they are having fun at the Children's Discovery Museum in Palm Desert.

Summer to Remember...

Wow! When I stop to think about it, we managed to have a fun-packed summer. Here are some fun pictures of the highlights.

May-My Sister-in-law's wedding

Here we go...

I have given into the tremendous peer pressure to blog :-). I hope this will give me a way to help journal the life of our little family, and give friends and family the chance to peek into our lives.