Christmas Cookies????

We started off this afternoon making thanksgiving cookies. But I let the boys pick the cutters and they choosed more christmas cutters. They did make a few pumpkins, but they got eaten before they were decorated. Jonah was really having fun putting them in the sheet and doing some designs.

Micah enjoyed decorating them.

And the best part, eating the icing from his fingers.

Jonah was very careful not to get too much icing on the table and his fingers.

Here are the boys showing off their cookies. You can see trees, happy faces, the cute gingerbread man, bells, even football made the list. I was glad that the red really turned out red this time and not pink (like for Micah's and Larry's birthday).

Here we are the three of us with the cookies. It was such a nice afternoon with the boys making the cookies, decorating them and then eating them.

Piano concert at the Bremer's, November 22, 2008

We were invited to go to my cousin's house last night in Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas (only one hour west from New Braunfels. The kids put on a piano concert which was very nice. They are all so talented. We are so proud of you!!!!!!

Here is Claire playing. She is really concentrating.

This is Christian playing. Look at how serious he is.

Here is Jordan playing. He is so confident when he plays.

Here is the Bremer family and of course they had to include Bourne in the picture (he is also part of the family).

Jonah got to play too, he had memorized a song for the talent show back in May and that is what he played.

Saturday November 22, 2008

I finally got a Saturday to sleep in (no swim meet, no band competition and no soccer) and woke up at 8:30am. It was really nice to sleep more than 6 hours. I made pancakes from scracth and bacon for the boys. They really enjoyed them. Micah made a mickey mouse pancake for Jonah. The best thing is that we ate them with butter and honey - I grew up eating with real butter and real honey - they were so good and tasty!!!

Since Larry does not eat fruits, the only pies that I make are pecan pie and lemon meringe pie. For the first time in my married life I made an apple pie (yes also from scracth and the dough from scracth too). It was so much fun making it. Micah cut the apples, I peeled them and Jonah set them in the shell. You can tell it was my first pie (I need to work on the edges next time), but it was super delicious.

It was good for the boys to help with the pie. They usually stay out of the kitchen when I'm cooking or baking. But this time they wanted to help. They loved it eating at uncle Rick's and aunt Kathleen's house warmed and with ice cream on top. Yummy!!!!

FUN, FUN, FUN

So here is a fun thing to do. A fun way to get to know each other!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? both
2. Real tree or Artificial? Grew up with artificial and for my whole married life (19 1/2 years) Larry and I have had a real tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Whenever we feel like – sometimes right after Thanksgiving or sometimes a few days before Christmas.
4. When do you take the tree down? January
5. Do you like eggnog? Love it, even the boys love to drink it too.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Doll that you squeeze her elbow and she blew a kiss.
7. Hardest person to buy for? When Larry does the gift exchange at work – you don’t know the other person.
8. Do you have a nativity scene? A lego one that the boys love to put together.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail – if I get around doing them at all.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? none, they're all worth keeping
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Scrooge
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? NO WAY
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Tamales – the kind made with platano leaves and homemade fruit cake.
15. Lights on the tree? Yes - white and lots of them
16. Favorite Christmas song? O little town of Betlehem
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay Home.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? No
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? We vary
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? A movie gift on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas day.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The lines at the cash register.
22. Favorite ornament, theme or color? When the boys made the ornaments.
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Homemade pecan pie.
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? To be with my parents.
25. Who is most likely to respond to this ? everyone, they can't resist
26. Who is least likely to respond to this? no one, they all love to share!!!
*** BONUS QUESTION: Can you do the 12 days of Christams dance? Probably Not!

Relief Society Super Saturday, Nov. 15th, 2008

The ladies at Church said they were tired of doing crafts and they decided to do a service project for super Saturday. I was glad about this, since I wanted an easy project (I'm second counselor and over Enrichment), plus we needed (as a Relief Society) to do something for someone else and this project seemed perfect. My sister Leonor, gave me the idea of comfort pillows for the American Cancer Society. Her youngest daughter (Vanessa) is in girl scouts, and she saw this idea a few years ago. So, I talked to the Relief Society president and she loved the idea of the pillows. We completed 114 pillows and 26 turbans (ACS are in great need of turbans), and had a great turn out with attendance (a few sisters left early before we took the picture), plus we had great breakfast tacos, german pastries and a great fruit salad. It was such a great and fun morning sewing, stuffing and doing many other things together.

Veterans' Day Nov 11, 2008

Jonah is here in this picture with his old cub scout pack (he is now part of the Church pack) at school. They asked the cub scouts and girl scouts to help with the ceremony. Sandy is the den mother, and her husband helped too. Jonah was part of this pack for 2 years, so Sandy still calls me and e-mails me with any activities to include Jonah. He is the most advanced in the Church pack now, but still likes to go.

Visit to Kenner, LA

Here are Lizbeth (my twin's oldest daughter) and Roberto (my oldest sister's youngest son), I think they are reading and studying.

Jonah, Micah and Vanessa (my twin's youngest daughter) are playing video games.

Here are my Mom and Dad with some of their grandkids. Micah, Roberto and Jonah are making funny faces here.

I had to post this picture too, because Micah, Roberto and Jonah and smiling, but Lizbeth, Vanessa and Mom are making faces in this one. Only my Dad seems to be all smiles in both pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras (do you remember the 35mm cameras? You just hoped that the picture you took turned out ok), and even with digital, you still can't seem to get the perfect one.

In this picture only my Mom seemed to have closed her eyes, but overall it was a good picture.

I just love this picture of my Mom and Dad, they have been married for 54 years. My Dad still can get around pretty good (even without his sight) and my Mom makes all the trips just to see her grandkids. Micah missed a swim meet, and Jonah missed a soccer game, and both missed a day in school just to go see their grandparents. Who knows when we are going to see them anymore,(I just don't see them making the trip much more), so we thought it was very important for the boys to spend time with their grandparents. Both of the boys helped grandpa and grandma so much during the little time we were together. We miss them very much.

The last picture is of my twin sister (Leonor) and I. The last time we were together, we both had long hair. Here I had cut my hair two months earlier (I donated my hair for the second time to locks of love) and she still had her hair long. In the past she has always been the one with short hair and me with long hair (she is thinking of cutting hers too).

Pumpkin for Halloween

On this Sunday afternoon, Larry surprised me and went outside with the boys and carved Jonah's pumpkin. As you can see in the picture, the boys were pretty grossed out while doing it. But they sure loved the seeds when Larry baked them.

Jonah brought this pumpkin from Church. He painted it with the cub scouts. Then Larry and Micah helped with the carving. It really look cute, very simple too.

Larry even added a candle inside the pumpking and we loved seing it at night lit up.