Our Christmas

Aaron playing with a new toy.

So I guess I better post this pictures before the end of the year right? I will post about our visit to VA next year...
I am happy to say that we were able to send out Christmas letter before the 24th but I am sure most of you got it after that. At least it got there I hope. That is one thing that we have been doing for years since we got married, I used to make them by hand but it was only sent out to Dan's brothers and then we got some friends and met more people so no more handmade stuff. We ordered 100 cards this year and we used most of them. I really do love getting letters from all the people we know but I was kind of sad that we did not get that many this year.
We went and delivered our traditional Christmas goodies to a few friends and the kids sang some Christmas songs, that was really cute. Don't they look good?
These are the cookies that did not make it :(
These were the lucky ones!!!

Also we went on our traditional search for the houses with the best Christmas lights. THE WINNERS GET THIS AS A REWARD

The kids were a little wild that night so we only delivered three trophies and certificates, but it always makes us feel good to see the reaction on people's faces. Some people really do wild with the lights and we sure enjoy them.
This year for Christmas we decided to stay home and invited some friends over for dinner. I did not want to go anywhere and talking to my friend we found out they were staying in town and thought it would be fun to do something together and it was very fun, I am glad we did it. They brought some food to go with our dinner and dessert (it was so good!!!) then Shayna had prepared the program for the night, she even printed out the program to pass along to everybody. She sang a bunch of songs, took care of the Scripture reading with Victor and even played a couple of songs on the piano. It was kind of weird to see her being the center of attention since she is the shiest little girl I know. We then proceeded to open presents, the kids always buy presents for each of the siblings and then get to open one present on Christmas Eve, Dan took Shayna shopping for present for my friend's kids so they would not feel left out. It was also fun to see them open their little presents. After they left the kids went to bed and Dan and I stayed up late watching TV and waiting to see if we could see Santa, no luck. The next morning Victor woke up first and then we all went down to see what they got. Shayna and Victor both got their PS3 games, Tristan got what was supposed to be a reading system but Santa did not realize that the box only came with books, the pen that reads was not in there so we will be going to the store tomorrow to fix that for Tristan, Aaron got some building blocks and that's about all they got from Santa this year. It is always so nice to see them get so excited about their presents and play with them, Dan got them so comic books again and that made Victor very happy, he is already done reading his. I am glad we were able to get them some presents and make their lives a little brighter. On Christmas day we went over to Steven and Amber's place to spend some time playing bells and singing songs, we also had a nice dinner.
Yesterday our good friends from VA, Alma and Oscar Garcia came to visit us and that was great. They are thinking about moving here so they wanted to explore the area, I hope they make up their minds and end up doing it. We could do some great Christmas celebrating with them, Alma is from Guatemala and she is fun to be around with. We went shopping just the two of us and that was cool. We made a traditional barbecue meal for dinner and stuffed ourselves. The spent the night and got up early this morning they could leave.
So far it has a been a great weekend with the exception of all of us getting sick with a cold, we are ALL so sick and hope that we can get better before Shayna's birthday and New Year's celebrations. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and hope to read all about soon on your blogs.

Here is a few pics of the kids:
Our future doctor Brown



Shayna trying out her new game Sing it Disney, we actually don't like it that much because you can't download more songs. But she can learn to sing with it :)


Victor is into money and saving, so I got him his own ATM machine, but he thought it would have a real credit card and get free money...

Aaron's WT fell on his toe and broke his nail :(

The aftermath of Christmas, lots of trash bags...

Too emotional for blogging.

I had written a post but decided not to publish it. I am just a mess with all this thoughts and feelings later that I am just taking a break from blogging. Things are still too fresh and I think we need to heal a little longer, but remember I'll be back!!!

A sad day for many

This morning as we came back home from church (cleaning duty) Dan got the worst phone call of his life. His brother Steven gave him the news that his dad past away last night while sleeping. Dan always talked about how he thought his dad has about 10 more years left in him or more. He always seemed to be full of energy and excited about life. My in laws were planing a trip to South America next year and were very excited about it too.
The first time I met him was when Dan finished his mission, I used to be scared of him but once I got to know him as my soon to be father-in-law he turned out pretty cool. He was an easy guy to love and he was a good example to many. He knew everybody, literally. When he came to visit us the kids always were so happy to see him and spend time with him. It was not difficult to start calling him "Dad" when I got married since my dad was gone already it didn't feel weird calling him that. He has been there fur us many many times and it makes me really sad to know that we wont be able to share special moments with him anymore. It seems surreal and it brakes my heart to see Dan suffering so much. We will miss him but we also know that there is life after death, we know he is not gone forever, that we will see him again. I would like to think that he and my dad finally met and were able to exchange stories about me, that would be cool.

We will be leaving Monday morning for VA and will spend almost a whole week there. I feel like we need to be there as a family for a final goodbye and to show support to the Brown family. It will be great to see the family again even if it is not a for a happy occasion. We also hope to see old friends and to drive the kids around so they can enjoy once again being back home.

I am so glad for the gospel and the many blessings it brings to our life, for the promises that we get when we go to the Temple as we get married for time an eternity, that definitely makes situations like this one a whole lot better.

My new toy

Dan is very good at doing things without me knowing every once in a while. I am very good a reading all the signals and question him until he tells me what he is thinking of doing. He had fun tricking me into thinking he bought me the wrong memory stick for my camera, which I thought was very clever. Turns out he bough me a new digital camera. He has been wanting to buy a digital video camera for a long time now but I told him that I rather not since then you have to carry two cases and switch from one to the other and I am ALWAYS the one taking video and picture. He did his research and went and bough the best option for us out there. It is a Sony Cyber-shot 12.1 mega pixels, it has the option for recording videos in HD and still images in HD. It is great and I have been playing with it since I got it. Close ups are great and it is a very smart little camera, it does all kinds of tricks. It also has some funny feature for turning a not so great smile into a wacky looking one. These just a few of the pictures I took yesterday. I can fix pictures while they are in the memory card, it is like having Photo shop in it. I know I'll be having lots of fun with it. I love how the colors come out so great.


This is a great close up of Aaron and the one below was really fun to do, I added the sparkles around Shayna and they make the picture look very festive :)

Dr. Mehmet C. Oz

I started watching the Dr. Oz show a couple of weeks ago since they had some interesting topics, I don't think I am addicted to his show but I do enjoy watching it twice or three times a week. I have been able to learn a few things that I didn't know and have discovered that some things I knew were all wrong.
Here are a couple of things that really got to me yesterday:

#1 When you get pregnant the muscles in your tummy stretch so much that some times they tear and you can never make them come back together. That explains why my tummy looks kind of funny. Lucky women out there don't have this issue and that is why their tummies are so flat once they get rid of their baby weight. I am pretty sure I don't have the worst case and can still work really hard to make my muscles heal I guess but now I know.

#2 Weight gain during pregnancy. I remember how people used to tell me "you are eating for two now" and practically shove food down my throat. I used to think that I was doing the right thing and was helping by baby and that she or he would be a beautiful 8 pounder at least since I got so huge. I went from 113 lbs to 160 lbs with Shayna and was amazed when she was born at 6.5 lbs. Are you serious? After gaining almost 50 pounds that's how big she was? I could not believe it and so my battle to get rid of the baby weight began. It took me 14 months to loose most of it. The second time around I got smarter and only gained 30 lbs, the third time I gained 35lbs and the last time I only gained 16 lbs. Now how the heck didn't I gained that much when I got pregnant with Shayna? Things sure change in a few years. So I learned yesterday thanks to Dr Oz that the extra intake of calories for the first trimester should be 100 calories a day, 150 for the second trimester and I think about 200 for the third trimester which basically equals a banana and an apple. So the extra stake and 3 or 4 serving of ice cream are not necessary.
I didn't know any better back then, I was so new to the pregnancy thing and had nobody to talk to, now I see all the women that get pregnant and they look so skinny and are back to their old self one month or two after they deliver, that is because the doctors are advising them the right way. What helped me gain only 16 lbs during my last pregnancy was my gestational diabetes, I was on a strict diet and I felt good.

I have discovered many many more things thanks to that show, but those are the two things that were an eye opener for me :)

Day #30

I thought I was done on Thanksgiving day and then I realized that it was supposed to be 30 days of thanks, so here is the last one.
Today (Monday) I am thankful that we had the chance to send a Christmas card to Noah, the little boy who was dying of cancer. We sent the card a couple of days later than we were supposed to and I felt kind of bad about it, but I found out later that he made it all the way till the 25th of November, he passed away peacefully at home with his family. He got more than a million Christmas card. I am very thankful that we were able to be part of his last wish. He was a cute little guy, I saw a video of him and it broke my heart to think that he was the same age Tristan is, how hard it would be to deal with the loss of a child, I can't even begin to imagine that.

# 29 Sad but thankful

Yesterday was tough for me, Aaron was sick throwing up during the morning and I had to stay home with him so I did not go to church. Every November 29 brings back memories of the day my father died so either I want to or not I always end up kind of depressed, I try my best not to let it bother me but it does. I try to remember the good things and tell my kids about their "abuelito" but there really isn't all that much I can tell them, I think they know it all already.
But I am thankful that I have those few memories, they are becoming now little flashes here and there and the pictures are kind of fading from my mind, that is all I have left and it makes me sad to think that I may not remember them as well in 10 years. One of my favorite memories is around Christmas time, he used to decorate the entire house, it is a tradition to cover the entire floor of your house with pine needles, it is the best smell in the world around this time and every time you walk on it the smell comes out even stronger.
I remember this particular Christmas when he was decorating our tree, he made the base out of medal (it looked like a metal tree) and painted it green, then he wrapped a garland made out of pine needles around it and for the finishing touches he hung up lollipops, candy canes and gum that were wrapped in very shiny foil paper that made it look like coins, that was my favorite. I don't remember what presents we got that year but the image of that tree is such a cool memory.
The last Christmas he spent with us my aunts and uncles I think collected money to buy us a fake Christmas tree, it was silver and they also got us the decorations, they were all red but had different shapes. Sadly he never got to see it up. I know my mom was never in the mood for Christmas decorations after that, the tree always made her sad but I always wanted it up since I knew it was something my dad wanted to have for us. We used that tree for years, a couple of times we got a real one, but usually it was the silver tree that went up, I have to admit that the last year I saw it up was kind of sad, most of the decorations were broken by then and the tree branches were not as full either. I saw that tree 11 years ago and it is long gone now, it would have been a miracle that a tree could last 27 years right? So one more year without my dad, but I still think of him and will hold on to those great memories.

# 28

I am thankful that my new digital scrap booking program worked. I have been wanting to try this for a while now and so far I have been kind of lost. Now my major question is how to print the pages once it is done. Through the program that I have we can send out 26 pages which will become a photo book and I could do that for the each year of our life, but Dan thinks it is not enough pages, we'll see. I am having fun with it :)

# 27

Family picture, it is so hard to get everyone to smile.



I am thankful for a fun day with the family. We went out shopping as a family and found a couple of good deals, it was later in the day so not a lot of craziness there. Then we went on a hike at the Botanical Gardens, I love that place and since Dan was not able to join us before we took advantage of him and made him walk the entire place. Some interesting looking mushrooms.

A beautiful flower, I took this for my desktop.
We found a huge leaf and Shayna HAD to pose for a picture.

It was so fun to go and watch him be playful with the kids, we took a few pictures and then went to out to eat. I decided to change the color of the Christmas decorations this year and I wanted green or brown but Dan hates those colors so we went with silver and blue. I have to say that I really like it. We all did our part decorating the tree, it has been our tradition to put up the Christmas tree the day after thanksgiving and I plan on keep it that way. I think that we are also going to do a visit to any park the day after thanksgiving since we did two years in a row now.
It makes me really excited to decorate the house for the Holidays and brings a really good vibe to our house. I am including pictures of our day yesterday.

# 26 at last...

It has been really fun writing all the thing I am thankful for, but I do have to say that there are more than 26 that I am grateful for in my life. I am so thankful for everything that my Heavenly Father has given me, a body, a family, a caring husband, really good kids, a house, the jobs that we have had, so many many things that honestly would take way too long to write down.
I am extremely thankful for Jesus Christ and the ultimate sacrifice he made for us, I am thankful that we can repent of our sins and start from scratch and try to better every day.
I am thankful that I am about to have a great day with my family and eat good food and that we are able to share with some extended family this year at my house.
I am really hoping that everyone gets to have a great Thanksgiving and a safe one too. I pray that our Heavenly Father will send your way all the blessings that you deserve.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Day # 25

Today I am grateful for friends, my friend was so kind to offer to take Victor with her family to go see the new Christmas Carol movie today. I didn't tell him until this morning and he was so excited about it. He deserved it!!!

Day of Thanks #24

Today I am grateful my kids don't have school tomorrow and I wont have to get up super early to take them to school, I deserve a brake and they do too. The kids helped me clean up the house today and did such a good job, I will have to do something fun with them tomorrow.

Jon and Kate + 8

As many of you out there I have been following the story of this family. They used to do an interview every year. At the beginning and I remember them living in their first home and Jon working for United Airlines, that stuck with me because Dan used to work for United Airlines at the time and doing the same thing. I thought they were such a cool and brave family. When the actual show came out I did not watch it from the very beginning and then I realized how annoying that woman can be :) I used to think "poor guy" he always gets the short end of the stick. I am a woman and I know that I can be difficult. When things don't go my way I get very frustrated and you can easily tell just by looking at my face, I mean what woman does not get annoyed at their husband? But at the same time I love Dan and no matter what happens I want him to be happy with me and we try to make things work out. Like they say "It's not easy", but if you want to keep your family together you have to learn to compromise.
By no means do I intend to tell you that I have the most perfect marriage in the world, it actually scares me to think that Dan and I have been together this long and who knows what might happen next year, do I want to end up like Jon and Kate? Of course not, did they want to end up as a divorced couple? I am sure that was not in their plans.
They had their last episode on TV tonight and I wanted to see it, I knew they were going to interview them again and it was interesting to see his point of view, he said that he had twins by 23, had 6 more kids by 27 and basically his 20's were all gone pretty fast. I do feel like that some times but then I realize that it was my choice to do it that way, I wanted to get married and have kids, hello!!! That is what you do when you get married. I think it is selfish of him to say that when his marriage failed he felt like he was free, how easy that is and of course he is free now, he is not there all the time to take care of his kids, he can stay away and come see them every once in a while.
Sorry for the venting but this topic has been bothering me for a while now specially when you see it happening all around you, is it the new trend?
I just pray that we can be strong enough to endure and to remember what we promised to each other when we got sealed for time and all eternity. I think of the time when I was a teenager and how I used to think life was so hard and wanted to run away from everything but I did not do it because I did not want to be alone, same thing now, I could easily run away when things get tough, but I don't want to be alone and most importantly I don't want to be without Dan and without my kids, a life without seeing them is just full of sadness and would be incomplete.

Day of thanks # 22 and 23

# 21 On Sunday I felt very grateful for the opportunity to read President Monson's talk about service again, I read it before going to church and listen to lesson while at church. I love the Prophet and love hearing all the stories he tells when he gives his talk, I am so grateful that we have a Prophet and that we are able to hear and read his messages constantly.

# 22 Today I am thankful for Family Home Evening. It is Monday and the kids know it is going to happen, they get excited to have their little part in the program every week and fight over who is going to do what. Some times we just watch movies or play a game depending on how much homework Dan has to do, but it is still fun and I love the fact that at least once a week we can all enjoy each other's company and learn together from the scriptures and also learn about how much Heavenly Father loves us.

Day # 21

Today I am grateful that Dan is going to stay with the children while I go out with my friend shopping to the outlet mall. It really is a treat for me to go out without kids and not only that but to have somebody to go with me is really good. Every mother loves their kids I know that for sure, but after being with them all day long every day of the week it is really nice to have a little brake even if it is just for a couple of hours, although I have been enjoying more than enough since I went out on a date with Dan last night (I am also grateful for Steven and Amber's offer to babysit for us).

We re getting there... day # 20

I am thankful that I can cook, don't like doing it all the time but I am definitely thankful that I can follow a recipe or sometimes just throw things together in the pot and make a yummy soup for my kids. The funny thing is that I don't follow recipes that much anymore, except when it comes to baking, Dan absolutely loves my home made soups and they never turn out the same since I don't measure the ingredients anymore and the ingredients are different too depending on what I have in the fridge :)

Day of thanks # 19

As I was driving Tristan to school today he started to point out all the holes and things that are broken on his shoes... I didn't know they were that bad already. I told him not to worry and I would get him new shoes. Saying those words brought back memories of my childhood when my shoes had holes and I still had to wear them like that, my socks had holes and I still had to wear them like that... so many things that had to wait until Christmas time because that was the time for a new outfit and if lucky new shoes. Yeah life was hard growing up, hand me downs all the time up until I had my own money to buy my own and even then mostly from the thrift stores. I didn't mind it, that is all I knew and knowing there was nothing we could do about it, we didn't complain and were grateful for what we had. So today I am grateful to be able to tell my kids that they don't have to wear those old shoes with holes anymore, I am grateful that we can afford to put clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet (I still love hand me downs and are always welcome). Sorry for the long stories but sometimes I think it is important for people to understand where I am coming from because I really don't take things for granted.

Meet Tristan Brown

He is a cute little boy who will make you smile as soon as he opens his mouth, he will say the craziest, silliest things and usually are very innocent. He is very polite most of the time and falls in love with his primary teachers. He also decided to touch a little girl's bottom yesterday at school while she was bending down... why? Curiosity maybe, too tempting?? I don't know because he wont tell me why. The one thing I know is that he felt really bad for doing it or for getting caught by his teacher. His teacher called me yesterday afternoon to let me know about the incident, she talked to him after it happened and Tristan could not stop crying about it. He now thinks his teacher hates him but I explained to him that she doesn't. We had a talk with him last night to explain to him that is not OK to touch somebody else, it broke my heart to see him so embarrassed when I asked about the whole thing, some how I could see myself in him when I felt really guilty about something I did when I was little, he was lucky though since he didn't get any spankies like I would have, it is kind of nice to talk to your kids and and do it in a loving way.

I will take the opportunity to express my gratitude for being able to not get mad at my kids (some times) and express to them how much we love them even when they don't do the right thing. So there is day #18.

Day 17

I am not having a good day, don't want to clean up, don't want to take a shower, don't want to go anywhere. Don't know why I woke up like this but I am grateful that I can stay home and sit on the couch and watch one of my favorite movies to cheer me up. I am grateful Aaron is asleep and will be for the next couple of hours because I need a break today. Maybe the fact that I turned 33 is finally sinking in :(

Day 16

On Monday I was grateful for all the wishes and the phone calls I got for my birthday.

Day of thanks 15

Today I am thankful for my parents, thankful that 33 years ago I was welcome into a family that loved me and cared for me from that day on. I was privileged to have my dad for the first 6 years of my life with me, I was able to have some memories of my dad and to still hold on to them during all these many years. I am thankful that even when my family was not perfect I still had one and we made the best of it. I am thankful that my mom and dad made the decision to go to Arizona so many years ago (32) and get sealed in the Temple as a family and that I was able to be there even if I don't remember it but I can only imagine how special it must have been for my dad to see his two little ones with him in the Temple, little did he know that his actions were going to leave a huge impression in my life and the desire to be better each and every day. I admire my dad and the strength that he had to fight for many months with his decease, I admire my mom for the courage to take care of her husband and take care of her little kids while her world was crumbling down. I am so thankful for the tears she hid from us when we were little because I always thought she was so strong and that is what we needed from her. She was and still is a strong woman. I am thankful that I still get to talk to her and see her, that she has met all my kids and loves them. I am thankful that my dad wrote his life story in a journal, even if it is just three pages long, but it is there for me and my kids to read, to learn from it and to connect with him. I am grateful for the testimony of the gospel I found in those pages that my dad wrote many years ago, and for the life that he lived after he got baptized and for the love that he shared with everyone he met. Even after his death he still is a part of me and I am grateful to know that I will be able to see him again, to be a family again.

Renaissance Festivall 2009

The family portrait. We took pictures in the cool gardens they have there.



All the kids trying to look happy at the same time.
My beautiful princess.


We were so happy to go again this year to the wonderful Renaissance Festival here in Texas, for me it was my 6th time all together. Why do I like going? Because as a little girl I always dreamt of being a princess and wearing those long dresses which I never got to do, also watching movies and looking at the way things used to be makes you want to go back in time and be part of it. So yes for one day I get to dress up and be part of something some people might find silly but I find fascinating and enjoy it so much. The whole family gets excited and it gives the little ones the chance to explore new things. We saw all kinds of people of course, like a guy who was dressed in a pink fairy outfit with wings and all, the almost naked lady who was wearing nothing but a bikini and see through chain mail to cover the upper part, guys in tights, very large women with sexy outfits but also cute little girls with butterfly wings, monks, lots of Robin Hoods, the king and Queen, cool intricate dresses and cool armor. You seriously need to go to one of these things some day it is very cool. Steven, Amber and kids joined us very early in the morning and were all dressed up, Amber's sewing skills are amazing and she made the cutest dresses for her girls and herself, not to mention the cool outfit Steven was wearing.
We walked for hours, my feet hurt by the end of the day but it was so worth it, my favorite thing as always was to sit and listen to the awesome music the bands were playing, they had a lady with a violin and there was the Tartanic band who play music with drums and bagpipes, it just makes want to get up and dance with them. We bought two of their CDs because they just sound so good.
Shayna and Tristan tried this cool boat were they were swinging themselves with ropes and it looked like so much fun, Tristan is so small he could barely do it, so Shayna ended up doing it all by herself. Victor tried his luck at the bungee cord/trampoline this year, I didn't think he had it in him, but he did it and he was proud of himself for doing it. Tristan and Aaron went on a pony ride and also tried the dart throwing game, Tristan actually hit the bulls eye and got a necklace for it, he was very happy about it.Shayna also got to ride on the elephant with her little cousin and all our kids went on a maze and Victor got himself lost, I was a little nervous for a while but he eventually made it out OK.
We lost track of Steven and Amber after a while, we managed to stay together most of the time, except for the last two hours. It seems they went home an hour earlier before we did, I wanted to stay until they close but my shoes were not my best friends by the end of the day, so we took off hoping to come back again next year and enjoy it all over again. So who ever wants to come with us, I offer to make the outfit for their whole family (you'll have to buy the material) and I promise you will have the time of your life :) Dan and I agree that is is one of the best pictures of us together, neither one has closed eyes or a funny face.

All the girls showing off the dresses, so pretty.

Day 13 and 14 of thanks.

I skipped yesterday but here it is:

Day 13th: I am grateful for my friend Tiffany who babysat all 4 kids while her kids were out camping with their dad. She offered to watch them for me so I could go out with Dan since my birthday is on Sunday and we had a good time at the movies. Friends are the best!!!

Day 14th: I am grateful for the opportunity to take the kids to the Renaissance Festival and to dress up as a family to blend in with the rest of the people. It is such an amazing experience and we love spending that time as a family and making memories that will last for a lifetime.

Day of thanks #12

Today I am grateful for a beautiful day spent with Aaron at the park walking some trails full of crunchy leaves and all kinds of bugs. We had a really good time just the two of us getting bitten by mosquitoes and running away from bees, but we did see a couple of squirrels playing around and the playground was empty and Aaron had it all to himself. I also enjoyed taking pictures of my little guy. I love nature and I am grateful for the beautiful creations that our Heavenly Father has given to us, I feel renewed every time I go in the wilderness (or walk on the trails since is safer) and enjoy the fresh air.

These boots are meant for walking!!!

As a birthday present I requested to get something that I have been wanting to get for a long time. A pair of boots, I can not describe how much I have wanted a really good pair of boots, maybe since childhood but they are so expensive I always get something cheap, Walmart was always the place to go to get something that was close enough to what I wanted. This week I got a coupon for Kohl's for 30% and guess what? They had a sale going on on shoes for 50% so I knew it was time to go shopping, I knew that if I went by myself I was not going to be brave enough to get them, so I invited my friend Tiffany to go with me. We had lunch at McDonald's first (or I should say our kids had lunch) and then off we went to shop for about half an hour. I knew what I wanted so it was just the matter braving myself. Once I put those boots on knew it was meant to be. Tiffany did what I needed her to do, she said the magic words "you should take them" so I did. I was so happy with my big discount because it made it feel so much better, but I almost didn't do it :) so for $28.00 it is not bad, check them out!!! They were originally $70.00


Thanks for your support Tiffany, I enjoyed our little get together today :)