The Planetarium is paying off...

All these trips to the planetarium have been worth it. Tonight out of the blue Christina looked into the sky and said, "Look mom. You can connect the stars like dots. That one looks like the hunter." She pointed straight to Orion. Like really, she's 6 and can recognize constellations?

Hikin' With Daddy.......

I woke up and thought, it's too gorgeous to be inside. So we went for a hike. I was thinking 20 minutes of walking, but Joe had us scaling a mountain... and the girls loved it!!

Joe's reaction whenever I bring up Al Sharpton.

Christina brought her science journal. Joe was quite patient as every 2 inches we discovered something amazing :) I was really proud though... I was asking them hard questions and they were quite thoughtful in response. For one, I asked why the mud was softer in some places and harder in others and Maria spouted off "Some places are dry and some are wet. The wet places are softer." Freakin' brilliant because nothing was sopping wet. She noticed the subtle difference in texture.

I of course told them not to jump in bushes because of ticks. This was Maria's reaction to discovering they suck blood like leeches.

If you can get past the horror of my double chin... aren't my daughter's eyes just plain stunning. I could stare into them for hours and hours.

Some how we ended up a mountain.

 Off the path discovering shot gun shells. Quote Christina, "People are so stupid. This is terrible."

It was fantastic. The girls said they want to hike every day. They must have walked for at least 90 minutes. No complaining. Such fun and very peaceful.

Although of course, Christina has a cold now.

Christmas At Papa and Yaya's

I think any celebration we have at my parents always starts off with a food picture. And that's because my dad can cook a great spread. 

It was wonderful to have Aunt Helen with us again this year. She is a spirited woman who is always very kind. 

We love our family! Theo Speedo is always the best Santa and the girls loved the Snuggle Chums especially this year!! 

The woman folk. 

Coats!! And just in time because Christina's zipper broke.

Papa and Yaya's new decor! 

Yaya Sofia gave a creepastic doll that sings and walks. The girls loved it.

I was in charge of dessert. I went with only a few things because we always have way too much leftover. And go fig, this ended up being way too much anyways. The cheesecake I made and the pumpkin pie was a gift from our baker friend. Did I ever mention how much I love being friends with a baker?

It was a very lovely evening, full of merriment and fun. Everyone was happy, well fed and comfortable. Thanks Papa and Yaya and all our family for a wonderful time!!!

Christmas Morning!!!

Creatures of habit. Eating the very last advent chocolate! It was the 3rd thing to do before opening gifts. 1.Prayer 2.Make beds..... So methodical. No ranting or raving presents now!!! Such pleasant little girls.

Santa came!! 

They are always so happy to get gum and candy. 

Christina was so gracious and thoughtful this year. She said thank you after every single present and gave a hug too. Such a loving and thankful little jewel.

We have such wonderful and thoughtful friends. We give a little mug and get a box full of presents in return. Daddy also got the girls some nice posters of a horse and Princess Tiana. We're still figuring out where to put them, as they are quite big. 

Christina had a special gift for Maria. Our fashion fairy tale barbie. We've had it for at least 4 months. Yet when Maria opened it, she was so very grateful. Thank you thank you Nina!! I love it!!! You're the best sister ever!!! 

My gifts from my beautiful children were the absolute best! This roll says, "To Mom, Frum Christina - You can do anything with it!!" I also received a hand made frisbee.

Our Aunty Pam and Aunty Amanda sent the girls a wonderful barbie present that the girls were ready to shred within seconds they were so excited!!!

Nina made daddy some binoculars. 

We are so spoiled! Our friends and family spoil us rotten!!! Thank you!!!!

We had a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed a very laid back morning playing and listening to a barbie CD over and over and over... It was great though because one of the songs was the 12 days of Christmas and all barbie wanted was a "A Dream Home in Malibu Beach" Me too Barb, me too.

The Night Before Christmas....

The weather was so gorgeous that we headed to the park to play a little bit and watch the sun set. Poor daddy didn't have a coat, but he was a trooper and pushed the girls for at least 15 minutes on the swings.

We ate some pasta. We came home and wrote our notes.

And then we read the Christmas story from a book that quotes the bible to beautiful artwork. We sang Christmas Hymns. And our home was edified. Throughout the whole month we've been talking about the real meaning of Christmas and I'm just so very grateful to be able to have a beautiful, eternal family. One that is only possible because of the life of the Savior. His birth, His life, His resurrection mean everything to us.

Because our eyes are open...

A rare one. Both of us have our eyes open, we're smiling and a photo has captured the moment.

Lunar Eclipse

Image courtesy Google Search

We had the rare privilege of watching a lunar eclipse on a winter solstice. It was so interesting seeing the moon red. The sky was super clear and it was really just beautiful. The last time it happened on a winter solstice was in the 1600's.

I woke up the girls and Joe. The next day Maria asked me to wake her up to see the moon and said a nice prayer thanking Heavenly Father for it. :)

Library Christmas Celebrations/Busts

Festivities before Christmas included supporting our local library programs. If I had to use 2 words to describe both events it'd be: MOB and LIE.

 Scene 1: What, 100 people?? A couple good books, a lame craft and a seat in Santa's lap.

Fortunately our best little friend was there, so it was all good. We got to play with some "interesting" children from Christina's old Kindergarten class. The mom kinda just left them with us and they had no clue how to play Candy Land. What 6 year old doesn't know how to play Candy Land?

Sorry Ram.... I hope you don't mind I posted them here, then you can copy and paste. I try to send emails but my photo attachments are always too big. You guys are beautiful anyways. 

More beautiful people. 

I just love this coat. It reminds me of college days when all I wanted to do was wear fur coats... fake of course. 

Scene 2: Happy Hana-kwanza-kuh Celebration sans any mention of Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. I must admit... I was super bad this year and taught my children nothing of these 2 celebrations. I was hoping to leave it up to the librarians, however they were incompetent. I mean, why would you have a party entitled that and then have Santa come and do a reindeer craft. Boo.

 

 The story teller was.... ummm.... Let's just say Christina could have done a better job. I know... I am sooooo harsh. But really, I just don't understand why you wouldn't give your heart out while reading to children. Make it so thrilling and exciting that they just love reading and would do anything to get their hands on that book.

One thing I do love is watching these beauties always holding hands. They are so tender. It's my favorite thing in life to know that they adore each other.

Santa: "Didn't I see you yesterday?" And strange thing is he remembered exactly what they wanted!!