Merry Christmas!

We pray you have a joyous Christmas!

"For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things: and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from
generation to generation."

-Luke 1:49-50

Thanksgiving Cooking

This past Thanksgiving, we spent with Jason's mother's family. It was nice in that we didn't have to travel far, they live just 5 minutes away. We enjoyed a nice quiet dinner.

The children, my sister Marina, and I had made pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and cranberry-apple pie with a crumb topping. Everything was delicious! I also made Yams with Ginger and Scallions. I made these last year as well and they were a big hit. The recipe is from last year's Thanksgiving issue of Saveur Magazine. It is a simple yam recipe, with all fresh ingredients. The mix of flavors is amazing!

Happy 8th Birthday Joshua!

Today is Joshua's eighth birthday. It really is amazing how quickly they grow!

We will be celebrating with a quiet dinner at home. I am making Joshua's favorite dinner - corned beef! We will have it with leek champ, carrots, turnips, cabbage, horseradish cream, & corn bread. For dessert: chocolate cupcakes & chocolate chip cookies.

I am thankful to God for His giving us Joshua. He is a loving, adventurous, thoughtful, and mischievous child! I pray that the Lord will give Jason and I wisdom and grace to raise a God-honoring son.

Cider Pressing!

This year, was the first time that we tried pressing our own cider. We think the cider tasted better, because we had to work so hard before we enjoyed it.

Joshua and Jason had the hard work of turning the wheel to smash the apples through the grinder.

Mercy and I had the easy job of putting the apple in the grinder.

After the apples were grinded, we had to turn the press to squeeze all the juice out of the apples. And then the cider is poured into a gallon bottle after going through a filter to take out any large pieces and bees that fell into the vat.

We had a wonderful morning in Oak Glen. Breakfast, apple picking, and cider pressing! We can't wait until next year!

Oak Glen

Last month we took our annual trip to Oak Glen. We woke up early to get there in time for breakfast. We ate at Law's Cafe, where they serve a buffet breakfast. It was delicious! I highly recommend it, but if you go get there early. We got there a couple of minutes before the buffet started, and the dining room was almost full of people waiting to eat. By the time we got up to get in line at the buffet, there was a line of people waiting outside to get in. But it is worth it! Yummy!

After breakfast, we headed over to Willowbrook Apple Farm for apple picking and cider pressing. It is a small family run farm. The children were able to feed and pet Duke, the horse, again. This year they had a new pot bellied pig, she was so cute and excited to meet us.

Cute little apple pickers!

It was a beautiful, crisp, clear morning.

I tried to get Jason to take a picture with the children. It is almost impossible to get that man to smile!

But after some work, I was able to coax a smile out of him!

I had to help Mercy pick apples. It was only the second weekend that Willowbrook was open, so there were plenty of apples that were low for the children to pick.

Reformation Night

As we do not observe Halloween, each year we look for ways to avoid the celebration of it. I find it increasingly hard as the children grow older to keep them from the holiday. Everywhere we go there are reminders of it. We couldn't go to any store without seeing decorations and people would ask the children what they were going to dress up as. I am so happy that that is over with for the year!

This past Friday, we went to our church's Refomation Night. October 31st is Reformation Day, a holiday in rememberance of the reformation. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

RBCR had games and activities for the children to learn about the reformation and have fun.

This is Joshua getting ready to throw relics in the river.

Mercy and Joshua listen to Robyn tell how to spin the wheel to learn about the life of reformer John Calvin.

This is the St. Giles bowling game.

The children were able to make graham cracker churches, and decorate them with candy.

Joshua and I had trouble getting his church to stay standing.

At the Diet of Worms booth, the children had to knock down the books that were not written by Luther.

At this booth the children throw papal bulls into the fire.

Here is Mercy painting a picture of a famous reformer.

The children received tickets at the booths and then were able to trade them in for prizes!
I have to say that Melissa (pictured above behind the prize table) did an awesome job putting that night all together. Thank you Melissa for all the time, imagination, and hard work that you put in to give our family a memorable night!

I Voted. Did You?

We bundled up against the rain this morning to be at our polling place at 7 am when it opened. We arrived at the Calvary Chapel a little after voting started, and only had to wait about 30 minutes to cast our vote. I was happy about this because I was afraid we would have a long wait, which wouldn't be fun with two children.

I talked to both Joshua & Mercy about a possible long wait, and that I didn't want to hear complaining or whining. I forgot to have the same talk with Jason! And if you know my husband and his views about politics & government in general (not to mention his dry sense of humor), then you know what I had to listen to for that 1/2 hr. wait. Such as: "Where are all these people at all the other elections." "They only come out to vote for a presidential election." "It's not like our votes are even going to be counted correctly." "This is all a government racket!"

As I was waiting to vote, I heard the polling place workers talking about some complaints they were getting about a giant "Yes on 8" sign outside the window. The woman in charge of the polling location said that as long as it was 100 feet away it was legal.

This is a picture of the Calvary Chapel. Just inside that big window is where voting was taking place, so we all had a clear view of the sign while we cast our vote. I thought it was funny because it looks like this is a "Yes on 8 Polling Station."

I know that whatever the outcome of the elections, God is in control. We should not fret, but instead, trust in Him and his providences.

Ultrasound Pictures of Baby Lucy!

It's Going To Be A Girl!

We had an ultrasound today! The ultrasound technician was pretty positive that we will be having a girl. So Lord willing, sometime around February 26, 2009 we will be welcoming little Catherine Lucille into our family. We are preparing to be inundated with pink yet again! As I was laying there having the ultrasound I was so thankful to God that He has blessed us with this little one, and brought us this far. He is such a merciful and caring Father!

Remembering Our Little Glory Babies

Boy or Girl?

We will have to wait two more weeks to find out whether we will have a little Lupe or Lupita (no, those aren't the names we have chosen). I went in for my OB appointment this morning and Dr. Lopez said we need to wait until the baby is a little bigger. I was disappointed about that, but I was happy to hear a strong heartbeat and receive clear AFP test results! What a blessing!

So check back in a couple more weeks!

Mama Tey

On Saturday, September 13, 2008, my grandmother, Esther died of ovarian cancer. Mama Tey (a name her family lovingly called her) was 81 years old. She had been diagnosed with cancer only the week before her death.

Mama Tey loved to travel. She had visited Israel, Germany, South America, Egypt, and various other places. She enjoyed sewing, knitting, embroidery, and crocheting. Mama Tey was also a great cook. She made tasty chili verde, caldo, rice, and even her quesadillas were the best. Her dish I will miss the most, especially on a cold afternoon, is sweet rice!

Mama Tey had six children, 11 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great grandchildren. She will be missed by the many who loved her.

Prayer for My Family

My grandmother, Mama Tey, has been in the hospital since last Tuesday. The doctors have been running many tests. We were told that she has ovarian cancer. Today, we received the final test results. She has ovarian cancer, that has now wrapped around her intestines. Her kidneys are also not doing well. We have been told that she has about 3 months left.

Mama Tey should be coming home today and will be receiving in-home hospice care. Jason and I would appreciate prayer for Mama Tey and also my entire family; especially, my parents who will be providing her care. Please pray that the Lord will work in the lives of my family through this difficult time.

Mama Tey, last year at the Sawdust Factory

Papa Maro, Marina, Mama Tey and Myself

circa 1982

Mercy is Feeling Better!

We are very thankful that our little Mercy is up and about after three days of sickness! She has had a high fever, along with lethargy, loss of appetite, headaches, and vomiting since Tuesday. Today, she was up and playing and talking non-stop all day. Praise God that we are in His hands in our sickness and in our health. When my children are ill, I am especially reminded of what a blessing they are in our lives.

Since she was feeling better, we did crafts. This is her kitty cat paper bag puppet.

Educational Accents gets 5 Stars!

I have to post a rave review for the website Educational Accents! This is a site that buys and sells used homeschool curriculum. I have purchased from them in the past and they have great prices as well as speedy shipping.

Last week, I placed another order. When I received the shipment this week, I realized that one of the books I ordered, Famous Men of Greece, was not the full textbook, but a guide for the book. I checked the receipt and it simply said Famous Men of Greece. I wasn't sure if the mistake was mine or edaccents. I decided not to do anything, especially since the cost was so little.

The next day, I received an email from edaccents asking me to comment on my order. I think I gave them 4 out of 5 stars. And mentioned the mistake. Later that afternoon, I received a phone call from an edaccents representative. She apologized for the mistake and said that they were going to ship the correct book out and that I could keep the guide they had sent! Talk about quick, responsive customer service!

I am really impressed with this website. Even though the mistake may not have been their fault, they wanted to make sure that I was satisfied. The next time I need homeschool books, I will definitely check them first.

Happy Birthday Isaac Blue!

Today, is my brother's birthday. As I was looking for a picture to post of him, I realized that I don't have any recent ones! This is the most recent one. It was taken last July. The lovely lady next to him is his wife, Cathy.

Tonight, the whole familia is going to Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ for dinner to celebrate Isaac and Jason's birthdays. Yum! I will have to take my camera to take some shots of my handsome brother!

Happy Birthday Mr. Davis!

Yesterday was Jason's birthday! We spent it just the way he wanted: quietly at home with a home cooked meal. I told him I would make whatever he wanted, which I thought would be shepherd's pie. He chose fettucine alfredo, glazed carrots, home-made bread, and chocolate chip cookies. We had a very relaxing evening.

Happy Birthday My Love!

Earthquakes! Hills in Motion

Yesterday, the children and I sat down at about 11:35 am for read aloud time. We were reading Volcanoes! Mountains of Fire about the Mount St. Helens eruption.

The children love this story of volcanoes and people's accounts of what it was like. We were just reading about a family camping in a nearby cabin ("Thunder shakes the cabin. Lightning looks like a flash from a giant camera. When bits of ash bump into each other in the clouds, they make static electricity. This creates bolts of lightning.") when I heard a big bang. It felt like the house was lifted and dropped.

As the shaking grew more intense, we ran to the hall doorway where we stayed for the remainder of the quake. I will say it felt like the strongest and loudest quake that I can remember. When I was sure it was over, I hugged my little ones and we went back to the couch and said a prayer thanking God for watching over us and asking for strength to not be scared but to trust in Him!

Mercy stayed clinging to me for at least 45 minutes, and even after would not leave my side (last night she woke up saying she was scared, which is rare for her). Joshua was shaken, but also a bit excited.

Our home is about 5 miles from the epicenter. We didn't have any damage. Just books fallen off shelves, some candles fell from my dresser, and a few things in the garage fell.

We Are Expecting!

Our family is looking forward to a new addition sometime in late February or early March of next year. My doctor will give me a more precise due date at my next appointment (next month).

We are thankful to God for giving this blessing to us and we pray that we will have a healthy and uneventful pregnancy and delivery. Whatever the next 7 to 8 months brings us, we are trusting in our Lord and take comfort in His words to us:

"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." -Joshua 1:9

The Water Was Cool, the Sun Was Hot

On Wednesday, we spent some time with friends at our association pool.
The children had fun splashing, and staying cool.
Thank you Sarah for this adorable pic.


Joshua, Isaac, Mercy, & Kate