Los Aldama

One of my frequent blog stops is my Aunt's painting blog. She did a beautiful one of my cousin Amanda and me when I was 9 months pregnant. We had spent the evening over at their house for dinner and were just talking in the kitchen. I had commented just recently that this was the only picture that I have of myself towards the end of my pregnancy. She did a fantastic job. Check it out at serenasdailypainting.blogspot.com

PICTURES to come tomorrow- too late to do it tonight!

As previously posted, we spent the holidays in Sacramento visiting with family. Dan's mom Debbie came out to help me fly the kids back a week before Christmas. Dan stayed behind to work. We spent the beginning of our trip at my mom and dad's house. We spent the weekend tending my nieces and nephew as Nikki and Julio worked hard to get all moved in to their new house. It's beautiful!!! A house definitely worth the long wait. Though a bit crazy with 6 kids running around, Noelle and Corom enjoyed every minute of cousin time. Noelle simply idolizes her older cousin, wanting to do whatever Lucia tells her to do, wanting to sit beside her and playing endlessly. Our slumber party night was a dream come true for her. We had Lucia, Marco and Noelle all in the guest room and they giggled and played into the late hours of the night. On Saturday, Callie and Eden flew in and Brian drove. What a treat it was to spend time with them as our visits are so few and far between now that they are in Arizona. That little Eden (just 4 weeks younger than Elijah) is such a sweet baby. We had a nice visit filled with lots of catching up, goodies and laughing. So fun to fill up my parent's house again. Brandon was gracious enough to lend out his bedroom to make room for all of us. It was crazy, but I kept telling my mom that crazy times are just memory-makers! Thank you to Mom, Dad and B for all of the help with my children. As said before, I think it was eye-opening to see what it is like to parent 3 children so close in age! They were so helpful!

On Monday night we packed all of our bags and headed over to the Aldama's for the remainder of the trip. We arrived a little early to spend some time with Nana and Papa before Dan's arrival. We spent our week relaxing and playing with the kids. We hadn't put up a tree back in Utah, so Corom and Noelle were both intrigued by the tree and train set and festive decor of the house. Corom developed a fascination for Papa's truck and all of the cars and race track. How nice it is to spend times like this just letting the kids get to know their grandparents. Dan arrived on Wednesday and the festivities began. We did a big birthday/Christmas party that night with grandparents, great-grandparents, Gina, Josh, Nancy and our little gang. It was a night of tamales and birthday cake. YUM! Nana did a great job hosting us all and making Noelle feel special. On Thursday, Noelle officially turned 4! We took all of the kids and some of the adults to see the new Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog," which was a hit! Noelle couldn't have been more excited about the popcorn and was a little wiggly for the movie. (Maybe she will grow into movies this year) That night we celebrated Christmas Eve and Noelle's birthday at my parent's house. Again, we had a fantastic dinner and dessert. Noelle opened presents, we White Elephanted and searched for Santa. The kids were eager to go home and fall asleep in anticipation of Santa.

On Christmas Day, Santa came to Nana and Papa's house. Noelle received from Santa a BARBIE GUITAR and a pink Barbie laptop. Corom got a Matchbox car garage and a leapfrog tag set. We were so overwhelmed and grateful for all of the gifts that proceeded. Everyone truly pitched in to give us a wonderful Christmas and many, many presents. Being in a student situation this year, we couldn't be more grateful to have been given so many nice things. Our children received toys and clothes, blankets and more. All of the gifts were thoughtful. After opening gifts at Nana and Papa's, we had another session of gifts over at my parent's. This is the part of my Christmas where I felt nostalgic. I get so homesick for my family and we were all together this year- many gifts were exchanged and the kids played. We felt so spoiled. That night we concluded our day with dessert at Grammy's house. I always feel so at home there and appreciative of all that she and Nancy do for us.

We did family Shirley pictures and went out to eat with the Aldama clan on Saturday and flew home Sunday. Our total luggage count on the way home was 3-50 pound suitcases, 5 small carry-ons, 3 babies and 2 tired adults. We did make it home and have spent the last 2 days trying to get settled here at home and finding places for all of our new toys. Another thank-you to everyone who helped us make this trip possible and to all who helped us make this Christmas such a special one! I had a good cry when I got home last night. I am such a family girl and have such a difficult time being away from everyone. It was a wonderful Christmas season!

It's now Tuesday, the week of Christmas and the kids and I are in Sacramento visiting with family. It has been an adventure as the family out here is finding out what it like to spend time with a lone mother and 3 children. We have had grandparents (and Uncle Brandon) changing diapers, helping put babies to sleep, feeding kids, etc. I think all have had their eyes opened to how crazy life can be!!! I can't thank my family enough for helping me and filling in where Dan normally is. I think we really wore my parents out and are now at the Aldamas with Nana and Papa. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Dan tomorrow and have really, really missed him this week. Among the highlights of our trip so far have been moving my sister Nikki and her family into their house, eating a whole pan of english toffee at my mom's (All of us contributed), eating goodies galore, hanging out and spending late nights with my parents and B, spending time with Callie and Brian and their sweet baby Eden and dining at the Aldamas with Nana, Papa, Gina and Josh. I love being here! There is no place like home. I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and have a Merry Christmas! I will update more with pictures when I have a chance. I am trying to figure out where all of the traffic on our blog is coming from- the map just shows general locations. I am also trying to decide if I should go private to have more control over our readers. There are some crazy locations and countries coming up on our map. Please leave a comment to let me know if you are reading this to give me an idea!!! Thanks!

What a week this has been. It has been snowing and we just have been avoiding outings at all costs. We went 4 days with out leaving the house. (Go Me!) It is much more fun watching the snow from the window than actually being in it. (I think, though Dan would disagree with me- he loves the snow!) I still am scared to drive in it and try not to when possible. Today I was driving to church and turning right out of our complex when my brakes locked up and I started sliding. I saw a snow plow coming my way and I just couldn't stop! I thought that it was going to crash right into me. Luckily my car stopped just a few feet before the plow crossed in front of me. It was so scary. I wasn't even going fast! I keep wondering if I will ever get used to living in it. Everyone acts like it is no big deal.

On Saturday we had a double birthday party with Noelle and another little boy in our ward, Cameron. (Both Christmas Eve babies) We hosted pizza and cake at the church for all of the ward kids and had a pretty good turn out! I wish I had pictures to post! We actually forgot camera batteries.It was so much fun! We decorated cookies and played music games. This is only the start of the birthday festivities as we are looking forward to celebrating in Sacramento too!

We have company this weekend as Debi (Nana to my kids!) came to stay with us. She flew out to help me fly back with the kids to California for Christmas. She is the best! I would never be able to fly 3 babies by myself. Dan is out of school for the semester but will be working and will meet up with us a few days before Christmas. My younger sister Callie and her sweet baby Eden are also here from Phoenix for a wedding. Callie's baby is just 1 month younger than Elijah. Nothing like having a cousin your age. We have all been visiting, playing with babies, and had dinner tonight with the Utah Shirleys. April hosted us all to a yummy turkey dinner. I wish I had pictures to post. I haven't taken any this weekend- I will try harder this week to take pictures. Happy Holiday Season to you all! I hope you are all loving the lights, music and spirit of the season!

Sorry it has been awhile. Life has gotten really, really busy lately. We have a baby who has started sleeping more at night and less during the day. This is wonderful for I feel so much better now that I am sleeping longer stretches. It just means that my hands are more full during the day. Add to that the fact that Corom is starting to act more like a 2 year old than a 1 year old. He is super busy. We are on high speed all day, only slowing down when the boys nap. Well, since the last post we decided to take a trip home to Thanksgiving. It was a really last minute decision and a quick trip. We had purchased a little volkswagon about a month ago. We all fit snuggly in it and decided that we could afford to drive our zippy new car home. (So much cheaper in gas than the Land Rover) The travels went well with minimal stops, one being a lunch stop at the McDonald's play place. The trip was worth the long drive. We enjoyed time with all of the family and 2 turkey dinners. Noelle was thrilled to pieces to spend time with her cousins. They always seem to pick up right where they left off. This time they had Corom and Sylvia tagging along. We enjoyed our time visiting with all the family on a quieter weekend than Christmas. It was a great trip and we look forward to coming home in a few weeks and being able to fly this time.

Since we've been home winter has really begun. It is super cold and snowy. We try to stay home as much as possible. We are trying to bring the festivities of the holidays into our home and to teach Noelle and Corom about our family traditions. We decorated our house, have been playing Christmas music, made sugar cookies and have been reading "The Night Before Christmas." I'll post more as the month progresses. Hope you are all doing well.
Noelle asks to hold Elijah every morning

Our sweet little Sylvia Rose (my niece)

Noelle and Lucia playing dressups

Happy Thanksgiving!