My new blog home (sort of)

I found a new blog home! It's prettier, it's brighter and some of you may be familiar with it. I'll be writing all of my future posts here:

http://hkweighin.blogspot.com/

(just click on the above link to go to my new blog)

So long old blog, it's been a great ride!

Missing RM

RM has been at his new job for almost two weeks and for the most part, he likes his job. He found work in his career field and is excited that there are new things that he's learning from his new job. I just wish that he worked closer and not 2 1/2 hours away from home. I see RM only once during the week and on weekends- at least our reunions are sweet!

Aunt Sue asked me last week if there was anything positive that I saw from RM being unemployed. It was a great question and though it was a stressful time, he was able to help me out with things that I could not have done without him:

- He was available to scratch my back- night & day. No more rubbing my back against a corner wall!

- It was nice having company while I ran errands.

- I slept in every morning while RM got up, fixed Moe's breakfast, and took him to school.

- No more 5 am gym workouts, when you're unemployed you can work out after 8am!

- RM saw what I do on a day to day basis at home, and really appreciated everything I do to run our home efficiently. He's always been appreciative, but when he saw it first hand- it made a big difference.

- We laughed a lot.

- We cranked up the music...and danced. I still have fun when I dance by myself, but slow dances are more enjoyable when you have a partner, and this time- I let him do the leading.

- RM helped Moe complete his Scouts Eagle project!!!! Four months ago, Moe still needed to complete several merit badges and a huge Eagle project to plan. During RM's two month unemployment, they were able to complete the remaining merit badges and Moe's Eagle Project. (will post about Eagle project with pictures later)

RM and I have always had a close relationship, but we drew even closer. It's no wonder I miss him so much.

God's Love

I have to admit that the past few weeks I've been struggling with some anger and started to question why our family was going through such a difficult time.

I couldn't understand why one woman's pregnancy was saved after receiving a blessing from her husband.

And mine wasn't.

About 4 years ago RM was unemployed and it took over a year for him to find employment. I felt that since our family underwent a tough period that somehow RM would never be laid off.

It was a naive thought- RM was laid off from work 2 months ago.

It was extremely overwhelming dealing with grief over my miscarriage and the fear of being unemployed and not knowing how long it would last. I haven't worked in a "real" job in over 10 years, so I started to become discouraged that with every phone call I made to job agencies- they would tell me that most employers were looking for someone with "more recent experience."

I wanted to "throw in the towel" until I read an article titled "Love and Law" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks from my church magazine. After reading and pondering the message, I finally understood and stopped being angry.

The article helped me to realize that though no earthly power could save my pregnancy- only a divine power could save me in my grief, and help me overcome my fear.

I find it amazing that after I found peace- RM got the good news that he starts his new job this Thursday.

Though I still cry at times over the loss of my baby- I find acceptance, hope and I know that God loves me.

Our Early Easter Basket

My Aunt Sue lives a few hours away from me, and last Friday she came up for a day to take me out to lunch. She came in to the house holding an Easter basket with one hand, and the other hand holding a bag of books for me to read.

After she placed the items on my kitchen counter she gave me a hug, after we pulled away, she asked me, "So how are you holding up?"

I immediately started to cry and tell her how I really felt, and Aunt Sue was a great sport letting me whine. It was the first time that I felt l didn't have to sound brave or positive.

We spent the next several hours just sitting, talking and eating. The only downside of the visit was when it had to end- it was time for Aunt Sue to drive back.

It was 6 hours of visiting, and I know we could have spent another 6 hours of talking, and never run out of things to talk about.

I wish everyone had an Aunt Sue in their life.

Easter has not arrived, yet all the items in this Easter basket that Aunt Sue brought, are all gone...

- Chocolate marshmallow bunnies and Cadbury eggs have been consumed by RM and Moe.

- RM and Moe saw the Weight Watcher mini bars and they assumed it wouldn't be good. I made a funny face when I bit into them and pretended they weren't great. I wanted the WW mini bars all to myself- they're delicious!

- Costco cash card is safely tucked away in my wallet.

- RM took an immediate liking to the toy duck that makes quaking noises and preceded to quack and walk like a duck - free entertainment!

- Moe played with the plastic ball filled with glitter that lights up every time you bounce it- he used our dining table to bounce the ball...with plates of food still on! He cleaned up the mess.

It was an Easter Basket enjoyed by every member of our family.

Thanks Aunt Sue!

Lemon Loaf

It's rare for me to find a recipe where I don't make some changes. When you have a family with a sensitive digestive system and and a picky palette- you learn to make adjustments. The recipe for this lemon loaf was no exception, except the original recipe I found to be too dry and not moist enough.

After baking a few loaves and not satisfied with the result- I came up with this recipe that I was very happy with.

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup sour cream
ICING
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice with a mixer until blended.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Add oil and mix well.
5. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan on a rack.
6. Making the icing: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract with a mixer until smooth.
7. When loaf is cooled, remove from pan and frost top with icing. When icing has set, slice loaf into slices (should get about 8 good slices).

Cooks Note: For a zestier lemon taste, grind about 1 to 2 tsp of lemon peel. If you want a thick layer of icing, wait about every 5-10 minutes before you put another layer of icing until you get the desired thickness. RM likes his icing very thick, but I got tired after 3 layers. The picture below is how the icing looks with only 3 layers of icing, the icing is very thin which is why you want to keep layering the icing.


This is another family favorite except for Moe- he's allergic to lemons!

Smile

Since last December, it seems that our family has been heaped with one trial after another. There are days when it's hard to find something to smile about until I read this beautiful song from Charlie Chaplin:

Smile,
though your heart is aching
Smile,
even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by
If you smile
through your fear and sorrow
Smile
and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
for you
Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile
what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you’ll just

Smile

And then you're reminded that no matter what you're going through....there is always something to smile about.

(comments off)

Roughing it

Last weekend Moe went on a camping trip to Dillon Beach with the youth boys in our ward/church. He was excited about going and we were excited to have a weekend to ourselves at the house.

The weather forecast for the weekend was overcast and heavy raining. So, I packed extra towels and soap. When I tried to put in a toothbrush and toothpaste- Moe stopped me.

"Mom, you do realize that I'm not going to have time to brush my teeth in the morning."

I instantly shuddered and replied, "That's disgusting- you don't want to go around with morning breath."

"It's calling roughing it". "When you're out camping with the guys- no one cares about morning breath and trust me, no one is going to bother brushing their teeth or taking a shower." And then Moe proceeds to take out the extra towel and soap from his backpack.

It was hard to shake the image of Moe going through out the day with cotton mouth, so I made him promise to stop at the convenience store and buy gum or Altoids.

Moe rolls his eyes and says, "Yes, mom." I feel like I've won a small victory.

"Do you think you could at least just wipe yourself down before you go to bed?" "You'll feel so much better and get a better sleep if you do."

Moe gives me this exasperated look, and I know that no matter how much I try to convince him about the merits of cleanliness, on a camping trip- it wall fall on deaf ears.

When Moe came home after his trip, he was exhausted, but had a great time fishing, crabbing, sand surfing, building beach fires, and they played a version of hot potato, but with a live crab.

The game was short lived because someone is a tad scared of crabs and when the crab came to him- he spiked the poor crab into the sand, ending the game. I won't say who that person is, but he looks a lot like RM. Shhhhhh...

(Moe pictured with one of his church youth leaders, Brad B.)

Moe and RM wants to go camping by the beach as a family trip.
Of course, I'll go with them as long as we go in a RV equipped with a bed and shower.

And I definitely will not be "roughing it"....I'm brushing my teeth.

My Corny Poem

There are still a few more stories from Moe that he wrote when he was in middle school, that I want to post on this blog. Stay tuned for more of his stories later this week.

In the meantime, while I was sorting through a box full of memorabilia - I found a poem that I wrote when I was a sophomore in high school, as part of an English assignment. At the time, I thought it was a poem full of mystery and intrigue, but when my English teacher read it to the class - they laughed!

The class thought it was supposed to be funny, which of course wasn't my intention at all. I was mortified!

It's only been 10 years since I graduated from high school (humor me) and reading the poem again as an adult, my opinion has definitely changed - it's pretty corny!

Here is the poem that I naively thought, would go down as the most riveting poems ever written:

"Nature"

I like to sleep under the stars,

with the moon giving light to the darkness.

The grass beneath me like a green rug.

Loving the perfume of nature .

The rattling of a snake,

Not far away.

Looking for a poor creature to eat.

The possibility that the creature might be me,

I discover nature is not for me.

Note: It's funny but after I wrote that poem, I didn't like camping as much. Nowadays, my idea of camping is the Marriott Courtyard.

******************************************
I'm a guest blogger this month at Solomon Family Delights- a blog full of yummy recipes and fun crafts. If you want a delicious and easy recipe for crumb cake, click Here for the recipe.

I made this delicious crumb cake last Sunday and my family loved it!

Childhood Friends by Moe: Part 2

(written at age 13)

Everyone has a childhood friend, but in my case, I have many friends. Friends are people who call each other when someone is sick. A friend is someone that sticks up for you if you're getting bullied. A friend is someone who is nice to you, no matter what situation.

For me, my first best friend was in Pre-school. His name was Ryan. Ryan and I would have a play date at each other houses almost every week. We would play action figures and video games.

In kindergarten and first grade my best friend was Zade. He loved sports, and I loved sports too. I guess that's why we became friends. When we would go to each other's houses, we would just play sports all day.

In second and third grade, I was best friends with Mickey. That guy was so funny. He and I would make each other laugh so much, it would hurt.

(Moe and Adam)
In fourth and fifth grade, I was best friends with Aliki, Kyle, and Adam. We would all just hang out and go to the movies.

(James, Moe, Kyle)

Then once I got to middle school, I became very lucky. I had four best friends.

Their names are David C, Kyle, James and Adam. My parents called us the "four amigos". We would go to the movies, walk to Nob HIll, rent movies, and last but not least, play video games. What was cool was that two of my best friends live across the street.

You do not need to have only one best friend, you can have many. I became very lucky because I had a lot of friends.

Note from H.K- I only posted pics of Moe's friends from middle school because it was then, that he started to realize the true meaning of friendships. The last two pictures were taken at our home. We were getting ready to move and we had a goodbye pizza party. His friends were great- they gave him cards, gifts, and when it was time to say goodbye, there were also tears.

Moe has developed other close friends since then, his only contact with these boys are through Facebook and has remained good friends with only one.

But, no matter how many friends Moe makes over the years, you never forget your childhood friends.

My favorite Childhood Toy by Moe: Part I

(written by Moe when he was 13 years old)

One boring and long summer day, my mom told me to get off my butt and clean my room. I don't blame her, my room was a mess. I went upstairs and started cleaning. I put away my sports stuff, games, and videos. Then I folded my blankets and I looked under my bed to clean.

It was then when I found my bear Russ. Russ is a beanie bear that I got when I was three.


I remember the day when I got my Bear...It was a regular day and my birthday had just passed. My grandma couldn't make it to my birthday because she had something to do. She stopped by my house to give me a late birthday present.

The gift was wrapped in a box as large as a mouse pad. I opened it and inside was a stuffed little bear. I was so excited when I got it. I named the bear Russ.


Russ looked so cool at the time...I used to play with my bear 24-7. I pretended it was a Power Ranger, an airplane, and a cop. I hugged it, threw it against the wall and "playfully" threw it at my parents.

I know that Russ didn't mind the rough housing because he still had a smile on his face. I took him everywhere I went and I MEAN EVERYWHERE.

That bear was one of my favorite toys. It reminded me of good times because of the memories it gave me. In fact, I still have that bear sitting right next to my bed on my dresser.

Note from H.K. - This is how Russ looks now. Russ has seen better days and has gone through a lot of wear and tear over the years. He's been sewed together so many times, it's amazing that he's still in one piece.

Moe's too old to play with Russ, but he still has an honorary place in Moe's room - on top of his dresser.



***I'm a guest blogger for Solomon Family Delights- a blog that contains some yummy recipes from Mother Goose. And all the recipes have Pictures! Check out my latest recipe of Noodle Spinach Casserole recipe and click Here ***

My one year Blogiversary

Next week, it will be about a year since I started this blog. My blog has evolved since I wrote my first post. I first started it as a way to improve my writing skills and then it became more of an online family scrapbook.

I've read through old posts and I'm so glad that I was able to write down some important family events and post pictures. It has become very important to me to document those events.

My goal is to eventually put everything that I wrote on this blog and compile it into a blog book- something that our family could always look through like an old family album.

The past two weeks, I've been sorting through old pictures and journals. As I went through the pictures, I started to remember events that occurred when the picture was taken, and I couldn't help but wish that blogging was invented when Moe was a baby!

I used to love to scrap book, but it took so much time. You spent more time figuring out how to place the pictures on the page than doing what was more important - writing down the memories. Blogging is so much easier- it's a combination of a journal and a scrapbook.

To celebrate my "One Year Blogiversary", I'll be posting a series of flashbacks; edited entries from old journals and posting old pictures, especially the ones of Moe.

I found a written report by Moe that he did for his school when he was 12 years old. It's titled, "My Life". He writes about favorite memories of his childhood.

Moe's report is already starting to decay with age, so what better way to preserve those memories than to record here it in this blog. The next few posts will be from Moe's report.

I'm looking forward to recording those flashbacks on my blog and it has been fun blogging. I can't imagine a day that I get tired of it!

Exercising the stress away

I gained almost 15 pounds while being pregnant, which is not a good thing when I still had some extra weight to lose, and of course, no baby to show for it. And then someone asked me over a week ago, after looking at my stomach, if I was pregnant.

I immediately said, "Nope, I just forgot to suck it in."

That comment was the extra push I needed to haul my butt into the gym. I knew that the best time for me to get into the gym is between 5 & 5:30 am. When you exercise that early, there's nothing that can distract you. You don't have time or the energy to make up excuses not to work out.

After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I drag myself out of bed with one eye barely opened and the other eye that seems to be glued shut- not a pretty sight. After splashing my face a few times with cold water, change into my work out clothes - I'm ready for a sweaty work out!

The other motivation is my personal trainer and my work out partner.

He's committed.

He's a hard task master.

When I feel like I can't do one more push up, he screams at me and tells me, I'm a pansy.

And then I scream back at him and remind him that I'm his wife.

I've had some work out partners before, but RM is the toughest. He's helped me to run that extra few yards when I feel like quitting. When I grab a 5 lb dumb bell, he gives me the 15 lb dumb bell and tells me that I can lift it- surprisingly he's right.

RM has already lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks and I....don't come close to that.

However, I've worked out with RM for less than 2 weeks and I've already started to see a difference in my attitude, my stress level has gone down, and my jeans are just a tad bit looser.

It feels good to be back into a routine.

This is my favorite new low fat snack. When I want a chocolate fix - I grab Chocolate Goldfish Graham crackers and they're delicious and fixes my need for chocolate right away. Only 50 crackers equals to 150 calories and only 3 grams of fat. You can find them at any Safeway or Target store.

Love is in the Details

"I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon".
~ Author Unknown

We have always celebrated Valentine's Day as a family occasion - just the three of us. We would normally go out to dinner and then come home for homemade desserts or go out for ice cream.

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, we had dinner at home and RM did the "cooking" - warming up a roasted chicken purchased from Costco the night before, frozen tortellini with Alfredo sauce, and Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits.

It wasn't a homemade dinner, but it was still delicious!

And since RM was in charge of dinner, I made desserts - Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I'm always a wee bit nervous when I make something new, not sure how Moe or RM would react, when I venture out of their normal eating habits.

When I made the finishing touches on the cupcakes, I had RM take the first bite.

He took a bite, closed his eyes, chewed very slowly, made some strange guttural noise with his throat, and then when he finally opened his eyes, said,
"That was one heavenly cupcake."

The next person to please would be tough:

- He's been known to scraping off cheese & all toppings from pizzas,
- He's renowned for putting ketchup on almost anything,
- Makes gagging noises when he has to eat salad,
- And went through a period of taking out the chocolate chips from chocolate chip cookies.

When Moe took his first bite, I was prepared for anything.

Surprisingly, he said, "Mom, not bad. I like it a lot."

And then I noticed that he ate his cupcake from the bottom and threw away the top ...with the frosting still intact. The kid definitely has some strange eating habits.

Next to Christmas, I love celebrating Valentine's Day. There's nothing like expressing love through sweets.

"Love is in the details" and I wanted to show my family on this Valentine's Day, that they are worth spending the time- to make it just right.

***I used Paula Deen's recipe for the cupcakes which you can find here.
For the frosting, I used a small zip lock bag and filled it with frosting. Snip a corner and pipe away. If you want small swirls, snip a small hole and for bigger swirls snip a bigger hole. ***

Moving On

"While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it." ~Samuel Johnson

RM knew that I needed time to grieve. He held me as I cried and often cried with me. When I had no energy to cook or clean the house, he took over the household duties and kept the "ship" running while I recuperated physically and emotionally.

After several weeks of coming home after work and finding me spending more time in my PJ's than in regular clothes, RM became worried.

He said to me, "I know that you still need time to grieve, but right now, you need to find a balance between grieving and living. I lost a baby too, but I still have to go to work, and we have a son that needs us. I don't want you grieve so much that you forget to live."

It has been a little over two months since I had my miscarriage, and I took what RM said to me to heart. I know it sounds cliche, but I started to notice nature's beauty. I marveled at the flowers blooming in our front yard despite the cold weather, and even the bare trees had it's own unique beauty.

And when life recently started to give out more lemons....

....I made lemonade.

**Some of you have shared your stories of your own miscarriages, which I truly appreciate. It helps to know that when you read my experience of loss- you know exactly what it means.

Thank you everyone for your supportive comments and emails. You will never know how much it has helped me.

Moe's Winter Ball 2010

Moe went to a friend's Winter Ball two weeks ago. He didn't go to his own school's Winter Ball because according to him; "All Winter Balls are boring."

However, when one of his best friends from another another high school asked him to her Winter Ball...he agreed.

RM and I were surprised that he was going to his friend's Winter Ball. When we asked him why, after he just told us that Winter Balls were boring, he said, "because she asked."

One of the things that I admire about Moe is how much he loves his friends and will do anything to help them out. (It also helps if a particular friend is pretty)

My older sister came from out of town and spent a whole day with me, while RM helped Moe get ready for the ball. Moe still doesn't have his driver's license, so RM drove Moe to one of his friends house which was the destination meeting point for several other couples. From there they went to a restaurant called "Blue Crush" in Roseville by limo and then went to the dance.

After the dance, they went out to eat again, went to a birthday party. and then came home at 1:30 in the morning. I went to bed early, and RM stayed up until Moe came home. Moe wasn't ready to go to bed yet, so RM stayed up with Moe as he talked about his fun evening.

I'm fortunate that Moe and RM have a close relationship and that he feels comfortable talking to his dad about anything...well, almost anything.

Here's a few pictures of Moe's winter ball:

Moe and his date Courtney

They make a good looking couple.


It's hard to believe that this is Moe's last formal winter dance for high school.

Loss

Last month I was pregnant. I went to my Obstetrician for an ultrasound and he gave me news that I did not expect to hear - my pregnancy was not healthy, and that I would eventually have a miscarriage.

This is not the type of news that anyone wants to hear a few days before Christmas.

My Obstetrician wasn't certain when I would miscarry, and told me that I would either have a miscarriage later that evening, or in the next few days. It took seven days for me to miscarry, it was an excruciating and painful wait.

I kept hoping that my doctor was wrong. I searched the Internet hoping to find a miracle, but deep down, I knew my pregnancy could not survive the cramping and heavy bleeding that I was going through.

After feeling certain that I would miscarry, I knew that instead of looking for stories of miraculous recoveries of impending miscarriages, it was time to search the Internet of what to expect when a miscarriage occurs.

When I went to my first prenatal appointment, I was given a pregnancy packet that included information on the hospital's birth center, lists of Lamaze & Lactation classes, and a blank form for the birth certificate. I was equipped with a lot of information that would help me maintain a healthy pregnancy.

However, you leave the doctor's office empty handed when you're going through a miscarriage. After my doctor told me the news that I would miscarry, he asked me if I had any questions. I had none. What questions do you have, when you're still trying to absorb the news that you're not going to be having a baby? The moment is surreal and overwhelming.

I left the office feeling numb.

It has been several weeks since my miscarriage occurred. I have gone through all the initial stages of grief: Shock, anger, guilt, depression and acceptance. Though some days I vacillate between anger, depression, & acceptance.

Here is what makes me upset; Giving me the pregnancy packet was premature. I believe most of the information contained in the packet should be given during your 2ND trimester or later. I mean do you really need a form for a birth certificate when you're only a few weeks pregnant?

Also, how is it that you can be given a list of lactation consultants & Lamaze classes and no list of support for women who are going through a miscarriage?

I was given no instructions, pamphlet, packet, or at least some kind of information on miscarriages. I had to rely on the Internet to do all my research .

I understand that even if my doctor gave me information on miscarriages, it may not contain all the information that I need. But, having some kind of information is better than having none.

I do not want to give the impression that my Obstetrician or the staff in his office were unfeeling. They were very professional, nice, and sympathetic towards my loss. But, they can do better in giving at least basic information to women who are going through a pregnancy loss.

I found many invaluable websites on miscarriage, but the one website that I found most helpful, is one that was created by a woman who went through a miscarriage. The website is called "pregnancy loss" and you can read it by clicking here.

I don't want women who are told they are going through a miscarriage to walk out of that office empty handed. They should know what is happening to their body and be equipped with the basic facts of miscarriage.

I plan to make a packet which contains basic and helpful information on miscarriage and include a list of support groups, websites, and mail it to the doctor's office.

I'm not sure if they will toss the packet to the recycling bin, but if they hand out my packet, or at least use a version of it, and it helps at least ONE woman, then it is worth the time and the stamp to mail it.

I have debated whether I should blog about my miscarriage or if I should bother to mail a miscarriage packet to my Obstetrician's office. And then I realized that healing comes in many forms. For me, part of my healing process was to write about this & maybe help other women.

It has been several weeks since I miscarried, and yet I still grieve for the baby that could have been mine. I am often amazed that I can still find something to laugh about after experiencing a traumatic event, and then there are days in which I find it hard to get out of bed.

RM has been extremely supportive, especially since this pregnancy loss has affected him as well. He was ready to buy the baby a football.

When I told him that the baby might be a girl, he paused for a moment and said, "Then I'll buy a pink fuzzy football."

He was looking forward to being a dad again.

And I wish I didn't have to lose my baby.

A new Christmas Tradition

A few days before Christmas, I received news that left me heart broken. First you ask yourself, "Why did this have to happen before Christmas?" and then your next thought is, "Why did this happen to me?"

You begin to wonder if you could find any joy during Christmas- and then you see your husband doing his best to make you feel better and a son that you don't want to disappoint. So, you take a deep breath, put one foot in front of the other, and you do your best to make this Christmas a memorable event...and it was.

We had a great dinner, Beef Stroganoff, salad and rolls. And for dessert, various cookies, pies, and in between meals, we ate tons of candy from our Stocking stuffers. (There was absolutely no guilt in the amount of calories I consumed, I enjoyed every bite, lick, and taste!)

We didn't get a chance to look at Christmas lights before Christmas and decided to do it after dinner. It was a good choice. Our neighbors suggested these 3 different neighborhoods that had great Christmas lights.

Our first stop:

There's something about watching Christmas lights that brings a smile to your face.


The second stop...was a complete Dud. The poor homeowner was so desperate for someone to see his Christmas light show, that he sat outside waving people over to see his lights. We politely "oohed" and "awed" and quickly left. It was a very sad little light show.

Our third and final stop was a neighborhood outside of our town. This neighborhood had 15 houses in its street court and all of them were elaborately decorated with lights and Christmas displays.

Traffic was heavy and we were in line for nearly forty minutes before we were able to park our car and walk. The wait was worth it.

Our family loves to hear choral singing, especially when it's Christmas Carols.

A new tradition is born: Watching Christmas lights on Christmas night!

I love our old traditions and the new ones that we create each year.

And despite the lingering dark cloud that hovered above me; for a few short hours, I was able to let Christmas...

"...wave a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." Norman Vincent Peale

(comments off)

Our Christmas Morning

Most kids have to wake up their parents to start opening their gifts-not at our home. Moe has never been a morning person, so for many years on Christmas morning, we would have to wait for Moe to wake up.

This Christmas morning, we decided to let Moe sleep in while RM and I went out for chocolate croissants and hot eggnog (taste even better hot!).

We came back home and Moe was seated on the couch wide awake, showered, and ready to open his presents.

Since Moe is our only child, it's hard not to indulge him on Christmas. So this year, I decided we should limit his presents and get him only 1 present from each category:

1. Want
2. Need
3. Wear
4. Read

Well...we did stick to those categories, but it was so hard to stick to buying only one item! (You don't have to wait until next Christmas to use this idea, you can also use it towards your child's birthday. For more information, click here.)

We open our Stockings first and then Moe is first to open his presents. RM was especially excited about getting this particular present for Moe.

Every boy needs a huge remote control car and every father has to play with it too!

Moe and RM were disappointed that they had to wait 8 hours for the battery to charge, so as soon as the battery was ready, they went outside and played.

Poor RM had to wait awhile until Moe was finished playing. He's seriously considering buying his own remote control car.

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Our Christmas Eve Tradition

Every Christmas Eve, we get together with my mother, my sister and her family. We used to call it the 'Orphan Christmas Eve'. Anyone who didn't want to be alone on Christmas Eve was invited to ours, whether they were a friend, neighbor, or relative.

We always felt fortunate to live close together and wanted to extend our home to those who didn't have family or didn't live near family during Christmas. This year we spent Christmas Eve at my sister's, and later in the evening, some friends stopped by for dessert.

Here are some of the highlights of our Christmas Eve:

Our schedules have been very busy this year, so it's not often that we can all get together as a family. This is the first time in a very long time that my mother was able to be pictured with Moe and my nephew.

What do you get a mother that has practically everything she needs?
Another framed picture of Moe!

This is my older sister - the best sister in the world!

My cool brother in law and my nephew.

No matter how old Renaissance Man gets....

...He still loves playing with toys!

Moe and my nephew are both only children, so they get a lot of presents especially from my mother. They open Santa Stockings from her and then more presents. Can you tell that Moe is anxiously waiting to open his?

Moe is very pleased with his "Christmas stack." He received movie tickets, gift certificates, money, and an awesome photography book of Michael Jackson- a collector's item.

This quote summarizes our Christmas Eve:

"The best Christmas of all is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up with one another."

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A Joyous time of year

There are so many reasons why I love Christmas. One of the things that I love to do, is picking out a tree with my family and decorating it.

I love that Renaissance Man and Moe wants to observe the holiday traditions that we have had for many years- hanging up the stockings, decorating the house, going to Christmas concerts, baking Christmas goodies, and making gingerbread houses.

I love that despite Moe's teenage years that he still gets excited about Christmas.

I especially love seeing RM putting up the most tackiest Christmas decorations around the house. If there was a prize for tacky decorations, we would win, hands down. Alas, I have my pride and refuse to post those pictures on this blog.

And one of the best things I love about Christmas is the message of hope that it brings. No matter what our family is going through, the spirit of Christmas puts everything into perspective for us.

Merry Christmas & Have a Wonderful and Happy New Year!