Christmas Letter

Christmastime 2011

Our Family and Friends,

Another year comes around with joy and humor, trials and experiences. Much has changed through growth and life’s processes. At the same time we experience sameness through our everyday routines: work, school, soccer games, orchestra performances, beach trips and family bike rides. And now another year draws to a close and we love to wrap it with a bow as we focus on the birth of our Savior and His gift of life to each of us. We love life with its ups and downs.

Albert continues to work for Nova Management in Monterey doing human resources, recruiting, staffing and government contracting. I am ever grateful that he has a good job and works hard to provide for our family. As Micah stands at the balcony deck waving goodbye every morning with tears in his little two year old eyes, I futilely remind him that we are blessed that Daddy has a job and can take care of us. Albert continues to work on his Ph. D. I love that he has a love for continuous learning. When he’s not working or doing school work, he finds time to play soccer, basketball and weight training. I am so very grateful for Albert and his love and support and leadership in our home.

I am finally finished with my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in English. I have completed all the classes, that is, and my student teaching will complete both my B.S. and my credential program. With mixed feelings I have put that student teaching off for a later time so that I can continue to stay home full time with my two year old. He, and all my family, is my first priority, much higher than anything else. My days start with running and Insanity workouts, getting kids ready for school and their various activities, outings with Micah, running our household, music (flute and piano), my ward callings, blogging here and there and enjoying the limited quiet moments with Albert. It’s just a good thing that children come one at a time and not all at once! I feel I am continuously being stretched but grateful that I can stretch. (: Being a parent is no easy task and this past year has proven that to its fullest on many levels. I am grateful to be a wife and mother.

The children are growing way too fast. I’m sure they must be aging more quickly then me when I see the astonished looks of people when I tell them I have four children and my oldest is fifteen. Jacen is a sophomore in high school and earned a 4.0 GPA his first report card with a weighty class schedule. He is preparing for his Eagle project and a combined humanitarian aid trip to Fiji in the summer. He is collecting children’s books to take and set up a library for the children there to use and will also be building bathrooms in homes where there is currently no indoor bathroom. He is an outstanding student and great reader. He wakes up each morning at 5:15 to get ready for seminary (an early morning scripture class). As much as he loves his sleep, he wakes up on his own each morning and appreciates starting his day in that manner. It is an exemplary behavior for a teenager. Linnea is eleven and in middle school. She is such a great sister and daughter. She is a peacemaker and always looking for ways to help. She loves her family and friends, having her own room!, playing her violin and loves crocheting. She is currently crocheting small soft blankets to donate to the local Animal Shelter for the kitties. She is a great student achieving the honor roll. Gavin is seven and in second grade. He loves anything active including sports. He plays every sport that he possibly can and excels at each of them. He is happy and a good student and excited to turn eight and be baptized in March. He loves to read his scriptures and talk to people about Jesus Christ. Micah is two and loves life! It’s so fun to see the world and life through the eyes of a two year old wherein everything is new and exciting and every outing is an adventure. I want to be more like him and find joy in every little thing.

We hope your year has been full of joy and peace and we cherish our friendship with you. We think of you often.

Merry Christmas!

With Love,

Albert, Jaime, Jacen, Linnea, Gavin and Micah

Our Christmas Season

I accidentally downloaded these pictures backwards so they are backward chronoligically. So we start with Christmas morning. We spent Christmas Eve in Coalinga with both Albert's family and my whole extended family and Jacen wanted to stay so he was there for Christmas morning.

Gavin was the first to wake up. We had gotten home late the night before so we were pretty tired Christmas morning. Gavin woke up about 7:15. Micah woke up by 7:30 and then we woke up Linnea so that they could all investigate their stockings together.

We had church at 9 a.m. so we weren't sure if we should unwrap the family gifts that morning but we did and had time (barely). Here Linnea is holding up an apron that had been previously made by her great-grama and Marilyn many years ago and Marilyn gave to her now.

Gavin got a new scooter that is so much harder but more adept for stunts! He is already so awesome on it!

Micah got a new kitchen that he just LOVES! Thanks to Albert for spending quite a long time putting it together.

We had a nice church service in the morning and then came home for home made cinnamon rolls and cocoa. We relaxed while the kids enjoyed their new gifts. I finished reading Brisingr. We went on a lovely walk in which Gavin was super excited about trying out his new scooter. We had a nice Christmas dinner. We read the nativity story from the Bible and did our candle lighting activity that we do each year and watched Joy to the World. Then bedtime. It was a beautiful restful Christmas Sunday.

Friday and then Christmas Eve we spent in Coalinga. Linnea and Gavin loved riding the horses and Micah loved feeding them carrots and petting them.

Christmas Eve morning we went to see Albert's home of his young childhood out at the Ranch.We enjoyed a breakfast at Harris Ranch Christmas Eve morning. It was so good and so enjoyable to just visit without the hustle and bustle of having the children with us.The kids loved decorating the sugar cookies that Grama had made and then they took them to the Senior Citizen home to deliver and carol to.Micah so carefully decorated his cookies.I loved decorating sugar cookies this year. We made some for Linnea to pass out to her friends, monogramed.Gavin made this cool gingerbread house.We celebrated Winter Solstice with our friends who are originally from Iran and this celebration comes from there. It was really fun.The kids enjoyed decorating gingerbread boys (and girl).

Fiji

Jacen is going to Fiji!
He will be going in June 2012 on a humanitarian trip to Fiji where he will work alongside local villagers in building bathrooms on homes that are currently without plumbing. He will also be completing his Eagle Scout project in donating and establishing a library for local children to use. Jacen is currently raising funds for this trip. If you'd like to donate, text HEFY + JZB to 20222. You will need to text YES to the confirmation text you will receive. Each text will donate $10 to his trip and will be added to your cel phone bill. Thanks!!

Streets of Bethlehem

Every year I want to take the kids to see the Streets of Bethlehem in Salinas and every year we are too busy. So this year I finally did. I met some good friends there and my great aunt and although we were quite cold, it was so worth it. It was amazing to feel like we were actually in Bethlehem seeing the Roman soldiers on horses and see the Christmas story re-enacted. The kids could do things like make clay pinch pots to fill with spices used in that time, make bead bracelets, stamp in leather and feed the goats and sheep. The volunteers bore sweet testimonies of the birth of Christ.

Thanksgiving

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. I enjoyed cooking up a small feast for us and decorating the table with my china and crystal that I so rarely can use. After eating, Albert and I just both crashed on the couch asleep and I was thinking that its strange because I really didn't eat a lot of food but I guess its just the kind of food I ate.... heavier than my usual. I'm glad I don't always eat like that because I just really didn't like that slugglish feeling afterward. I was anxious to go on a run the next day. We'll see what I do for Christmas.

Point Lobos

Before Thanksgiving we had some friends come over for a couple days and we went with them and also met cousins at Point Lobos. It's such a great place for hikes and tide pooling. The weather was perfect and we found lots of cool critters.

Isn't that a beautiful/crazy looking crab there?! God must have had fun creating that one!

Christmas Advent

Source: impressionen.de via Anne on Pinterest

I LOVE Christmas advent calendars. When I was a child it was one of my favorite things and my children love them as well. I bought early a chocolate advent calendar for each of my children (last year Trader Joes sold out before Thanksgiving) and I also bought a new advent calendar that is a little red wooden house with 25 doors that open in which some little special thing could be contained inside. So I decided to fold up a little paper with a scripture written on it to put inside each little door. Each evening we will read the scriptures as a family and by Christmas will have read the marvelous events of the life of Jesus Christ. So, I have copied below those scriptures in case any one else would like to use them. I am also printing off little papers with fun activities to put inside some of the doors such as "Let's make cocoa and play a game together!" or "Let's call Grama and Grampa and sing a Christmas carol to them!" or "Let's walk up to Candy Cane Lane together!" ....things like that. I love Christmastime.

St. Luke 2: 41-52

St. Matt. 3: 13-17

Matt. 4: 1-11

John 2: 13-22

John 3: 1-21

John 4: 3-42

Matt 5: 1-16

Mark 2: 1-12

Matt 12: 9-14

Mark 4: 35-41

Luke 8: 45-48

Matt 14: 15-21

John 8: 1-11

Matt 14: 24-27

Luke 10: 25-37

Luke 10: 38-42

John 11: 17-46

Mark 10: 13-16

Mark 10: 17-22

John 13: 1-20

Luke 22: 40-46

Luke 1: 26-38

Luke 2: 1-21

Luke 2: 22-38

Matt 2: 1-12

Birthdays

My Dad and I recently had our birthdays two days apart. We celebrated right between them with a barbeque dinner at my house (20 of us gathered) and this yummy cake from Layers (a bakery featured on the Food Network). Fun times. I don't feel any older. (:

Soccer Boy

Gavin's soccer season has come to an end. He had a great season. Coach Juan was terrific as usual. Their team never lost a game and Gavin made at least a few goals each game. He is a great great player and a great team player and has a lot of fun playing with his friends. He is excited about his huge trophy and we had a fun party at the pizza place in celebration. Of course I forgot my camera so I had to take the picture later at home. (:

Rainy Veterans Day

Being Veterans Day, the kids are home from school. I'm so grateful for Veterans and military men and women who serve our country. We are blessed to live in an area with many of the best of the military and have so many friends in the military.
As I was talking to my sister this morning on the phone about a hike at Point Lobos, it started pouring rain outside. So, she went and bought the new Harry Potter movie and they came over to watch it with us. Her kids hadn't seen it yet. So we snacked and watched and that was a lot of fun. Then I decided in the afternoon that my kids needed to get out of the house so we went miniature golfing at this cool place just a few blocks away but I'd never been to before. It's blacklight miniature golfing with an ocean theme. We had a lot of fun...even Micah. Too bad Albert always has to work. And Jacen went to Coalinga with my Dad for the weekend. Perhaps tonight we will go to the Shoe Game in which the PG and Carmel rival football teams duke it out on the field competing for a shoe. Weird, I know. It's a fun game to go to though.