CUP of Hair and some Christmas Memories

Some people pay big money for this hair....as for Marcus this is his natural beauty in the morning - Sohpia well she wasn't feelin' it quite yet!!

The day after Christmas, my sis and I were chatting and decided it would be great to let the kiddos spend one more night with me, grammy and papa and let my sis and Rod go home to Newport and have a date night! So Sat morning these little ones snuggled up on my sofa in front of the fire with Marcus' chocolate froggy (he gave it this name because it got chocolate on it's nose one day :) and Sophia's blanket I made her that DOES NOT leave her sight or else - hence the reason it's in almost every picture I have of her!!??

Since it had been so cold and they had been inside so much, I decided to get us all out of the house for a little bit so we headed to the mall for a ride on the carousel and a warm chocolate chip cookie! Auntie JoJo came with us :)

Sophia couldn't wait to ride the carousel

Let's just say we left the mall seconds after this moment when Sophia had a meltdown cuz it was time to get off the Clifford ride...........

Sat morning we packed up and headed to my Sis and Rod's house for the day. Rod and Dad just wanted to veg and watch football so we let them and the kids and girls headed to fashion island to see the tree....here's also a glimpse of their new beautiful house. My Sis has great taste!!!

I must say...the cutest presents under any Christmas tree!!

Only in Newport Beach.......

As you know, my most favorite thing in the whole world that God gives us....SUNSETS and this was my gift as we were leaving Fashion Island so I ran to the edge of the parking structure to soak it in :)

Time for baths and bed and time for grammy, papa and me to say goodbye to the

Brooks family :(

My favorite photo of the day cuz Marcus took it :)

Ahhhhh more Christmas memories!!!! Cheers!

Family CUP of Christmas

Christmas with my family was at my house this year....we had a great time and lots of fun memories with my niece and nephew!! Marcus is almost 4 and what a fun age at Christmastime...

Sophia.....she's in charge.....don't let those curls fool ya!!!

Auntie AA gave Marcus a red scooter this year - he loved it although his daddy made him try it for the first time on my driveway going downhill :( he was a little scared.

Sophia just wanted to open gifts no matter what they were or who they were for but she got 2 dolls that she loved :)

These precious little ones bless my life more than words can express - this face is just a glimpse of the love I receive whenever I'm around them......I am truly blessed!!!
Grammy and Sophia relaxing Christmas afternoon!

I cooked up a mexican dinner for Christmas/Rodney's birthday that was YUMMY! I made Mama O's chicken enchiladas, chile relleno, beans and mounds of rice! It was great fun having us together and everyone spending the night at my house - we were on every sofa, aero bed and floor space but it was worth it!! xoxo

I hope your Christmas was extra Merry!! Cheers!

Christmas Birthday CUP

Rodney (my brother-in-law) has a Christmas Birthday!! My sis does a great job every year of making Christmas evening about him so he feels special and still has a brithday celebration. He's from London so American birthday celebrations always blow him away anyway so it's fun to make a big to-do out of it for him! He's the bestest BIL I could ask for (partly because he gave me the 3 of the most amazing and beautiful nieces and a very handsome and incredibly kind nephew).

He can grill up a mean BBQ (hence what he's doing in this picture from last Sat night.......he made us yummy tri-tip!!). You name the meat and he'll make up some connoction he calls a "rub" that may scare you as he's grabbing for any spice or sauce from the cupboard he can get his hands on but as soon as you taste it you don't care what he used :)!

I love you Rod - Happy Birthday!!!!

My mom made her famous Apple Pie for his birthday - this one was his she made a 2nd for everyone else :)

CUP of Life

I feel bad that Christmas gets so busy that we lose sight of some very important things. A dear friend of our family passed away before Christmas. He was a good man and left a great legacy behind. We will miss you Larry! written by his daughter:

LARRY G. MILLER

Larry Miller died at home on December 18, 2008, one year after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He was 67. He was born in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and moved to California as a young boy. He graduated from Culver City High School, class of ‘59, and attended Santa Monica City College before serving in the Army reserves. He was a proud member of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, starting the training tower on August 29, 1964. He retired in 1993 as an Engineer and moved from Valencia, where he and his family had lived for 20 years, to Nevada City.

Gingerbread CUP

I decided to start a new tradition this year and instead of buying gifts for some of my friends children, I invited them over Friday night to make gingerbread houses, a pancake dinner, cookies, hot chocolate and a movie and a date night for Mom and Dad. I of course could never do this alone so Auntie JoJo helped me! We armed the house with plastic and off we went!!!

I decided to assemble the houses before the kiddos arrived - GOOD CALL!!

They couldn't wait - but dinner was first!

Dinner was Chocolate Chip Snoman pancakes!!!! Noelle and Kate helped their Auntie JoJo mix up the batter.

Sydney LOVED the mini chocolate chips!

Noelle couldn't decide which she wanted more of - marshmellows in her hot chocolate or more pancakes (she had both.....sorry Kari!!)

Owen was the youngest but kept up with all of them - especially when it came to how many pancakes he ate....he almost ate more than Joshua.

Will was diggin' it all!

Kate just was happy as could be!!

Kaycie helped me make the icing so we could get started on the Gingerbread houses....

They ate about as much candy as they put on the houses....afterall it's Auntie AA's house and no parents were around!

Joshua, Noelle and Kate loved their house!

TA DAAAAA.......The final masterpieces!!

Jake and Will took a break to race their cars down the long hallway....Movie time!

Jake with the girls :)

Cookie time :)

Not sure who was more tired at the end.....

I feel truly blessed to have these little ones in my life and for all my precious Auntie AA moments! A lifetime of great memories!!

Cheers!

Birthday CUP

So I'm a little late on this but better late than never......Monday was my dear friend Jenny's birthday! I love this girl so much and her friendship is an ENORMOUS blessing in my life. I have had some amazing memories with her, conversations (much couch time...wink wink), laughs and tears! Jenny, I have been blessed and honored to watch you grow the past 10-15 years into the woman you are today. I have loved seeing you grow with Brian, become a wife, mom and country girl all in a couple years! You are an encouragement to me everyday! I love you my sweet friend and even though you're miles away - WE will never be!

Hugs to you and I hope it's been a fabulous birthday week!

P.S. I still LOVE this pic of us from your Bridal Shower!!! Cheers!!

CUP of Truth!

I read something that really hit me this morning that I wanted to share:

"Nothing can satisfy the need but that which created the need. This is the meaning of Redemption - it creates and it satisfies".

Oh I love this!!!! I'm so thankful that the God that created our need for Him so perfectly satisfies the very need He created. At this time of year I find such comfort in such a simple yet incredibly profound and oh so very important truth!

I hope you are enjoying the true meaning of this Season!!!

Cheers!!

CUP of Laughter (and tears)

My sister sent this to me today and I have not stopped laughing all day!!

I truly have the most precious nieces and nephew - this picture captures Marcus and Sophia's VERY different personalities perfectly! Although in Sophia's defense, when Marcus sat on Santa's lap at the same age he didn't cry but he would not crack a smile for nothing (not even chocolate or soda or anything Auntie tried to bribe him with!) he just frowned. I think this is an Ellen submission!!

Happy Monday!! Cheers!

CUP of Beauty

Sunsets are one of my most favorite thing in the whole world - they are a big Jesus Romance to me!! Well today I sat in my office at home designing away and working on orders all day long and this picture was my gift this afternoon - it didn't last long so I grabbed my camera and took a pic from my desk.......BEAUTIFUL!!!

Cheers!!