Christmas: Installment 1

Here is the first installment of our Christmas celebration! It's actually good that Picasa only lets me do about 4 pictures per post, because doing all of them would take forever to narrate and you might get overwhelmed! haha...


Okay, this picture deserves a background story. There is a jolly neighbor here who dresses up as Santa Clause and comes and visits all the little children. Sweet. He said he'd call before he came. Well, on this particular night, Justin had loaned his camera to a sister in the ward, and she'd had it for like a week, but we thought, okay, we'll get it on Sunday. I'd been giving him a hard time all day (s) saying, "If only we had a camera!" Well, Justin comes in the house from outside and says, "Guess who I saw walking down the street?" I looked at him and said, "He has to come back! He can't come now! We don't have a camera! He's just going to have to come back!!" I didn't want Santa to come and not have a camera for our little baby!

Anyway, there ensued a mad scramble all over the house for any sort of camera. Including an old film camera with film sitting in the fridge to use. Then there was a digital that had no batteries; a digital that had no card; a digital whose screen was going out. Through it all, we finally got one to work-- and here ya go! Baby Caleb with Santa! He had no reaction whatsoever...just another person to hold him. But it was a fun story!

Caleb's nonchalance towards Santa.

This is another attempt to get a reaction from Caleb with Santa. But he just sat there. This was at the Hebert's candy mansion...for free! I went with my friend Jenny and her daughter M.

I just liked this ornament. It was also at the Hebert's Candy Mansion. Very awesome place: it has a chocolatopoly! haha

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your festivities, goodies, pastries, and families. I thought I would share a video of a classic Christmas song... with a new twist. Enjoy...

(Just as a bit of explanation, these are supposedly Monks who have taken a vow of silence, but still feel the urge to sing praises...)

Why Would You Do That?

That's the response I got when I held the door open for someone at the Post Office and let her go ahead of us. She literally stopped and looked at me, like I was something she'd never seen before, and asked, "Why would you do that?"

I was so taken aback by her perplexed gaze that I spit out, "why not?" Do people really not do nice things for each other? She characterized me as "very kind."

Really? Or are other people just not aware of the people around them? I don't think of myself as "very kind." I try to be nice, to do what I would appreciate...but that's nothing abnormal.

Or is it?

Do people stay in their little bubbles and not notice the people around them. We were the only people in the post office of like 15 people talking casually. She was very nice and seemed to really like us. That quick. We made a friend just by opening the door for her.

So, what do you think? Do people just not expect others to be kind to them? To show them a bit of decent courtesy?

I'd also like to say how it makes me a sad to hear "Happy Holidays" as a wishful goodbye versus a "Merry Christmas." Christmas is here! Shouldn't we be serving each other as we think of our Savior Jesus Christ? For every one that we serve, we are serving Him. For every one that we love, we are Loving Him. For every one that we share the Christmas spirit with, we are sharing Him with them. That's what I think. I reference my sister's blog post. We need to put Jesus at the forefront of our Holiday Celebrations. Our CHRISTMAS celebrations. Celebrate HIM.

and open a door for someone. :-D

Sunday Lessons

Church has evolved into a whole different experience since Caleb was born. Those three uplifting hours have transformed into one solid block of chaos intermingled with spiritual enlightenment. In honor of this new chapter in our lives, I would like to publish a top ten list of things that I have learned at church these past few months. They are as follows:



1o. Five diapers are only sufficient on an abnormally good Sunday.

9. One 3-4 month old baby requires 30-40 pounds of gear for 3-4 hours of church. It takes 30-40 minutes to move a baby with its required gear from one room to another. This is the major reason that Sunday School and Relief society are often held in the same room.

8. When you pick up your infant son, you instantly gain a crowd of adoring onlookers and friends. These people will smile and coo at you. They will tickle the air around you. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS BEHAVIOR. They are actually only paying attention to your baby. No one has noticed your presence yet. Smiling and cooing back at them will only make you look foolish.

7. While holding a baby, I can open doors with my love handles. I can close them again with my chin/neck.

6. A baby is a "golden ticket" to skip or attend any meeting you desire. This privilege must be used responsibly in order to avoid suspicion.

5. If you walk past the Elder's Quorum meeting with a screaming baby, no one will notice. If you walk past the Relief Society meeting with a screaming baby, over half of the concerned women will have made it to the door before you have even passed.

4. There are few things as satisfying as the sound a dirty diaper makes when tossed into the trash can from across the rest room.

3. If your baby is clothed when you take him out to change him, and naked when you bring him back, it is no secret what has happened.

2. Baby bodily noises will occur during lulls in the meeting. This will most often occur right after you raise your hand to answer a question. These snores, toots, and groans will be ignored by all except the young men and the missionaries.

1. Families are forever. That's all that matters.

Miscellaneous Fun!

These are some random pictures that I've had sitting here that need to get up!


This is a picture of the booties I made Caleb. They're a little bit big, but they're cute! And so is he!. :)

Justin made us dinner one Sunday a few weeks ago. He made gnocci and flan: gnocci is an Argentinian pasta made from potatoes. It's really good! We mixed it with pesto and alfredo. The flan turned out DELICIOUS! It's made from eggs...so it must be good for you, right? lol He is such a good cook, and is so willing to give me a break! I love it.

These were some pics from this past Sunday on our way to church. We had a light snow Saturday night (nothing compared to yesterday) and the trees looked all fluffy and pretty! I'm excited for winter, but I think a bit naive about what kind of winter it will be. Hopefully we'll have a White Christmas!