Christmas time is here....time for joy and cheer(and Thanksgiving, too).

Now aren't you singing that cute Charlie Brown Christmas song? We listened to a radio station today that plays non-stop Christmas music starting on Thanksgiving...the kids love Christmas music. They have even swapped out their normal "Baby Baluga" and "Go to Sleep" bed time songs for "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town."
Thanksgiving was a hit, I have made it my life-time goal to NEVER have to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. So far, so good. Considering we are going on 10 years of wedded bliss, I am doing pretty good. We went to Mom and dad Kim's for dinner, where we look forward to the best rolls ever, and getting to play with cousins. The kids were nice and tired after the day of fun and eating, and fell right to sleep in the car before we even got on the freeway headed home from Temecula.

                                                         Rory and his cousin Lacey

                        Grandma Kim out out a big bowl of hard candy and the kids ate every one(mostly my kids).

                                                         The best rolls ever....seriously!

                                                                    My sweet potatoes.

                                                               Grandpa and Rory being silly.

                                                          Rory and his cousin Madelynn playing.

                                        A sweet moment between Mom and Dad(I think she was telling him to not botch up the turkey when he cut it).

We have the tradition of putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, but Micah was working all day, so we made it a Saturday afternoon activity/project. We patiently awaited Daddy to get done working that morning, and played with Mema and Grandpa at the park and ate to our heart;s content at the farmer's market. Once Micah came home, it was on! I forgot to take pictures of the kids decorating, but here's the finished product....(the kids LOVE hanging up the ornaments and looking at each one):

 Rory felt that we needed some gifts under the tree right away, so he put some of his trucks under there for Sydney:

                                                            The reason for the Season:

         My mother-in-law made this little elf for us several years ago, and I like to hide him around in different places and put him in funny positions for the kids to find the next morning...yesterday was lounging on the TV, today he was hanging upside down from the valance over our slider door:

 Each year instead of cookies and milk for Santa, we leave a carne asada burrito from a local taco shop and a mug of root beer for Santa...and a few carrots for the reindeer, too. Santa LOVES this way more than cookies. My sister-in-law made this plate for us so Santa knew it was definitely for him:

Yesterday we spent a few minutes filling in our advent calendar with the usual traditional activities we do each year at Christmas, so we are ready! And the best part? My shopping is DONE. And has been for weeks. What a load off. Merry Christmas!!

Talents

After recently teaching a lesson on talents in Young Women, and reading the parable of the talents, I have been thinking about talents a lot! I have been thinking about the talents that I posses, and the talents Micah and the kids and the people around me posses. I have been praying about what my talents are(the ones I know about and the ones I haven't yet realized) and about how I can make them grow and be more useful.It's amazing how little you think about your own talents. I sat down and couldn't think of any talents I have. But then with more thought and prayer, I have been realizing how many I really do have. Here's a list of ones I have but would like to work on, as they aren't quite at the level I think they should or could be at:
1. Cooking. Something I enjoy, and something I think I am okay at. But I think that this only gets better the older I get and the more I have cooked.
2. Public Speaking. I have always enjoyed speaking to a crowd. I'm not afraid of that, and find it exhilarating.
3. Decorating. This is one of those things that I never would have thought about, but I realized that many people have told me they like my decor, ideas, etc... when it comes to decorating my home, so I figure this can be a talent.
4.Writing. I have always loved reading and writing, and find that writing is a great way to express myself and my feelings.(Like this blog!).
5. Drawing. Drawing has fallen by the wayside, but it's something I am going to try to pick up again. I used to draw all the time, and was one of the best(or so my teacher said) in a few of my college art classes. I especially enjoy charcoal drawing the best.
6. Reading. I'm not sure if this qualifies as an actual "talent," but a talent is something you are good at and other people may not be good at it, and I can read several books a week if I have the time(and other people may not be able to do this), so why not?
7.Cleaning. Yes, a long shot, but again, something I LOVE to do, and think I'm great at. I take pride in a clean and organized home, and get a high from it!  Also something that people comment on whenever they come to my home. They probably are just thinking I'm neurotic, but I'll take it as a compliment! Plus, I'd rather have them come to a clean home then be ashamed of a messy one.

Okay, I'm drawing a blank, but now here are a few talents I want to develop:

1. Guitar. I have a guitar, but have no clue how to make nice sounds come from it, just incessant awkward strumming noises. Not really music that anyone would(including myself) want to listen to, or even tolerate.
2. Sewing. This is something that I can do, but I would like to get a bit better at. I have been able to sew a few things without the help of a pattern, and I can alter clothing, etc...but I would like to be an excellent seamstress, not just a so-so one.
3. Photography. I have a beautiful new camera, and want to learn to use it to it's full extent. I want to create some beautiful photos, and have people oooh and ahhh over my photo taking abilities.

So that is it...want to help me add to my list?

The shoe thief and the break dancer

Sydney loves shoes...here she is yesterday, after taking a pair of shoes from my closet....

Rory loves to break dance....

                                     

                                                                     Goofy kids...

Soccer!

Rory started soccer last night. it's through a soccer club here in Poway. It's 8 -4 year olds on his team(they are called the Power Rangers), and all but one of the kids is LDS. I think it's appropriate that their team shirts are white. Maybe we could get them to switch the name to Team CTR?
Rory had never played soccer, and with this league, they don't practice, they just have games every Friday night, so he just jumped right in. He really did good for his first time playing, and kept up with the ball. Unfortunately, he was goalie at one point,  and his talents lay elsewhere. he just stood there and watched the other kids kick the ball into the goal, it was pretty funny!
And he did make a goal, but into the wrong goal. All well, he'll learn!
Mema and Grandpa had to see his first game:

                                    
 Rory and Gene:

It was warm, so Grandpa got Sydney a popsicle.

                                    

                                                                              Goalie:

Halloweenie

That's what Micah calls it...it makes the kids crack up when he says that. This year since Halloween landed on Sunday, and because we don't go trick or treating on Sundays, we just stuck to the ward trunk or treat and carnival on Friday night. The kids had a blast, and got tons of candy. I was glad Halloween landed on Sunday this year, because we were able to turn out the lights, pop some popcorn, make some hot cocoa and watch Monster House with the kids. It was way better than going trick or treating!
First some pictures from our pumpkin carving a few nights before:

 Sydney was not happy about the pumpkins being carved, she kept crying and begging Daddy to stop cutting them..she especially didn't like the guts!

 Trunk or treat:

 Micah was having SOOOO MUCH FUN!!! Can't you tell?