Welcome to the 2nd Edition of Getting To Know Your Family and Friends, Christmas Style. You know the drill. Get crack-a-lackin'!




1. Do you put up outdoor Christmas decorations?
We always have but this year we had to crack down on the electric bill, times are tough, so we just decorated inside the gingerbread house this year.
2. Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie?
I don't think there is a cookie I could dislike. I am a cookie addict!
3. What is the best gift you ever gave someone?
A collage of pictures of this very special person for his family to have forever.
4. Do you like fruitcake?
Let's just say if all cookies tasted like fruitcake then I'd be 20 pounds lighter. I no like.
5. What is your least favorite Christmas song?
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I know it is the most wonderful time of the year and that is a classic, I just am not really feeling that guys voice & it's played way too much!
6. Do you go to church on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day?
I use to when I was little girl but now we stay cozy in our house and say our prayers from here.
7. Do you hang Christmas stockings? Where?
All over my chaotic little house! No fire place or mantel going on over here but they looks cute & colorful & Santa packs them up on Christmas Eve with lots of cool treats for the kids.
8. Do you truly believe "it's the most wonderful time of the year"?
Yes I do.
9. Have you ever worn a Santa hat?
I don't have one but the kids rock them and they look so cute & right in the Christmas spirit. I call them Santa's little helper's.
10. Are you more like Scrooge or Father Christmas?
Mama Christmas who likes rockin around the Christmas tree & bakin lots of cookies and then testing way too many to make sure they taste up to my sharing them with other's standards.
11. Do you hang mistletoe?
nope.
12. Does Santa wrap presents or just place them under your tree? Mrs. Claus does all the wrapping and this year she is thinking about setting some up right out of the boxes ( cause that putting stuff together on xmas morning can get a little frustrating with all those tie things, whose job is it to tie up the toys anyways?, those ties plain out suck!)SO some wrapped, some will be already to play with!
13. Can you ice skate?
I use to when I was a little girl but my feet always caved inward. I am sure now I would look like a total cutes on those blades. I haven't attempted it in many years. But I love rollerskating. Just thought I'd share that with you all.
14. Do you love snow?
Not too much. When I was little yes I loved it, no school days, hot chocolate after playing outside. Now I guess I am trying to love again through watching my kids enjoy it. But scary ice and being housebound when we get big storms...oh I just no like!
15. Which do you prefer-- giving or recieving?
I love giving!
16. Candy Canes-- yuck or yum?
yummo to me!
17. The 3 best things about Christmas?
All the houses lit up, baking lots of cookies ( and then eating them & of course sharing them with loved ones ) & listening to Celine Dion's xmas album, it's my favorite to wrap gifts to.
18. What type of decoration should stop being made?
I think any decoration can really work if you put some thought and creativity into it, my little pet peeve is when I drive my a house and they have like 1 strand of blue lights on a bushes and like 2 strands of white lights coming down the porch stairs, like what is that? what's the point, don't even put up the lights if they gona look like a crap, ya know what i mean?
19. Do you listen to 24/7 holiday radio?
Oh yeah, WROR. I love listening to the kids call into Santa between 5-7. Jordan listens sometimes with me and it's always rockin in the kitchen while I am baking.
20. Rudolph or Frosty?
I like Rudolph, he is so cute and I'm a sucker for the underdog!
Go Rudolph Baby!

Isn't this 1 cute gingerbread cake? Decorated by yours truly....Max & Bella Lu!
They were very proud of their decorating skills

Through the eyes of Max...Introducing Max's professional creative shots.

These shots may not make you crack up as they have made me, but just check them out anyways. They were taken by a little professional photographer named Maxwell Toledo.
Man, does he love snapping the shots! When he gets a hold of my camera and so far ( knock on wood ) he has been very careful with it, watch out! Macky takes some amazing shots.
I spoke with Santa and I am pretty sure Santa is bringing him his very own blue fisher price (made for destructive preschoolers, as sometimes Max is) digital camera.
I just laugh so much, everytime I look at these pictures.
They are so Max.






From the eye level pepperoni pizza shot, to the upside christmas tree shot, I just wanna pee my pants. He is so friggin cute!
My favorites has to be the cutes refrigerator shot. Who but Max would be so creative to capture the Simply Orange Juice and old pot of pasta in our beauty refrigerator? So Max!
I love you, Max.

Santa Baby!

"Hurry down the chimney tonight"
The kids keep asking me if it is Christmas. I try to explain soon, in a few weeks, but it is hard for a 5 and 3 year old to understand what a few weeks means. A few weeks to them sounds like a few days, a few hours, a few minutes...same, same, same.
So many nights, Bella likes to put on her Santa candy cane pj's and stocking cap and just get excited for the big day, whenever that is!
Everyday is a big day in her eyes, wish that we all could always think like 3 years old do.
Happy Christmas
Merry New Year, switchin it up for a change.
Rock on in this merry month of december and make everyday "a big day!"
love to all

What Love Means

I just thought this one was worth the read.
Children keep it so real, so sincere, we can learn alot from the mouths of babes.


What Love means to a *
*4-8 year old. .*
Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is *so* worth
it. Touching
words from the mouth of babes.
A group of professional people posed this question to a
group of 4 to 8
year-olds, 'What does love mean?'

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone
could have imagined.
See what you think.
------------------------------



'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't
bend over and paint her
toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when
his hands got
arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8



'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is
different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4




'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on
shaving cologne and
they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5



'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most
of your French fries
without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're
tired.'

Terri - age 4




'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and
she takes a sip before
giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7




'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get
tired of kissing, you
still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they
kiss'

Emily - age 8



'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening
presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)



'If you want to learn to love better, you should start
with a friend who you
hate,'

Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
------------------------------



'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then
he wears it everyday.'


Noelle - age 7
------------------------------



'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man
who are still friends
even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6
------------------------------



'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was
scared. I looked at all
the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared
anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
------------------------------


'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at
night.'

Clare - age 6
------------------------------



'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of
chicken.'
>>
>> Elaine-age 5
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and
>> still says he is
>> handsomer than Robert Redford.'
>>
>> Chris - age 7
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you
>> left him alone all
>> day.'
>>
>> Mary Ann - age 4
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me
>> all her old clothes
>> and has to go out and buy new ones.'
>>
>> Lauren - age 4
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> 'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down
>> and little stars come
>> out of you.' (what an image)
>>
>> Karen - age 7
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>> this one
>> 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she
>> doesn't think it's
>> gross.'
>>
>> Mark - age 6
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> 'You really shouldn't say 'I love you'
>> unless you mean it. But if you mean
>> it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
>>
>> Jessica - age 8
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> And the final one
>>
>> The winner was a four year old child whose next door
>> neighbor was an elderly
>> gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
>>
>> Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old
>> gentleman's yard,
>> climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
>>
>> When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the
>> little boy said,
>>
>>
>> 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
>> ------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>> When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find
>> out that God is
>> all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you
>> do is simply say
>> the following small prayer for the person who sent you
>> this.
>>
>> Heavenly Father, please bless all my friends in whatever it
>> is that You know
>> they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of
>> Your peace,
>> prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer
>> relationship with You.
>> Amen.
>>
>> Then send it on to five other people, including the one who
>> sent it to you.
>> Within hours you caused a multitude of people to pray for
>> other people. Then
>> sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.

We all should be brides married to amazement....

This morning I thought that Mary Oliver’s poetry was a good anchor, a good touchstone for these days. Here are some random lines:
…and what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
…and when it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.
…Instructions for living life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. ~ geneen roth.

The Green Necklace

And here it is, my beauty necklace from my thoughtful kind son:

Thank you, Jordan. Mama loves it because it is from you!
Thank you so much for thinking of me xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Isn't this what Christmas is all about?

I had to go running for my camera when I saw Jordan polishing Bella's nails with this teeny tiny bottle of nail polish. This is her very first time getting her nails polished and how memorable that she can always remember it was her big brother Jordan who did them for her. She told big daddym, as soon as he came home from work "Look, Daddy, Jordan helped me do my nails!" And she held them out like a beauty queen would.
And what makes it extra cute is that today was the holiday shopping fair at Jordan's school so he got to shop for his family. He came home with some sweet gifts for the ladies in his life. He told me "they didn't have much good boys stuff, so nothing for Daddy or Max", but us ladies were lucky because Jordan gave Bella her own little packet of baby nail polishes - pink, lavender & pearl - and it came with a teeny tiny file board. I got 2 gifts! A pack of 7 teeny tiny lipglosses ( my son's know their mama and how I love the lipglosses, Max too got me the same ones at the fair, too!) and Jordan also gave me what will now be the second beauty necklace ( as last xmas he gave me the golden beauty necklace ) and this year it is a beatuy green & yellow beaded beauty! I have it on right now! Picture of it coming soon. He is so proud. And I am, too.
Oh and he gave Bella 2 cute hot pink ornament ball elastics for when she rocks her hair in the bun style. She has them on. We waste no time.
Jordan was so proud of us wearing what he bought "his special ladies", and so he took it upon himself to help Bella polish her itty bitty teeny tiny little nails. One hand, lavender, one hand, pink. Her choice. Jordan's help. And that is what I love. Not only did he think of others as we venture through the Christmas season, as he is learning that Christmas is all about giving, but he went that extra mile and helped Bella put on her nailpolish. What a little memory to cherish.
As Chickie says "God Love Ya."
Amen