what a busy week!!  baking, christmas shopping, schooling, homegroup......so busy it has been here!  This past week we baked about 4 different types of cookies, sugar cookies, truffles, mexican wedding cake cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels....some were given to our good friends and lots of cookies for us!!

Below are a few pictures of my girls in the kitchen making their cookies.....The both loved shaping their butter cookies and frosting their sugar cookies.  This is the first year we've made so many cookies!  But I totally enjoyed it!   But I think I will not be baking for a while after this christmas!!

This Christmas Eve we will be heading to my cousins house and later in the evening to my hubbies grandparents house.

Christmas Day we will have it at our house my brother and his family and my SIL family will join us as they have been doing for about 3 years now!  So we will have a busy Christmas, but next year we decided that we will not attend my cousins house anymore, it's too much running around, we've been doing it for 9 years!!  I hope they don't take it too bad!  We thought of having my extended family and my parents brother and his family over all at once, but my mom thinks her family won't go for it, well what can we do, we are the one's traveling with little one's.... anyway.....

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

my girls making butter cookies with  my good friend Lisette

our winter bulletin board!!

our paper snowflake decorations

I can't believe my baby turned 2 this past Friday!  time sure flies!!

 We had a get together with the grandparents.  We had tostadas for dinner and birthday cake for dessert!  My hubby and I bought Natalia a cabbage patch newborn baby doll and as she looked at the baby doll all she could say was...oh! Oh! oh!  she was so excited! her very own Baby! 

My Hubby believes that God brought Natalia at the perfect time in our lives,  I totally agree, she was our families Christmas gift of 2004! 

Just thought I'd add a link to our church.....newlifechicago.org

my hubby  is awesome...late afternoon he did the grocery shopping ( he sure met my love language--acts of service)he then said that we were going out to dinner, just the 2 of us!  I thought he was joking.   he had asked my mom to watch the girls, they were already upstairs with her watching a movie

We headed out to Chilies, it had been some months since we've been on a date.  We have been out together for grocery shopping, mtgs, but that doesn't count.

We arrived at Chilies and were seated within 5 min. we has a cozy table for two!  we ordered a sampler: hot- buffalo wings, crispy chicken and eggrolls.....I ordered country steak with mashed potatoes,corn on the cob and garlic bread.  It was yummy!  I couldn't finish it all,  hubby ordered rib dinner.  He said it was really good!  we shared a chocolate cake dessert with ice cream.  we talked about our girls, all our goals as a family,for our marriage homegroup. 

What a nice time we had! (my other love language was met--quality time!) how I feel so.... loved!

We were gone for about two hours, just enough time to catch up and enjoy each other!  We bought home a slice of cheesecake for my mom to say thank you.....she's the best!  thanks, mom....

My daughter turned 9 today!  we plan to have a party for her this Saturday.  Tonight we made a happy birthday sign, made chocolate cup cakes and homemade pepperoni pizza's. Her daddy prayed a beautiful birthday blessing upon her...

 Grandma bought her, some lotion, 3- flavored chap sticks and deodorant (my little girl is growning up!)  I took pictures, but need to purchase a USB cord still!!

We purchased her a movie and a guitar --Viviana has been bugging us for weeks about getting her a guitar.  They had a sale this past weekend but were out at two stores, we took a trip to toysrus and they had them in stock!  So we purchased it! we decided to give it to her on Sunday, There was no way I would be able to wait until Today her b-day to give her the guitar, Poor girl was searching on ebay for some models she liked!  I say she's just like my mom, once they get the bug for wanting something,  forget it!... they must have it!

She was so excited,  she believes she can learn in a few days!

unfortunately we are not gifted in that area, we have a friend who plays guitar and sings professionally.   We will ask him if he can give her some pointers....

I also wrote her this poem for her b-day:

Today my first born has turned nine

a treasured gift, you will always be mine.

It seems just like yesterday, you were a tiny little baby....

Oh, so fast you have grown into a Godly Little Lady

Beautiful hair dark as night

with skin so soft like that of snow white

Gentle as a dove

How freely you give your love...

Oh, How you love your new guitar

keep practicing and you'll be a star...

Precious, you will always be

My daughter, Viviana, The Lord's gift to me

Just found out a couple from our church has been chosen for a homemakeover!! They are the Noyola family, they have 6 children and had purchased a 2 flat building, the hubby was trying to gutt out the building while the family were staying in an attic at a realtive house. While working on it they discovered it had asbestos(SP?) all over and lead and was infested with rats!  How awful!! but they then knew the job was too big for him to do alone.

This past tuesday they were chosen and wow they are now in florida with their children.   I believe they have never had a honeymoon getaway!

They have a great testimony to share!  Our Lord is so Good!!!!

The show will air in January!