HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ASHLEY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!

Christmas day

We had a great Christmas. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!

"Christmas time is a glorious time of happy friendliness and unselfish sacrifice; a time of increased hospitality, devotion and love; a time of subduing of selfish impulses; a time of renewing friendships, cementing loosening ties, and the swelling of the heart. It transcends the individual, the family, the community, the nation; it approaches the universal, crosses borders, and touches many nations of the earth......

"Though we make an effort to follow the pattern of gift giving, sometimes our program becomes an exchange--gift given for gift expected. Never did the Savior give in expectation. I know of no case in his life in which there was an exchange. He was always the giver, seldom the recipient...His gifts were of such a nature that the recipient could hardly exchange or return the value. His gifts were rare ones: eyes to the blind, ears to the deaf, and legs to the lame; cleanliness to the unclean, wholeness to the infirm, and breath to the lifeless.

"His gifts were opportunity to the downtrodden, freedom to the oppressed, light in the darkness, forgiveness to the repentant, hope to the despairing. His friends gave him shelter, food and love. He gave them of himself, his love, his service, his life. The wise men brought him gold and frankincense. He gave them and all their fellow mortals resurrection, salvation and eternal life. We should strive to give as he gave. To give of oneself is a holy gift." (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball)

(Pres. Thomas S. Monson) "At this joyous season, may personal discords be forgotten and animosities healed. May enjoyment of the season include remembrance of the needy and afflicted. May our forgiveness reach out to those who have wronged us, even as we hope to be forgiven. May goodness abound in our hearts and love prevail in our homes....The Savior gave freely to all, and His gifts were of value beyond measure. Throughout His ministry, He blessed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the deaf to hear and the halt and lame to walk. He gave cleanliness to the unclean. He restored breath to the lifeless. He gave hope to the despairing and bestowed light in the darkness. He gave His love, His service and his life. What is the spirit we feel at Christmastime? It is His spirit-the spirit of Christ."

May we all be more Christlike not just at Christmas time and be more loyal in serving Heavenly Father and His children. I am happiest when I am giving service, whether at home to my children and family or to others. To quote President Eyring "...in the stories of Christ's birth we can see and feel who He was and who He is....it will lead us to forget ourselves and to lighten the load for others. That can make everyday fell like the best of our Christmases past".

Ali is home!!

And the boys love having her home.

Fun Times!!

On Friday night Conner had his first piano recital. He did a great job.


With daddy playing Jingle Bells.



With his teacher sister Larson and her students.



With sister Larson.

With daddy, they did a great job.

Today we went to Disney World, it was cold when we woke up this morning. But the day turned out just perfect, it was about 65 degrees all day. My visiting teacher had 4 tickets that needed to be used by December 20th and she gave them to us. She is so nice!!!!

Kindergarten party

The kindergarten classes did a reindeer rotation. They went from classroom to classroom doing different activities and getting a little treat from each classroom. I was able to go and help out.

More Christmas stuff and Geography Bee

Making a gingerbread house.

With our Hawaiian Santa at our Ward Christmas Party.

With the gingerbread house he made at school.

Here is a video of Brent and Conner practicing for the recital. Daddy gets to play Jingle bells with Conner at the recital. The video turned out blurry.

Yesterday at Parker's school they had the final questions for the Geography Bee. Parker got 3rd place for the whole school. The entire school took a test and Parker's score was one of the top 30. Those top 30 got to participate yesterday and he got 3rd place. Our neighbor from accross the street and Parker's best friend got 1st place. They were very excited. CONGRATULATIONS TO PARKER.

Quote for today

I have always had a terrible memory. It seems to be worse now that I am older. I have read the Book of Mormon many times and I have a hard time remembering many of the stories in it. Brent's memory is amazing to me, how he can remember so much I don't know. I am not dumb, I did great in school, because I studied hard. It wasn't easy for me but I worked hard. Because I was feeling discouraged I decided to write down a sumary of what I was reading about that day from the Scriptures and my feelings about it and it is helping me remember a little better. It is taking me a long time to get through the Book of Mormon this way but that is fine with me. I read this quote from Wilford Woodruff and it made me feel better, because it isn't required of me to know everything at once.

"Do not be discouraged because you cannot learn all at once, learn one thing at a time, learn it well, and treasure it up, then learn another truth and treasure that up, and in a few years you will have a great store of useful knowledge which will not only be a great blessing to yourselves and your children, but to your fellow men". Wilford Woodruff.

10 Ways to take control of your health

I have always enjoyed reading articles about how to stay healthy. In the newspaper today there was an article on 10 ways to take control of your health. Besides washing your hands for 20 seconds, avoiding certain behaviors like smoking, drinking and eating too much these ten things can dramatically improve your health. They are easy and inexpensive.

1. Take a walk. Walking triggers all of our bodily systems: digestion, stress relief, thinking and preparation for sleep.

2. Keep a food journal. Writing down everything you eat can double your weight loss.

3. Stop drinking soda. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

4. Strengthen your muscles. It keeps them from weakening as we age.

5. Chill out. Stressed-out people are more vulnerable to colds and other viruses.

6. Eat out less. It is one of the main reasons for the dramatic global rise in chronic diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

7. Be a social butterfly. Joining a club, sports team, belonging to a church group or keeping contact with friends can help reduce your risk of having a stroke, dementia and even the common cold.

8. Get your zzzzzz. Sleeping well is critical to good health, especially during the flu season.

9. Eat whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs and whole grains have low glycemic index. Which means they won't raise blood sugar and insulin levels as quickly as processed foods.

10.Find your passion. Do things that bring meaning to your days.

Christmas things

Conner with Santa in Puerto Rico.

My visiting teaching companion gave me this "yummy" Christmas gift. I think it is really cute, the card reads, your' getting "muffin" for Christmas.



I heard a sister in our Ward say that she was "not a professional mormon". She did not say it in a bad way, she just meant that because she wasn't born in Utah she did not do the stuff that Utah ladies do. For example in my case it would be quilting and canning. I don't do those things because we don't do them in Puerto Rico, why would you need a quilt when it is 90 degrees all year long, and as I noticed when I went back a week ago, 2 lbs. of strawberries are $12.00 (I pay about $6) no wonder they don't eat them very often. The first time I remember eating a strawberry I was almost 10 years old, and it was on our trip to the Washington D.C. temple, to get sealed. The family that we stayed with had strawberries growing in their yard and I thought that was the neatest thing ever. I have loved strawberries ever since. I thought it would be fun to learn how to make strawberry preserves. It wasn't too bad, I think it turned out really good. I don't own a canner so I still have yet to learn how to do the canning thing. Remember I am not a professional mormon.

We had The Festival of the Nativity this past weekend at our Stake. They had activities for the kids to do. They made ornaments and got to dress up. Conner did not like the idea of dressing up but Parker got to dress up as a shepherd.

Conner playing the piano

Conner has been taking piano since September. This is a video of him practicing for his recital this month.

Oh Christmas Tree..

Puerto Rico vacation

We went to Ponce, Puerto Rico for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time, even though it was very hot and we got eaten up by mosquitoes. We went to visit the Castillo Serralles (Serralles Castle). It was closed due to the holidays, so we could not go inside. The castle is located on one of the rolling foothills to the north of the center of the city of Ponce. Built in 1926 it belonged to Eugenio Serralles, a leader in the sugar cane industry during the early part of the 20th century.

Eating at Pizza Hut

My mom

My nieces, Cristina and Ivette

Visiting my aunt Ana (my mom's sister) who is 95 years old and still lives alone and takes care of herself.

My niece Cristina who loves everything Japanese

We showed the boys my dad's grave

Going shopping at the Mall which was decorated for Christmas.

In front of the giant tree at the Mall.

The marina near my mom's house.

My good friend Maricarmen came from San Juan to see me and took us to the marina. These are her little girls, Cristina and Marialis. I have known her since I was 8 when my family joined the church.

With the pelicans at the marina.

My friend Maricarmen.

Playing at my mom's house.

The boys washing abuelita's (grandma) car.

Conner watering the grass.

Conner and his cousin Ivette.

My friend Tai-Li (to my left) and her sister Betty. I have known Tai-Li since kindergarten.

My mom's oldest brother Uncle Rafael and his wife my aunt Lipi.

I have a lot of wonderful friends. This is Mildred, we have been friend's since we were babies and she married my cousin.

At Cana Gorda beach.

My brother Jose and his girls.