Just a few old Christmas pics.

A friend made this for us... a ginger carousel. I thought it was so cool!

presents!

I love this smile.

Q loved Santa this year... years past? not so much.

Winter beauty!

The Pitching Method

Quincey is one determined little boy. He does not give up on things that he wants very easily. In the past he has most often used kicking and screaming methods. But lately he has been using a method that cracks me up. I call it the 'pitching' method. Here is an example of a typical conversation.

Q: Mommy, I would like to watch the black spiderman movie.
Me: Not right now bud, you've already watched that a million times today.
Q: But Mom! It's got the red spiderman, and venom!,and the sandman, and the Hobgoblin! It's really, really good mommy. You will like it! I promise!

and another

Q: I would like a fruit bar (nutri-grain bar) please?
Me: No, we are going to have lunch in a few minutes.
Q: But Mom! It's soft and has fruit in it, and it's really really good, it's my favorite!

Never a dull moment :)

Drum Roll Please.......

Boston

My trip to Boston was an amazing adventure! Boston is an incredibly beautiful city. We lived right downtown and had an amazing time just walking the streets and looking in all of the shops. We also got to go to the Children's Museum, (which I forgot my camera for) but WOW!!! I bet that has the chance of being the best in the country. My favorite was the entire grocery store with fake foods. Q and I had a blast putting all of the fake fruits and veggies in our baskets and then, he put on a smock and stood behind the cash register and he rung up my groceries.

This was such a great bonding time for Quince and I. We had such a great time on this trip. I really feel like the whole opportunity was such a a great blessing for us. I really missed my Maiya who was watched by the very gracious and capable hands of my sister in law, but I am so glad that I came to my senses and didn't take both kids.

On the airplane ride there, Q's ears were hurting so bad, I was trying to get him to eat stuff, and suck on suckers, and chew gum, but he refused it all, and got out of his seat belt and I had to chase him down the isle! Can you imagine if I had both kids!? I probably would have started crying too, and trying to run down the isles. On the rest of the flights he did great! He laughed when his ears were popping and took naps. It was just that first one that scared him.

I am glad to be home (I missed my Geren), but grateful for the break. It was amazing to see Mi again after 6 years. We laughed and laughed and had some amazingly deep conversations and her baby girl is absolutely beautiful, we bonded. Anyways, here are some pictures.

This was the view from the apartment window

Went ice skating at Boston Common

Greeted Santa at Quincy Market

Ate great food cooked by our very own personal chef!

But most of all got to hang out with this incredible family.

Roswell Trip!

We sure had a busy week last week. After church we went down to Roswell with G's family and were back by Wednesday in time to meet my parents after their 18 hour drive. (read my next post to learn more about how that went.)
We had such a good time seeing Geren's sisters, and their families and of course his parents and Grandma!
We first went to Carlsbad Caverns. G kept telling me how big it was , but I didn't understand how big until I saw it for myself! It just kept going and going! It was quite the sight.

Entering the cave.

Going down, down, down into the cave.

Quincey passed out for the last half hour of the walk. It was quite the tiring adventure!

The next day we went to White Sands. WOW! I mean it really looks like snow.. but it is sand. It was beautiful. And we even got to go sledding in it. It was a really fast but fun and memorable trip.

They use a snow plow to move the sand off of the roads. Trippy.

Thanksgiving!

We had such a blast with my parents and sister here. Quincey had a blast with their dog Izzy. And I think Maiya really liked having Izzy here, because Q was too busy picking on Izzy to pick on her! We were able to relax and watch movies, and eat out, and sight-see!

As mentioned before this year was my first attempt at a Thanksgiving Feast.... and, thanks to all the help from my Mom, it was a success! I am linking all of the recipes that I used for future reference, but you are welcome to look at them as well. :)


Here is a link to the recipe I used for the Turkey. It really was so tender, juicy and flavorful.



And Here is a link to the recipe I used for the stuffing. I didn't put the sausage in it, because I didn't want the extra meat, but I did use roasted Chestnuts. I am pretty sure that is the first time I have tried Chestnuts and it definitely won't be the last! They are really, really good. And I loved the texture and flavor that they added to the stuffing.


We also made an amazingly easy cranberry sauce.... recipe here.
The baked mashed potatoes turned out pretty good, I think we used to many potatoes though, but easily remedied.

And the fresh green bean casserole I thought was amazing.

Good thing this is only done about once a year! My mom and I were pooped! But really, I am pretty sure that this is what caused my Mom's back to go out :( But hopefully it was worth it.

Free Holiday Music at Amazon

I just went here and got a bunch of free Christmas music. I haven't listened to them all, but so far my favorite is... I celebrate the day by Relient K. It is so beautiful.
There is one by Lady Gaga... it has a fun dance beat, but leave it to her to make Christmas dirty. Anyway, I am so excited that it is December! I really do love Christmas.