Sometimes life gives you lemons....

And sometimes you get a whole lot of lemonade. I/we have been VERY blessed lately to receive lots of lemonade. Nothing earth shattering. Just a whole lot of "little" things that helped make our trip to Iowa more enjoyable. First off, we got to Iowa (St. Louis airport) and were told that they were out of carseats where we had rented our car, even though we had reserved one. I walked over to the next car rental desk (Avis, my new favorite car rental place) and asked if they had carseats. Not only did she try her best to match our previous price quote, but she gave me the carseat for $10.00 for the entire 8 day rental, instead of the normal $10.00 a day. And the lady was SO SO nice. I couldn't believe it. Nice people at the airport. I'm still in shock.
Then, while on our trip, Paul's Grandmother, on his dad's side, passed away. At first this would seem like a bad thing. But she was 96 years old and had lived a good life and we knew it was just a matter of time. It was a blessing that we happen to be there visiting, that Paul got to say goodbye to her, and that we were able to attend the funeral.
And finally, when we went to leave Iowa (well actually we spent almost all our time in Nauvoo, but still), we got a call on my cell phone that said our flight had been canceled due to aircraft mechanical problems. Once again, seemed like a bad thing right? Well, we happened to leave a little early for the airport, and were able to catch an earlier flight that was a direct flight (instead of our other flight which would have connected us in Dallas with a long layover). We had only 1 1/2 hours before our "new" flight departed. We were still ten miles from the airport when we got the call about our flight being canceled and we still had to return our rental car first. I wasn't sure we would make it, but everything just fell into line perfectly for us. Their were NO lines anywhere. The shuttle was waiting to take us to the airport (from the car rental return) and everyone was SO nice and accomodating at the airport. They even rearranged other people's seats, so that we could have four seats together on the plane. We ended up getting home almost 4 hours earlier than we should have and had time to run to the store to stock up on a few food items, so we wouldn't be without on Sunday.
I guess this may not sound so wonderful to many of you, but it was a HUGE blessing to me, who, after our awful flight this past July, had just about sworn off flying forever. I just might be tempted to get on a plane again (well after the baby is born and we have all gone back to "normal" life).

Pictures of Christmas and our trip to follow. Still have to take them off my camera. Too lazy right now!!! :o)

Amazing Grace- Computer Controlled Christmas Lights

My friend Claire had this on her blog and I just had to copy it. It is so fun to watch!!!



Amazing Grace Techno - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Baby #3

I had my official 20 week ultrasound this morning. Everything seems to be going well so far. They double checked the gender and it's still a boy, so I guess we really need to start thinking of a name. We're real excited for this little baby to come and join our family. Ashlyn has even warmed up to the idea of having a brother.
My doctor is going to continue keeping a close eye on me and the baby though, since I have had problems in the past. I'm sure everything will be fine. In the meantime, it will be fun to have more ultrasounds.
Here is the latest picture of the babe. I thought I would preserve his privacy and not show the "it's a boy" shot, but don't worry Grandpa Gary, it really is a boy.

Our Yesterday

It was kind of a crazy day yesterday. Leah woke up, like normal, had a waffle for breakfast, sat and watched Elmo. Everything seemed normal so far. Then....she threw up. Uh oh. I can't have a sick kid today. I have a ton to do. Fortunately, and unfortunately, Paul woke up not feeling so great either, so he stayed home from work. Ended up being a great thing for me because I needed the extra hands. Even if they were sick hands. So it appears Leah has a little stomach virus. Hopefully it should clear up today or tomorrow. Ashlyn and I went to playgroup in the morning and made Gingerbread houses. Then I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, ran some errands, and took Ashlyn to her Christmas program for preschool in the evening. Poor little Leah continued to be sick all day, but at least she slept well. Gave us both the rest we needed. Here are some pictures from our day.

Getting ready to start our Gingerbread Houses


Making the house. Fun fun!!!


And eating the gingerbread house. We decided it was more fun to eat, than to look at for the next two weeks, while it went stale.


Ashlyn and her favorite little buddy Sebastian at their Christmas program.


Singing some Christmas songs (and one Chanukah song also. Afterall, we do live in Los Angeles.)


Sick, but still cute. And even smiling occasionally.

The past couple of Days

For Family night, we had some friends over. They brought a really cute hand puppet nativity story that we all got to participate in. Then for activity/snack, we made christmas shaped rice Krispie treats. It was quite messy, but kind of fun.



Then yesterday those same friends came over to play. Ashlyn and Leah had a blast. They played outside on the patio (for a very short time because it was quite chilly), then played with playdough, rough housed on the couch, and watched a cartoon. What a night.

Wetzel's Pretzel's

I don't know why, but these little things make me oh so happy. Maybe it's because they are soft and warm and chewy. Maybe it's because they are bread (my favorite thing to eat). And if you couple them with some cheddar cheese sauce and lemonade, they make THE PERFECT treat. I rarely go to the mall without getting one, and I think I will continue to eat them until the day I die.

Happy Birthday Paul

To my most FAVORITE (and only) husband. But he would be my favorite anyway. Tehehe.... Today is Paul's 30th BIRTHDAY!!! What a big day. We celebrated all weekend starting with dinner at Chili's on Saturday. Then last night we went to my mom's and had a little family party with Taco salad for dinner (Paul's choice). Simple guy to please huh? Then we had yummy Texas sheet cake (also Paul's choice) and opened gifts. This morning Ashlyn and I got up early and made Paul breakfast in bed. It was suppose to be a surprise, but my little cutie was so excited, she told Daddy what our plan was days ago. Oh well. It was the thought that counted, right??? Here are a few pictures from the grand event.

I was cleaning up after making Paul's cake and noticed the mark the spoon left on the counter. Apparently even chocolate smiles at the thought of being chocolate. Yum yum!!!


Getting ready to eat some dinner.


Paul modeling his new coat that my brother gave him.


New noise canceling headphones (so he can maybe get some stuff done at work, without interruption). He also got a new movie, the Art of Ratatouille book, and ITunes gift cards. Plus cash from his parents to buy what ever he wants. Yahoo for him.


Here's the cake. The girls had to help blow out the candles. Notice the two large PINK candles? Well, I forgot to bring some and these were the only two my mom had. So we said they represented each daughter. If you can see, I put a match down at the bottom of the cake to represent the baby in making. Don't want to leave anyone out.


Leah was definitely loving the cake. After it was all said and done, I think she ate two pieces.