Can't Get Enough of this Everyday Love!

Wow, it's been two weeks and there's been a bunch of little lovlies that have been happening.

CJ is quite the waffle obssesser. Just about every day he asks to have waffles for breakfast and lunch, and sometimes both. We have four different irons, so there's a lot of selection, and here he wanted the hearts in favor of Valentine month - just one day wasn't enough love for him!
And then just this past week little man ran a fever in the middle of the day so after a bit of mortin I put him down for a nap. When he woke two hours later his face had completely swollen! I had never seen anything like it, it didn't even look like him and it made me want to cry! He was happy though, a happy little state puff man. I called the doc but we couldn't get him in till the next morning. This is how he looked when he woke up the next morning


He's still so happy even though he's sick! At the doc I was also clued in on his full body red rash (how did I miss that?!?) Which sealed the diagnosis of Scarlet Fever, aka strep. He was given a penicillin shot and is now on the way to recovery.

I have reflected on the blessing of that penicillin shot and the many children that died of scarlet fever before it was available, the book Little Women and the story of the Velveteen Rabbit come to mind. It just makes me ever so thankful for the era which we live in.

On to Teensie Buns . . . Our little Lizzie Jane learned to read this week and is enjoying the electronics section in the paper. She's just so technologically minded!

Okay, so maybe I just caught her at the perfect pose, but it sure is cute. Janie is our little rug rat these days, but prefers to be carried rather than scoot on her belly. She's even up and walking a bit as she holds onto our little wagon. We'll see how far she gets!


Though I don't have a picture to match, Jeremy just returned from California where he endured a practical for his California theatrical pyrotechnical license. He felt it went well, and we're all hoping that he'll be fully licensed soon. Why is he still working on a CA licence if we live in TX you ask? "It's a pastime that pays" he'd tell you. We hope that he'll still be able to travel to CA for weekend shoots throughout the year. Too cool.

And on to me. Well, I am very proud of my blooming interest in cooking. I have had some wonderful guidance, thank you Hannah and Stevie, and just this last week I made some yummy granola. It was so pretty I had to take a picture.

Other than that I'm back into making hair bows for Janie and reading. I'm currently enjoying "An Assembly Such as This" Its Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's POV, kind of like Midnight Sun but without the vampires and all the thoughts of killing, but I still love it just the same :>

In other news . . .

Steven leaves the MTC tomorrow for Hungary! We are all so proud of him and know he will serve the people in Buedapest well on behalf of our Savior.

And Kara is engaged! Donny proposed and they hope to get married in the next year. There have been ideas tossed around about a Star Wars theme, wouldn't that be a blast! Janie could go as princess bun head and CJ could be Yoda. RAD!

More to come next week

Let It Snow!

When we moved to Texas, none of us expected snow. Neither did the locals because everyone is just as surprised as we are at all the lovely white. It snowed all day Thursday, the day that CJ, Lizzie and I attended a Sunbeam valentine party.


It would have been only a handful of children and their parents, but school was canceled so all the older brothers and sisters were there too. It was a zoo of fun and we played games, decorated cupcakes, and had a wonderful time playing in the snow.


It was my and CJ's first time in an all out snow ball fight with other kids, and we both loved it. CJ stayed up high on the snow covered trampoline and chucked snow balls from above while I was on the front lines being attacked by the children. It was fantastic!

Pulling Together

Thank you to all those who helped support our family in raising money for Helping Hailey. With the help of donations from individuals, a ward family in Las Vegas, and a grant, we'll be able to get Hailey her helmet. All of the efforts have also given hope and spiritual uplift to all those involved and beyond. It has been a fantastic "ripple in the pond" effect and we can only say Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

Hailey Needs Your Help

Hey Everyone, this is my niece Hailey and Elizabeth, what a couple of cute cousins!

Hailey is my sister's daughter that was born only a couple of weeks after Elizabeth

Hailey is full of smiles and giggles and is the joy of her parents lives, she also needs a bit of help. Her head is still very soft and although her parents have tried to help, Hailey's head is flat in the back and has also begun to dent inward.

After seeing a specialist she has been recommended to wear a helmet to prevent further damage and hopefully correct the current condition. She would wear the helmet for about 12 weeks, letting the soft tissues harden in a secure environment.

The helmet is of course very expensive, $3800 to be exact. It's too much for one family to pull together, but not too much for a small family community.

Already there is a Valentines fundraiser dinner in the works in Las Vegas through Kara's ward, but if you can help as well, anything would be appreciated. I have set up a DONATE button that works through PayPal at the top right of the blog or you can email me to set up another way to donate if you would like, prism61502@yahoo.com.

When the amount has been raised I will update my blog with the results and remove the donate button.

The sooner Hailey can receive her helmet the less damage she will have to correct and the shorter amount of time she will have to wear it. The specialist says that this will be a one time need and that once her tissues harden she will be in no danger.

Thank you for your support!

What's new

So we had a fabulous new year with a late night at the De La Portilla home till about 10pm and then rang in the new year on the couch, asleep. I hope that's a good omen for the new year that we'll get plenty of sleep in 2010. The next morning however we hopped a flight to San Antonio for out last time with the other Texas Hunts before their move to Travis in No. Cali. We spent most of our time at their home and at the mall, just crawling the stores and enjoying eachothers company, oh, and there was the four hour stint at Chick Filet. Who can turn down food and a play place? At the mall the kids demanded a pic with uncle Ronald, we have to do something about that I'm sure!



I was trying to think what we've been up to this past week and really it's just been run of the mill, so to speak. The kids have been stinkin cute of course, but other than that I'm still just getting the lay of the land here and unpacking some last boxes

It's been pretty cold here lately, so much so that we're having to drip our faucets at home during the night to prevent pipe bursts, but who drips them at the church? No one I guess because one burst on Sat so church was canceled. We spent our time at home as a family and taking a drive that put both kids down for naps


CJ just loves playing hide in the cupboard, and Elizabeth and her dad love to play the piano when CJ the Ham will let them. It was a great day.

Other than that we're just doin' our thing every day, looking for a house on the side and planning our next trips to see family and friends.

Till next time!

Christmas

We had a very merry Christmas these past weeks. We were delighted to have Richard and Brandolyn and the kids with us for the holiday and had a fantastic time just being together and sharing the season.


This was Lizzie Jane's first Christmas and she was loving the lights and bows, as expected, so any wrappings went to her eager hands for exploration.

And Christopher enjoyed his beloved Mickey Mouse Puzzle Cube from Santa that he asked for. The letter he wrote to Santa was very heartfelt and his good boy efforts were rewarded.

The super duper highlight of the season was the snow. It started to come down in the storm Christmas eve and continued through the night.


It was enough to play in Christmas morning but now freeze us, so it was perfect. I was sure that it would melt by noon, but the wonderful white stayed with us for almost a week in some places.


The children loved going in the snow again and again, and Chris kept wanting to play in it even after is all melted.


We just had such a wonderful Christmas, we hope all of you out there were touched by the birth of the Savior as well and will be part of the Spirit of service and love all year long.

Our Big Trip

We went back to California recently and one of our stops was the Alita home where it felt like we had never left. CJ played with Emma and Charlie and I played with Hannah while Elizabeth looked like a cutie. We indulged in holiday revelry with wassail and gingerbread men and the children made Christmas chocolates with Melodie and Sarah.


It was so good to be back with friends that are as close as family. With Hannah's help I even made a greenery wreath from the boughs of her tree. I love trying something new and plan to make one every year from now on.


Our next stop was to stay with my Dad and Gale as we said farewell to my brother Steven as he leaves on a mission. He has been called to the Budapest, Hungary mission and is so ready. His talk that he gave at church proved this again and again. He has a testimony of our Savior and his gospel, of the Plan of Salvation, and has a burning desire to share the gospel with the people of Hungary. He is clean and ready to go, and I couldn't be more proud of him. He still has his signature since of humor and whit that I know will aid him while gone, and keep him pliable in the hands of our Savior.


While sitting in the foyer I snapped some uber cute pictures of Chris and Lizzie. Too cute!



It was fantastic to see family that I had missed since moving. My mother and sister came out from Las Vegas as well and it was such a treat to get Kara's daughter Hailey and Elizabeth together for dress up and girly pictures. They are only a few weeks apart and I just know they'll be best cousins growing up if we can get them together enough!


I also saw Keith, who came down from Utah. It's always so nice that to see someone, rather than just talk to them on the phone. Keith's wife Amber is due end of February so I think that will be my next flight out.

Then our last stop was to Sacramento for a quick stop in with the Hunt family. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and played day in and day out with aunt Vanessa, Abbi and Jack. CJ and Abbi are like two peas in a pod, and Jack is Janie's protector! At one point I was cleaning out Janie's little nose and Jack looked so worried for her! He wanted to make sure that she in no pain!

One of the nights we had super tasty spaghetti that Grandma made at Vanessa's home and Janie just loved it! She was such a noodle mess that Aunt Van let her take a bath in the super big sink. It looks like her own personal bath tub! We just had so much fun every day that it was hard to leave.

We flew home on the 17th of Dec, the day before Jeremy's 30th birthday. He deserved so much more than what I could give him, but I tried my best to make him a Homer cake and we had a steak dinner at home. It was small, but we were together after a long time apart, so it was just enough, he said.