Hustle and Bustle of the Season

With all the hustle and bustle between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have completely forgotten about my blog! I am so sorry but you will see in a minute what has been occupying my time Of course there has been much going on. Way too much I would say. And here it is already with Christmas only 4 days away! Since Thanksgiving we have had a lot of celebrating going on (but what else is new!)… between a baptism and too many wonderful birthdays, we keep right on eating a lot of cake!

Baby Joseph Hornak's Baptism!

Donna Barker's 60th Birthday Party!

Great Grandma Angelo's Birthday Party!

Cousin Lunch!

Papa Angelo's Birthday!

Of course we are most looking forward to celebrating Jesus' Birthday. Ellia has been really excited about the Christmas décor. She loves our tree and all the decorations but she is most into the nativity. Commenting on baby Jesus and always scoping him out at church. Pointing out his mom and dad and asking him if he is cold. She is fascinated by the lights and objects that people have in their yards too. On our route to daycare she remembers where certain ones are, like frosty the snowman, and points him out or waves. But the best is when she spots a nativity scene and tells me she saw Jesus. My heart just melts.


She refers to Santa as Ho Ho. I think because we have a book that says Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas when you push the button. But she loves to watch her Christmas DVD’s and (of course) dance to the Christmas music.


We also are celebrating the birth of Reese Dorothy Curry born on December 16th weighing 7 lbs, 13 oz. She is adorable and we can’t wait to meet her in person. Congratulations Adam and Julia!


One of our main goals for the New Year is potty training. Ellia has started to get the hang of it and will tell us or ask us to go now and then. I think Santa is going to put a potty under the tree for her so she can start practicing at daycare. We will keep you posted! (She is going to kill me when she is older for this picture!)


I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Please take the time to really reflect on the joy and true meaning of Christmas. One of my favorite songs this time of year is Away In A Manger. The part that I love the most is below and just seems like the perfect prayer to keep in our hearts, as innocent as it may seem, having him near and counting on his tender care gives me a true peace of mind. Love you all very much!

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray

Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to heaven
To live with Thee there

Ellia is 2!!!

Well my little miss is now 2! Time just keeps going by too fast. She is such a little lady now. Whether playing pretend with her babies or Vader, she makes Kevin and I smile. She sings and dances all the time. Jumps, runs, draws, counts, and loves on us just about every day. The best part of my time with her is when she looks me in the eye or just says out of the blue “Mama… I love you.” Again, as a time of reflection, I looked back over pictures from the past two years. Unable to believe how much she has grown and what a little individual she has become. And to think there is still so much more to come. So much more to enjoy teaching her and learning at the same time with her. A child is a true blessing and gift from God. Their innocence and eagerness make me grateful each and every day. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3

Her birthday celebration seemed like a week’s worth of fun and partying. Sunday the 7th was my Dad’s 70th birthday (Praise God!). We headed to my parents house to celebrate his birthday, mine, Ellia’s and my parent’s 35th anniversary. Ellia of course was overwhelmed by her presents which included a baby who pees on a potty, a pink laptop, cloths, and a new princess kitchenette set. Of course we had to open the baby and see just how the potty thing worked. Alex even wrote in his card and drew a picture of Ellia and himself that I thought was the cutes thing ever. We had 3 cakes, well a big cake for Papa Ollis, little cake for Mommy and a special Razzle Dazzle cupcake for Ellia. She didn’t quite like Dada stuffing her cupcake in her face though. She is such a girl. Likes to do things on her own and be clean about it DADA! Haha.

On her actual birthday I took in cupcakes and little mini donuts for the kids at daycare. Aunt Jen bought Ellia a birthday shirt and matching pants that she proudly wore and would rub her shirt to show people it was her birthday. I got some shots of the kids in the morning eating their donuts. The teachers said they sang to Ellia all day long because they were so excited about a birthday happening amongst them. That night she opened some gifts which included a singing happy birthday cake that you have to blow out the candles. She is obsessed with this concept. We then took Ellia to Chick Fil-A (her favorite), then headed to Cost Co’s (also her favorite because she can run up and down the huge isles). What a great birthday!

Ellia had her 2 year check up the next day and she weighs 27 lbs. 10 oz and is 34 ¼” long! Such a big girl! She did so well at the doctors (as long as they were not giving her a shot) and got a sticker and pretzel for being well behaved. The doctor was impressed with how well she speaks and her vocabulary. Funny note, she was passing gas when the doctor came in and laughing and he started to laugh too.. she must get that from Dada!

Nana and Papa Angelo had sent Ellia’s birthday gift in the mail early, which is a table / easel for her to draw. She loves it and gets so into creating her pictures. Nana and Papa were out of town living it up as Mexicans in the Riviera Mia for a week so we celebrated the following weekend (14th of November) with all the Angelo family for another birthday party. Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ron were so gracious to let us use their home for the party. Love ya for that! Magerie and Ellia had a blast playing with the punching balloons Nana got for them, chasing each other around the house, and playing pretend with their babies. Those two are going to have such fun sleepovers together.. haha. Nana and Papa brought back everyone gifts from Mexico and the girls got little purses and dolls that they loved. Ellia LOVES her purse and wears it all the time.

Oh and yes Mama is 30!!! I had a wonderful time for the weekend of my birthday. We went to Saga, a Japanese Steak House, with 15 of my friends and family. It was so funny and the best experience I’ve ever had at a hibachi(except for the service, a little slow). However, the cook was hilariously entertaining and even allowed me to attempt to build a volcano out of onions. I think I did a good job. I even danced around with the spachelers (Gasp!). He also made me a heart shaped rice cake! Haha. We then went over to the Cadillac Ranch right next door to meet up with some more friends and family. We got Ellia’s teacher Miss Chrissy to babysit so it wasn’t too late of a night for us. But It was just enough to celebrate. Hello 30, I’m going to make you even better than my 20’s!

Well soon Thanksgiving will be here. There is so much to be thankful for and I will save you from my sappiness. I hope you all enjoy your time with family and friends and get the chance to truly reflect on what your Thankful for. Love you all and until next time, may many blessings surround you and fill your heart with joy.