Christmas Tag

I took this tag from Donna...and I've gotten different versions in E-mail form. It's a fun CHRISTMAS tag!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot, Hot, Hot...HOT CHOCOLATE(if you've seen the Polar Express, which I watch on a daily basis usually, you know what I'm talking about.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or sit them under the tree? Wraps em!

3. Colored or white lights on tree and house? Colored...but it may be pretty to do a themed tree with white lights...hmmm

4. Do you hang mistletoe? We did the first year we were married, but let's be honest, the first year you are married, who NEEDS mistletoe?!?! :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually we do it all with the tree...since all our decorations are packed with the ornaments. SO, probably a few weeks before Christmas since we live in AZ and a tree won't last longer than that!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmmmmmmmm, we don't really have anything thing that stands out...of course TURKEY is yummy and not all too common throughout the year. Idunno, I'll have to think!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My parents bought my brother and I mini Christmas trees and we each had our own ornaments for it. Then, they'd put one or two gifts under THAT tree and those were the ones we were allowed to open first, before waking them up! I loved it!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? OHhhhhhhhh, I will remember this for FOREVER!! Here's the story, I saw a pack of the yummy, kid gum, like bubblicious or something and asked my mom for a piece. She said, NO, it's for your brother. I got angry and she just told me it was because he lost a tooth...ummm, hello?? Doesn't the TOOTH FAIRY handle those things? Well, I got ANGRY and started crying and screaming(over dramatic much?) and ran into the bathroom and shouted that, "what...is Santa not real either?" to which there was silence and I cried my eyes out in the bathroom.alone.crushed for life!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? It works out really nice because Seth's family has a big Christmas Eve tradition where my family never did, so we do Christmas over at the in laws on Christmas Eve and then Christmas morning, we have our own families Christmas and then go to my families for Christmas day, night. It's a good system!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Before we had any ornaments, we got a lot of the cheapest things we could find, which were the white, blues, silver plastic snowflakes. So, that's what the main THEME is, but we have since accumulated quite a lot more YEARLY ornaments that make it fun!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Snow is great in moderation!

12. Can you ice skate? Not well, but after a few minutes I can at least stay "up"!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Isn't this bad, but not really. The year I got my truck was AWESOME...but I think when I was younger it was more exciting, even if the gifts were smaller.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Now, with my kids getting older and understanding, I love to see the wonder in Keat's eyes and the excitement. I like to teach him why we REALLY celebrate Christmas and I love watching him as he hears all the stories of Baby Jesus and His entrance into the world. He, of course digs Santa too, but it's great to have him understand the real importance!

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Chocolate! I love all the yummies you get in your stocking. I'm not a big pie person, so I just like the candy!! :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We don't have a lot of traditions yet...maybe we'll start this year. We try to do all the things that I did when I was younger, Zoo lights, The railroad park, Temple Lights. It's all really just such a fun time! One thing that we have done for the last few years is to get a coffee table book from Deseret. First, we got the 10 Virgins story with amazing pictures. Then, we got "God Bless Your Way" last year. And this year we got the Reflections of Christ in book form with all the amazingly depicted scenes from Christs life. It's a good way to build our library.

17. What tops your tree? A krazy star thing that matches the iridescent snowflakes!

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving!! This year Seth and I decided no gifts for us(besides a new camera which we NEED) and we'll get our family really great gifts that they will love. It makes my day to see that happiness!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? There are SO many, but I really have always loved "O Holy Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful".

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I like the flavored ones, but the peppermint ones I could live without!

This was a great tag, and I tag anyone who wants to share their CHRISTMAS favorites with me!

Day tripper...

A few weeks ago we decided to take off and head to Sedona for a few hours. Years ago, just after we were married, Seth and I found this hiking spot in Oak Creek that was PHENOMENAL!! Seriously, it was beautiful! So, we asked our good friends, the Goodman's, to join us and we all packed into the van!

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For days leading up to us going, Seth would talk about the last time we went and how it rained on us and the colors were just gorgeous and blah blah blah!! Well, we find the spot, and get in a somewhat long line of cars waiting to park. Apparently, the lot was full, so people were just waiting in line as people left. Also, right as we get there, it starts to sprinkle. Soon, the rain picks up, and the line moves faster as people are coming back from hiking and getting outta the rain. We all packed lunches so we start eating...thinking the rain will quit soon, it IS Arizona, right?

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After about an hour of being stifled, (remember, I'm newly pregnant, and being in a car with 4 adults and two kids is stifling!!) we decide to head back up to Sedona and walk around, sad to leave the hike behind. We begin to drive and find a spot to get out and look, so we do, it's the first time we've been outta the car in a while, and see that the rain that WAS where we just were is NOW heading to where we are NOW!! Make sense?!

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Well, we figure if the rain is moving, we should go back to "the spot"! We turn around, go back and park, and the rain has let up!! YEAH, long story short, we had a WONDERFUL time and got some OKAY pictures.

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Guess what Santa is bringing us this year...oh yeah, a brand new camera!!

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So, enjoy the photos, sorry more didn't turn out!!

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It's Handy Manny!!

I forgot to tell this story. This happened last week when Keaton had Lilee in the radiology lab getting her VCUG done.

Keaton and I were waiting in the hall outside the room and an older(45-55) Hispanic/Native American man stood beside us. He was obviously waiting for someone nearby as well. At first, Keaton didn't notice him, but when he did, he started saying, VERY LOUDLY, "mom...MOM...It's HANDY MANNY"!!!

I was kinda embarrassed as it appeared the man had heard us, and tried to get Keaton to stop talking. Of course, he kept repeating himself until I acknowledged him...wow I love that stage...and by that point I was doing EVERYTHING I could to keep from laughing.

The man didn't seem too pleased. If he KNEW who Handy Manny is (a Hispanic Disney character that has a magic tool box with talking tools and they all work together to "get the job done" while teaching Spanish phrases) he probably would have laughed. BUT, if he DIDN'T know, he might have thought Keaton was referring to our paid lawn man or something like that. Of course we don't HAVE a paid lawn man, but I can see where offense may have been taken.

Either way, it was hilarious and Keaton is turning into a VERY funny little guy!!

The MIRACLE of PRAYER

Okay, I am SO sorry it has taken me SO SO long to update, and I appreciate ALL those who have been so concerned about my sweet Lilee girl!

GREAT NEWS...our prayers were truly heard and answered!!

We had the VCUG(which I should clarify, is NOT surgery, it is a test to see if the kidney reflux is there). The radiologist said there was NO sign of reflux. YEAH!

Then, on Thursday, we met with the urologist who performed the surgery. She had an ultrasound to check her kidneys and be sure no damage was done during the time before or after the surgery.

The nurse called me in to the lab and showed me the ultrasound and said, "We REALLY didn't think this surgery was going to work". When they went in for the laproscopic surgery two months ago, they found that Lilee didn't have any "tubes" for ureters. The surgery consists of injecting DEFLUX into those tubes to create bulges that will be a barrier and keep the urine from splashing into her kidneys. With NO tubes to inject, they were thinking about pulling out of the surgery. However, inspired from Heavenly Father, I'M SURE, they decided to inject the DEFLUX into her bladder walls, HOPING it would create the same bulges over time. I will repeat what the nurse said, "WE REALLY DIDN'T THINK THIS SURGERY WAS GOING TO WORK!" It was the first time they'd ever done this before and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!!

I KNOW that it was a miracle.

I know that days before the test, Lilee's body was still broken, I just could feel it! I also know that I had a very special experience that showed me that Heavenly Father HAD IN DEED heard our prayers!

I am SO grateful for all who sent up prayers and asked for healing. It has been a very uplifting thing for our family to go through! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!! THANK YOU TO A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER who listens to our pleas and has the power to HEAL! We are so grateful to not worry about this anymore!!! THANK YOU!!

napping early

Today, Amie is watching Keaton while I take Lilee to her ultrasound appointment with the urologist. I asked Keaton this morning...

me: "Keat, do you want to go play with Aiden and Alex today?!"

Keat: "YEAHhhhhhhhh!"

me: "Okay, but you need to take naps first so that you aren't crabby, and then after you wake up it'll be about time to go play."

Keat: "okay"

I just walked into his room and he is laying on his bed...it's 10am...he doesn't nap until noon...silly kid! I guess he's pretty excited!

**Lilee's final appt is today and then I'll update on everything I hear, but so far so good. The VCUG showed no sign of reflux on Tuesday, so as long as her kidney's check out, we'll be in the clear! Updates later!!**

Lilee's tests...

Today is Lilee's second VCUG! This will determine if her kidney reflux has been corrected or if the first surgery was unsuccessful. I have been sick about this for days. If her condition requires the second, MUCH MORE INVASIVE surgery, she will be in the hospital for up to a week. It is a very serious surgery and I am scared to pieces for my little miss! Seth and I know the power of prayer to be true and miraculous. We are asking all who care for Lilee to send up your prayers to Heavenly Father today, ask him to heal her and keep her safe. We, of course, pray that no surgery is needed, but if it is the only way to heal her, we pray that she will be well and it will go smoothly! Thank you for your prayers and your support. I don't think I've ever been quite so nervous about finding out the results of a test before. Seth has to go in with her for the VCUG since I can't be in the radiology room in my current condition(pregnant). I am glad he will be there with her though, I don't want her to be scared during this test! We will post tomorrow about the results as long as we find something out! Again, thank you for your prayers, they are powerful!!

Look at My Tickers

Take a gander at BOTH of my tickers. The one up top of my darling growing inside of me right now...IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A BABY NOW!!! YEEEHAWWW!!

And, the one to the RIGHT...Uncle Nick will be home in ONE MONTH!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!

Halloween 2008

We hope everyone had a SPOOK-TACULAR Halloween this year. I am hearing lots of wonderful things from people this year about how great their Halloween's were...and ours was no exception! We were SO busy this year and it was SO FUN!!
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Our festivities started off the week before Halloween. Lindsey and myself(mostly Lindsey) held a Murder Mystery Theater Dinner party. The Laudies had one last year that was MUCH smaller. This year, we went all out. We had 11 couples there, all who dressed up, and all who made the party such a success! We did skits, ate food, and goofed off! Thank you to Kimber for letting us use your MUCH bigger and nicer house than mine...I was relieved not to have to clean!!:) Also, thanks to Lindsey for putting SO much into this party...you did a great job and it was a great night!!

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Nacho Libre(seth) and Sister Encarnación(me)

Hockey Player(andy) and Angel(amie)

Me, Mandy, Seth, and Liz

Kimber, Samara, Mandy, and Lisa

Seth and I arguing over our "affairs", Kimber, Andy, and Dave*

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The next day was the Becker Family Halloween Tradition. Every year we get together and play some games and eat some food and carve our pumpkins. Living in AZ, the pumpkins never last more than a day, but it's always fun!

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I think Keaton may be the only kid who LOVES the pumpkin GOO! It took a little more prodding this year, but he thought it was funny!

Even Lilee got her hands dirty!

Admiring what she had done...

The finished products. Seth's was the pirate-ee one 2nd from left, and mine is on the table on the right. I stole the idea from the Ray's, but it is an ode to ME this year. This way I will always remember exactly what I was doing on Halloween...blech!

L-R Tinkerbell(lilee), Peter Pan(Keat), Batman(Aiden), Froggie(Kolby), and Darth Vader(Alex)

Nana with the kids

Can you get ANY sweeter than this picture!?

Kolby and Brady...the little stinker!

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Some Halloween pumpkin painting!!

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For those who do not know, I have been called as the Activities Committee co-chair in my ward! I absolutely LOVE this calling, it was my favorite at the institute! What can be better than planning parties with someone else's money?! :) Well, our first BIG event was the Halloween Trunk or Treat. We were successful in getting it switched to the day before Halloween this year, so we hope everyone was happy about that! So, on Thursday, we headed over the the church and opened our trunk and enjoyed chili, cornbread, chili-dogs, macaroni for the kids, and LOTS OF CANDY!! The costumes were great, and our committee really came through for us! Despite excusing myself TWICE to throw up in the ladies room, it was a wonderful night and a total success!! Since I was busy doing ward stuff that night, Seth was in charge of both kiddos which meant there wasn't a lot of time for picture taking! SORRY!

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The morning after the Trunk or Treat, this is how I found Keaton. He had all his candy laid out, we're still not sure how he managed to get it off the shelf, and had sorted it! What a cutie!

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Then, it was time for the big day! Keaton had been excited all week and I think he thought it was over after the trunk or treat! We headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house since they just got back home from the high country! We were happy to see them and happy that they could see the kids for the first year in their costumes. We went door to door with a few of the close neighbors, who were very generous to greet us so early.

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I love this picture of my mom and Lilee...so sweet!

Grandpa and the Twinkies!

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THEN, we headed back home, picked up some pizza on the way, and made it in time to hit about 20 houses in our neighborhood. The kids managed to EACH fill their buckets a couple times this week, so we are set for the year! Lilee's costume was HUGE(I made it and got a little TULLE HAPPY)! She looked so cute walking around but wanted to go where SHE wanted to go. It was a problem at my parents house, but that night, she walked across the street and plopped herself down. She was done. So, we put her in the mini stroller and the tulle covered her whole face! She looked SO CUTE! That's where she stayed the whole hour we trick or treated! The first house we went to there was this thing that scared you and even though it scared Keaton, I don't think it would have been so bad had I not jumped and/or screamed also. Keat was convinced all dark houses were scary, so we had to coax him each time. It was fun though. Every time you asked him if Peter Pan could fly. he'd put his bucket on the ground and flap his arms...so cute!

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As if the kids weren't tired enough by this point, we still had another party to go to. About 8 pm we headed over to the Boatman's home. It was decorated SO great for Halloween. They had fantastic food and even better company. Lilee perked RIGHT up and the kids spent the next half hour, at least, chasing each other in a circle! We all ate until we thought we'd burst and played until the kids couldn't take it anymore! We made it home about 10:30 and the kids crashed within seconds!

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With all the business, we didn't get any pictures that night! Oh well! I'll have to get some Target photos done soon!

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It really was a wonderful Halloween, and I'm so happy to have such beautiful kids to add to the excitement of the holidays! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Where to start...

Okay, I guess the best place is from the beginning...

A few weeks back we had a great and busy weekend. It started out by Seth and I going to his 10 year high school reunion! Now, I must say that I have been the driving force for about a year on this one...I really wanted us to go so I could "see Seth the way he was in high school". Well, I think I put a lot of expectations on good 'ol Benson high...or maybe just his particular class, because the whole event was pretty lame-o. Nothing was organized for the reunion, nobody knew the class of '99 was even there. They didn't announce them at the game, and after getting TOTALLY drenched from the POURING rain, the group(of about 25 grads and families) spent the rest of the evening catching up...at a local BAR! Needless to say, we didn't have a lot to add in that whole scene, so we took off and headed to our hotel. The nicest part of the reunion was just having Seth-ee to myself! Thanks Nana for watching our kiddos! I think maybe we'll think twice before signing up for the big 20 year reunion! :)

OH, and we didn't get a SINGLE picture of the reunion. Blame my husband for that one...I wasn't about to be the big dork insisting on catching the memories...it was up to him if he wanted a snapshot!!

Moving on...

We came back on Saturday, picked up our kids, and headed over to super target! It finally opened down the road and I'm STOKED! We got all the traveling necessities and got back home, did some laundry, RE-packed, and went to bed. Woke up early Sunday morning, and hopped in the car and traveled to our favorite getaway destination...CALIFORNIA!! This time, we left Mickey and Donald in Anaheim and took a trip with the whole Becker clan to San Diego.

We went STRAIGHT to the beach since Keaton had literally been ASKING for the beach each morning he woke up for the entire previous week! So, we hung out there for about 3 hours and let the kids run around. The water was a bit too cold to actually let them get in this time, but Keat had fun digging TUNNELS with daddy, while mom and Lilee snuggled on the blanket!

The next morning, we all woke up and headed to Sea World. THANK YOU THANK YOU to Seth's friend from work who gave us two free tickets to the park! It was awesome!! not to mention it saved us about $100. Having that many people together got a little krazy, but we had a great time! We ended the day with Chuck-E-Cheese and crashed at the hotel!

Tuesday we headed home, but not before stopping at Old Town San Diego first! Seth and I love this part of town and it was fun to let the boys run in and out of all the old houses! We got some yummy candy, ate some yummy Mexican food, and settled in for a long car ride home! It was a great weekend and though we were REALLY tired, it was worth it!! Again, we didn't get a LOT of pictures at Sea world, so just imagine two ADORABLE kids and lots of sea life...it was fun!!

Here are some pictures we DID manage to take!

The BEACH

Waiting in line at Sea World

The boys were being serenaded and thought it was HILARIOUS!

Look at that belly!! It's almost as big as the pumpkins!

My little Twinkies...oh how I love them!