Christmas Time " Ramirez Style"

This little boy makes my heart melt and my smile grow bigger every day. Christmas is a time for joy. A time to be thankful. A time to remember what Christmas is really all about. I hope each year we can teach Christopher that Christmas is a time for giving and not getting. This year we had a memorable Christmas and we thank everyone who shared this time with us. We love you all.

my...

The night before Christmas.. Chris wants to sit with his new PJ's mommy made for a Christmas picture.

Santa has come..... Let the fun begin....

We got this wonderful "Santa Cookie Plate" from Jaime mother. Alot of things happen in 2009, and we just wanted to be together with our family and friends. More so we want everyone to stay healthy and happy.

The Ramirez Family Christmas Tree Before Santa made his way to our home

My hand wreath.... Christopher love art projects this one was Red & Green watercolor and then i just traced his hands.... It will also be put up during the holiday's

Me and Christopher made this paper mache snowman to add to our Christmas things. it was so fun to make.


And the Grinch with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow.

Stood puzzling and puzzling, How could it be so?

It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes, or bags.

And then he puzzled and puzzled. till' the puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't thought of before.

What if Christmas, he thought, didn't come from a store.

What if Christmas, perhaps, means alittle bit more?

Dr Seuss

Disneyland and Legoland 2009

Socal Trip

This year my In-Laws wanted to do a Christmas trip, as their gift to us. So we went to Socal. Medieval Theatre, Disneyland, Legoland. This was the first time that all 9 of us have been on a trip together. And i will have to say it was a lot of fun. Not just getting to go to all these fun places, but to actually get to hang out and be together. Because when we go home to visit we always have to much going on, and we don't get to see them much.

Dave and Buster @ the Orange Block: The 1st night we were in town. Jaime and I took Christopher to Dave and Busters. We knew that he would love it there. Because of all the games and lights. It was hard to eat dinner and following him around but we manged after a couple drinks at the bar.

Disneyland Resort on the 2nd day. I'm so glad that Christopher enjoyed every minute of it. We arrived in the morning, and decided to do a couple rides as a family. Then afterwards spilt up. We figured since the kids were all different ages it would be a lot easier on everyone. Our main goal was to do what ever Chris wanted and we did not want him crying all day. But never the less he busted his chin open and should have gotten stitches but did not. You can thank me for that. I was trying to take a lot of pictures of him laughing and everything was wet because it has rained a lot the day before. But Christopher enjoyed the rest of the day and was in a great mood. He rode his first roller coaster "Thunder Mountain" lets just say he enjoyed it more than his grandmother did. I'm happy to report he even enjoyed meeting the characters for the first time and was not scared at all. It was nice staying close to the park so that we could go back and rest up for the night time parade and the fireworks. I was also happy that we went during Christmas. The lines were not long, and i think it is a great time to see all the lights. I just remember the summers were hot and there were to many people. Christopher would be to young to wait in the lines. I could not post all the pictures, but here are a couple to remember the awesome day we had.


The 3rd was spend at LegoLand California in Carlsbad, Ca. It was about 1hr drive from our hotel. Again i was not sure how Christopher would do, but he loves Lego's and rides so i figured he was have a lot of fun. I know everyone who are huge Disney fans are not happy when i say Christopher enjoyed today far more than the day before. I think it was because it was smaller and he could ride every ride at the park, but 1. There is something for everyone at Legoland. From ride, to shows, interactive building, xbox360, shopping, play areas, and etc. We said that we would do the same thing as the day before. Go on a couple rides as a family, and then spilt up. But we found that everyone could do everything, so we pretty much stayed together the whole day. At the end of the day, everyone spilt and the old kids wanted to ride some of the rides again. I took Christopher to the building area, while Jaime and Joe played Xbox360 across the way. We all watched Bob the builder in 4D, and then they light the Lego Christmas Tree and then it Snowed. Everyone had a wonderful time. Again there were so many pictures, but here are a couple

Socal Here we come......

Our Family is on their way to Disneyland and Legoland for Christmas......Pictures and Story to come upon our arrival home....

Remembering a great Friend

Lori McElyea

I remember waking up on Dec 6th and checking my facebook page. I seen that a friend bill had posted this as his status:

NEED ASSISTANCE. My wife Lori McElyea has been missing since last night. Last seen leaving our house @ 8:00pm driving blue 2008 Ford Edge Lic. 6DKD346 She did not have her purse/cell phone. Police have listed her as a missing person but we need your help. If you have seen or heard from her call me @916-397-1269. We are... going to try to assemble large search party @9:00 am. @ Woodcreek HS parking lot.

Jaime had just left for work, and i emailed him right away. Both of us were in complete shock. I was not quit sure what to think. At first i though Bill was joking. "it is very sad to say i was hoping that is all is was" So i posted it to my facebook page right away. and so many of my friends that did not even know Lori, posted it to there in hope that they could help our friends family. Im sad to say it has been to long since i have seen Bill and Lori, and we have got to hang out. But me and Jaime both remember all the great times that we spent with them and all our wonderful friends in Sacramento.
All day i could only think about Bill and his family and the pain they were going through, having their wife and mom missing. Knowing that Lori had breast cancer, and knowing that she was sick again, made me think of my mom.
I remember my mom calling that morning, and i was very upset. I was not sure if i wanted to tell her about Lori. I had told my mom many times about Lori in the past, and her battle with breast cancer. I didn't want my dear mother worried. But i felt in needed to tell her, and yes she was very sad to. After hearing the story unfold. We all knew she was in a better place. And until we are in someone shoes, we will never know how it feels to be in pain....
It was great getting to celebrate Lori's life. She has so many wonderful friends and family. You could see it in the room. So many people loved her dearly. She will be greatly missed and loved. She has given inspiration to so many women that she doesn't even know. She was a strong women, who fought very hard in some many ways. And this is how i want to remember her. THE END....

Holiday Cheer

I'm happy to report that December has kicked off nicely. Now that Christopher is one year older Christopher seems more cheerful about Christmas and all the holiday spirit. It is all about the children. That is what Santa would say, right....
Our house is all decked out with Christmas decorations, lights strung over all, our stocking hung by the chimney with care LOL, and our beautiful tree is lit up with all our wonderful Christmas ornaments. This year we bought a train the runs around the tree, we let Chris open it the day after Thanksgiving after we had the tree up. When he seen what it was his little eyes lit up with joy. It was a wonderful feeling inside. I hope his eyes light up like that after he wakes up Christmas morning and sees Santa has already came and gone. Me and Jaime want to make this Christmas special for him. We got out our calendar and have made some plans on doing several fun Christmas outing this month. He was luckily enough to get to attend a Christmas light parade in corning this year with Grandma and Grandpa Ramirez & Grandma Sides.

• Dec 3rd Downtown Madera 09 Candlelight Christmas "Wine Stroll and Tractor Parade"
• Dec 5th
  
• Dec7th Christmas Tree Lane - Huntington Blvd Fresno, Ca
• Dec 9th Amtrak Ride Madera-Hanford for Lunch and downtown Stroll
  
• Dec 11th Christmas Party at his School
• Dec 11th Crafts and Cookies with The Ramirez Family
  
• Dec 13th Disneyland "They have a Winter Wonderland Theme for the month of Dec"
• Dec 14th Legoland
  
• Dec 19th Winter Wonderland Downtown Fresno
• Dec 21st MomsClub Christmas party
• Dec23rd Zoolights

Well I'm very sad about what I'm about to say, but it is totally true. Jaime and I love being with our family during the holiday's, but we feel that when we lived in NM we took being home with just the 3 us of for granted. We were always sad to be away from California and our families during the holiday's or any other time of the year. But last year when we moved back we were truly blessed to be close to our families again. Last year after we got home from our parents house, we were alittle sad. We felt sorry that Christopher did not get to experience Christmas Eve night and the arrival of Santa in his own home. We felt we kinda robbed him of that experience. But both agree to get over it and move on and be thankful to be with our families. We also agree that Chris was still to young to really understand. So 2009 is a new year and Christopher is really starting to enjoy the holiday's. This we have elected to stay home and travel to see our families after Christmas so Christopher can enjoy every minute. Not that Santa won't find us in Corning. Our parents are made that holiday's special for us and now it is our turn to start our own memories and special times for our family.
I know that Mark and Lynn made Christmas a great time for Jaime and Joe. And also for Tamra and I when we came into the family. And that still has not changed since all the grandchildren have arrived. Each year Christmas changed, and more special memories are written. I would love to hear what Jaime remembers has a child. I sure remember my parents making Christmas special for me. We may not have done alot of Christmas events. But being with our family was very important. I remember many snowy Christmas's with grandpa and grandma Sides up in Whittmoore, Ca. With lots of family around and Santa's visits. I also remember being at home with just my mom and dad. One memory was when we lived in Pearblossom, Ca. I remember waking up early in the morning and the Christmas tree was on and all lit up. I remember seeing all the wonderful gifts Santa left. I also remember looking outside and seeing a blanket of white snow that was not typical in the desert. But every memory of mine included being with family. I don't remember lots of gift or few gifts making a difference. My mother and father could have a different story on that.
But we would like to teach Christopher that Christmas is about giving. About enjoy our times together. Watching Christmas movies, reading Christmas Books, enjoying our home during the holiday with all the lights and the fires and the great times. That is what we want to remember.

"Remember, If Christmas isn't found in your hearts, it wont be found under a tree."

And with that being said, everyone have a wonderful Christmas and new year with your families.

What are we thankful for this year.......

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for many things. Having a wonderful family, that stands by one another in a time of need. I'm thankful to have my mother in my life, and having her 1 step closer to being Cancer Free. I'm thankful that my husband has a job and that he is able to provide for our family, and is able to make our life joy able. I'm thankful for what i have in my life today, it does not have to be the 50' plasma TV or new clothes. It can simply be a roof over our heads and food to eat. Though we are able to have material things in our life's, they are not that important to me. As long as our family reminds in our lives, and we stand by each other. I'm always hearing that people are so upset that they don't have the things they want. But if we are thankful for what we have today, we will always end up with more than we wanted. and if we are concentrating on the things we don't have, we will never have enough.....

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” –W.T. Purkiser

Thanksgiving 2009

This year Jaime offered to work Thanksgiving.... Though i was upset at first, i knew it was the right choice. My parents came to stay with us for the week, and it gave me the opportunity to make my first real Thanksgiving Dinner. And of course i wanted to try my grandmother cornbread stuffing. Christopher wanted to make sugar cookies first thing in the morning, so we got those out of the way. He seen me make a fresh apple and pumpkin pie, and he wanted to help. I figured that was the easiest way to let him roll some dough out. I cooked the ham and turkey in a bag. I really felt the turkey was dry and next year i wont cook it in a bag. I will have to say i felt i did a great job on the stuffing, and it was a hit. Not sure if it was as good as grannies, maybe next year we can have a stuffing "Throw Down" On our menu was

• 13 pound Turkey
• 9 pound ham
• fresh green beans
• butternut squash
• turkey gravy
• garlic mash potato's
  
• Grannie's cornbread stuffing
• mushroom risotto
• sweet rolls
  
• apple pie
• pumpkin pie
• sugar cookies
  

P.S. That morning i told everyone we would be going around the table and saying what we were thankful for... My mother said you better not be thankful for anything that will make me cry... So when it came time to go around the table. I let her go first.
She was thankful that we were all together and that Lynn test all come by negative, and that we still have both of them in our lives. So she made us all cry.....

Christopher Turns 3!!!!!!!!!!!

Christopher Turned 3 November 16th, 2009

I cant believe my little man just turned 3. It doesn't seem like 3 years ago he was born. I think Wow we were just moving to NM, and now we are back in Cali.

This year our life has been quite busy. We were not able to go up and celebrate his birthday with our family in Corning. So we opted for a small party at home with me and Jaime. That morning we took him to John Incredible Pizza. He loved the bowling this time around. He play 7 games, before all his tokens ran out. But we were just glad that he had a great time. That evening we invited our good friend Angela over for dinner, cake, and ice cream. We made fish taco's mmmm. And Chocolate cake, double mmmm. As you can tell from these pics Christopher loved the cake. It was so funny, he climbed on top of the table and started eating it. Angela was not happy, she was trying to get a piece without his mouth on it. haha... But in the end, it was all about Christopher. And we love you so much little man. You can tell by the last picture that your day was filled with fun, because you passed out in front of the fire. I was reading to you. "Pumpkin Soup, 10 Fat Turkey's and Through the Wood"
Those books have been your fall favorites...

Halloween Activities

Pump It Up: Halloween

Took Chris to Halloween party at PIT during the week. He enjoyed the music, and the place was decked out in scary decoration, and all the staff were dressed up too. They also had both rooms open to run in between

Pumpkin Carving

This year we carved pumpkins a couple of nights before Halloween, and they still went bad. They had so much mold the morning of. :( Christopher wanted nothing to do with carving them. He thought it was gross. oh well maybe next year.

Halloween Cupcakes

This year i made pumpkin cupcakes for the Halloween party for trunk or treat and Jaime's work. i could not find some candy ropes that were needed for the vines but i still think they turned out great.

Halloween Cookies

This night me and Chris baked Halloween Cookie "witched, ghost, moon, and bats" Then afterwards put sprinkles on them :)

MOMSClub Trunk or Treat

This year we were in momsclub of Fresno, and we met at a local park and did a trunk or treat the night before Halloween. Christopher had a great time, and we decorated the trunk with Thomas the Train theme since he was a Thomas Train Conductor.

Halloween Night
This was the first year Christopher went trick or treating to neighbor homes. Me and Jaime were not sure how he would do or if he would even like it. But he was very excited to get into his costume. He was saying :trick or treat get my feet and eat" all day me and Jaime were cracking up. we were singing to him all week. "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat." but that was his version. When he got home that night he was so sleepy, you can tell from the yawn. But he walked a good mile and a half in an hour and 15mins. He kept telling us he wanted a train snack. I kept reminding him candy was a treat not a snack. He did not care. The next 3 days, he would take 1 bite of candy and then throw that rest in the trash. so i let him do it on day 3 for an hour. His candy was all gone. LOL



Our Halloween Photo Session

This year i did not have time to take Christopher in to get his picture taken. So mommy set up shop at our house... I think i did a great job capturing our little Train Conductor.