Family Fun

Tony is on vacation this weekend so we decided to make the most of it! We got the snow clothes from the attic, threw them in the car, and headed to Laguna for a day of sledding. We had so much fun. My favorite pic of the day is of Peter coming down the mountain in perfect form! And Madison looked so cute all bundled up in snow clothes.. I couldn't help but to take a ton of pictures of her:)

She hates when I take her picture, so I have to sneak them in.
She caught me on this one.

Friends.

Sometimes God puts people in your life that you just need.

It's like they were created perfectly for you.
She's one of those people.

Thank You Debbie!

This is a special thank you post for Debbie! We've never met but I'm glad that you enjoy my blog. Thank you so much for your gift:) I thought it was so sweet!
Brett and I will definitely put it to good use!

I hope you had a very merry Christmas!

Love, Heather

Christmas

Christmas snuck up on me this year! With the engagement and being with my grandma so often I totally lost track of time. Last year I was done shopping the day after Thanksgiving.. This year, I started the core of my shopping on the 22nd and was up until 2 on Christmas eve wrapping. As hectic as it's been the past few days I'm so thankful I left shopping for the end. I get so excited about giving gifts to the ones I love but this year an extremely tight budget and a complete lack of time left me with a feeling of no "Christmas Cheer". It's so easy to become wrapped up in the "Christmas Cheer" and buried in boxes and bags of gifts. The past month has been filled with so many blessings. I have learned so much more about Jesus; His grace, His Power, His Mercy, His love, and His spirit. I have felt the powerful love and support that comes from his church body. The past few weeks with my Grandma gave me hours to spend really getting to know Him better. Although I didn't have much Christmas cheer this year by most standards, I feel like for the first time I spent Christmas completely consumed by Him... and that's what it's supposed to be all about right?! I'm so thankful for my Grandma and the wonderful gift she's given me this Christmas.

Julian!

Luke and Lauren happened to be going to Julian this weekend too!
We snuck up behind Lauren while she was taking a picture of Luke and surprised her:)

We took a walk through the snowy cemetery and took the famous red glove pictures!

Grandma

This morning my Grandma went to be with Jesus.

The fight is over and she has won.
She is perfect, she is whole, she knows secret things, she is beautiful, she is with her mother, she is with her best friend, and she is in the presence of an all knowing and forever and deeply loving Savior.

Still He proves to be faithful, merciful, perfect, and awesome.
Even now I praise Him with everything I have.

I didn't know it then but this was my last moment with her.


This song has been like water to my soul.
It reminds me of how hard she fought and how perfect and real heaven is to her right this very moment.

If you can listen to the words.
or read the lyrics here

Disneyland!

Our passes expired today so we had to make one last trip:(
With the wedding coming up who knows when we will be able to afford new ones but I am determined to find a way!

I have beat Brett at this game literally every single time we've played. There was a close call this time but of course.. I ended up winning! You should've seen his face!

Tacky Sweater Party

I love tacky sweater parties!! Last night was so much fun!

I hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling too

Come on, It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.
i LOVED the weather today!


My windshield wipers are terrible and it was pouring.. probably wasn't the best idea to turn the camera on:)
I had to end the video abruptly because a cop pulled up next to me and I don't think He would've thought it was the best idea either...

Baking Days

It was a cold, wet, blustery day and the house smelled of gingerbread.

Hopefully our gingerbread making skills don't relate to our future child bearing skills..
Deformed, arms and legs twisting wrong ways, 2x the normal gingerbread man size...
Disclaimer: This is a joke. We will be happy with whatever kind of children we get! :)

p.s. The second batch was perfect!

Grandma's Hands

*someone sent this to me today*

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong. 'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?' I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. 'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.
They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war. 'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.
Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse. 'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken,dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.'

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

Candy Cane Lane

Brett and I have been going crazy with the starts of wedding planning. We have seen so many places in the past three days. My head is still spinning from all the outrageous numbers that have been swirling in front of my eyes. I decided we needed a relaxing night just the two of us, NO wedding talk. We bundled up. I stuffed the gloves I had bought him from Target that he's been eyeing for awhile now in my purse and took us to Starbucks. We got 2 peppermint hot chocolates and headed to Candy Cane Lane. We walked the hills and soaked in all the lights and laughter. I love nights like these with him.

Painter of the skies

I know this is a bold statement to make...
tonight was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

I was blessed enough to be in Point Loma at the time. I yelled at Brett to pull over as fast as he could. I told him just to stop in the road and let me get out! He found a spot and stopped.
I shot out of the car like a cannonball!

I only had my PowerShot so this picture does it NO justice. The sky melted into the ocean and you couldn't tell where one stopped and the other started. The water turned glassy and you could see the reflection of it all. I have NEVER seen an orange so bright in my life.

You know a sunset is gorgeous when you get back in the car and you have messages left on your phone telling you to go outside and look at the sky!
He truly is the master painter. Creating pure beauty out of everything He touches.

Just like that...

Just hours ago someone died in the hospice room across the hall from my Grandma's room...
Just like that life on earth was over. Body and soul were separated.
What kind of life did they live? Who have they left behind? What were their last thoughts? Were they surrounded by family? Were they ever married? What was their wedding day like? How old were they? Did they have kids? Grandkids? What moments in history have they witnessed? What parts of the world had they seen?

God shows me so much while im here. His presence fills this room. Its as if I step into an oasis when I step through those doors. For the past weeks I've spent hours of everyday in prayer and worship with my grandma while her numbered days and broken body dwindle away. As terrible as this situation may seem to the world. Its been a sweet blessing and i cant help but be filled with his joy.

Christmas on the Prado

This is one of my favorite Christmas time traditions!!!

This picture sparked an interesting conversation about the interesting ways interesting strangers take pictures for other strangers.

Wedding Party

We popped the question...

and asked some of our closest friends to stand by our sides on our big day!

Candy Canes...

It's been 12 days since we got engaged at Disneyland.. 12 whole days!!! Which meant it was time for another Dland trip of course. Thanks to my curiosity and love for watching food being made I grabbed Brett and ran over to the large crowd forming in front of the candy shop window. (There's always a crowd in the window but never one that big). Thanks again to my fine tuned eavesdropping skills... I found out why there was all this commotion. The candy shop was hand making candy canes. "So what?" right?... WRONG! We had conveniently stepped into a rare and magical Disney experience! People had gotten there early to line up for tickets that they would exchange for Candy Canes. I'm hesitant to admit this but Brett and I both immediately fell for magic. We got in line for the next batch and made some new Disney friends. These people were true Disney nuts.. they put Brett and I to shame. At the end of the day we walked away with 5 candy canes (Don't ask how much we payed for these suckers). 2 for us and 3 to give as Christmas presents to our fellow Disney nuts. We had so much fun today and we went back and relived the moment in front of our castle (I call it that now... It's totally our castle after the last trip). Brett cut the day short because he had a little surprise. We grabbed our traditional BBQ and feta pizza at California Pizza Kitchen then proceeded to the theater nearby. Brett had bought us tickets to see it's a wonderful life on the big screen. Believe it or not I've never seen that movie all the way through.. It was awesome!