i believe.

with Christmas arriving...this song tugs at my heart. it is a great reminder of what God had planned for His people and what this season is all about. not presents or santa or "happy holidays." Jesus!!

Brody-ism

i am always amazed by what my kiddos come with.
here is what bro, our 3 yr. old said this week:

bro: i want milk!
me: we don't have any, we have to go to the store today.
bro: (walks to the pantry and grabs a bag out)
but mom, i know what you hab to do!
you jus take deez moshmellows, and squeeze dem in my cup.


lol! so funny and so cute!
he was totally serious about it too
which made it all the more endearing.
i love what these kiddos say.
so far, milk comes from marshmallows
and cheese comes from the moon.
duh!

i'm 30!

ahhhhhhhhh!

i'm old! just kidding.
not really!

my hubby had the day off, so i got to hang out with all my boys
and we met up with my sister and mom in the evening.

this is where i spent my day:

la's farmers market
it's so hard to decide where to eat in this place!

the grove

p.f. changs
they have an awesome happy hour menu from 3-6pm
where everything is $3-6

burbank town center
we had fun walking around downtown burbank and the mall.
everything is so much prettier when decorated for Christmas!!

red velvet

mmm...i'm quite obsessed with red velvet anything with cream cheese frosting!

it is so yummy even though it is basically a chocolate cake with red dye. haha.

nothin' a lil' paint can't fix

remember that mirror i found?
i wanted to paint it a fun color, but decided on a creamy white.
it's new home is in our master bathroom.
ten bucks. nice.

pumpkin patch...finally

we went to lombardi ranch a couple weekends ago.
it was crazy crowded, but still fun.

jail time. haha.

reach for the sky!
going to the top of the hay pyramid
waving to daddy

jumping off the hay bales! his fave part of the day.

on the hunt for the perfect white pumpkin.

no showing me the one he wanted.

cheese

lovin' on daddy

handsome.

silly boys. they would not sit still for a pic.

my lil' monkey, with a black eye :(
i put a band-aid on it to hide the severeness of it, but we still got some funny looks, questions, and even some gasps from others.
seriously?! as if we socked our 3 year old in the face! kinda made me mad, but whatever.

again, not wanting to take pictures.

this one makes me laugh.
bro did not wanna take pics, he wanted to jump the hay bales.
look at that attitude!

my niece, bella.

no, bro, and cousin ethan (or easton as noah says)
these smiles make me happy.

sweet brothers

kern county fair

we went to the kern county fair last month.
it was called "best in the west."
i've been to several different fairs in cali,
this one really was the "best!"

bro dreaming of winning a stuffed animal.
and he insisted on wearing this outfit to the fair. silly boy!

mooooooooo...

baaaaaaaaaaa...

food at the fair is insane and one can easily over do it,
but we choose simply and wisely this time around.
russ showing me the goods

these things were massive, he makes 'em look small.
they were hot, fresh, and the best corn dog i have ever had. period.

mmm...giant corn dogs.

giddy

turkey races. no joke.
look at the size of that thing.
thanksgiving is right around the corner!! haha

one proud big sissy

the tiny thing to the right of me, my youngest sister cerisa, recently passed her boards!!!
woohoo! smarty pants student
Dr. Cerisa Ignacio (soon to be Orozco) D.D.S.
doesn't that just have a lovely ring to it?! :)

ciara is on the far right of this neat pic!
she is not hard to miss 'cause she is lil', young, and beautiful!
this her on a panel briefing the United Nations on food security!
the gal has hit the big time.
she is at a table with people with Ivy League educations, masters degrees, and PhD's
(and british accents) haha!
and of course, though she was nervous at first, she did an amazing job and was by the far the best speaker on the panel. she answered questions after her presentation in english, french, and malinke. one woman was even so inspired by ciara's words that tears came to her eyes.

my little sisters are amazing and it is even more wonderful to hear them give all glory to God for their successes.
i heart them!

eyeing these

aren't these hallway/shoe organizers cute?! one of these would be perfect in my hallway to hide the boys' shoes. plus, they come in black! and...they are $99! not too shabby! i see a trip to ikea in my future :)

much love illy giveaway

hallo my peeps! if ya' get a chance check out this girls super cute giveaway! she has an etsy shop stocked with adorable headbands, rings, and earrings. browse her blog for yummy eats, chicago love, and read her proposal story (so sweet)! plus she loves the Lord! and on top of that...she's filipino! woo hoo! hehe (just thought i'd throw out some filipino love).

go here to check out her cute creations and to enter in her giveaway!

winner winner...

chicken dinner!
not really, but i did win a this super cute scrapbook kit.
i found the contest on one of my fave blogs
the pleated poppy
(she has adorable handmade goodies for sale, you should really take a looksie)
and the whimsical kit comes from
the scrapbook circle !
if you are a scrapbooker (i am so not), check 'em out!
i'm excited i actually won something legit online
and that i can make some cutie cards!!!

what a fun and unexpected blessing! :)

gleek here

glee is back and my tuesday nights are a lil' happier
:)

blogapalooza

i am not good at keeping up with my blog.
i blog, and then i take a break from it. sometimes a long break.
when i finally take the time to download pics from my camera to the computer again,
then i blog again. alot.
so thanks for hanging in there and always checkin' up on me.
here's what we've been up to:

we had a free saturday which is rare around these parts.
so we got up and decided to take a drive through the desert.

we took j. camp along for the ride.
great worship album!

a wall in barstow. we stopped at the light so i took a pic.

we ate lunch at the original del taco in barstow.
we were excited to get out of the car and grub.
this del taco blows every other del outta the water.
notice the number, they bring you your food!

got an original taco. soooo yummy. simple and packed fullll of goodness.
why don't the other del taco's have food this good.

my handsome was super impressed with their food.
(what a cute guy!)

packed out!

nono thoroughly enjoying his original combo burrito.
the thing was huge!

we ventured off to the outlets in barstow to see what kind of deals they had.
they had a visitor center there too.

thinking these turtles were real. haha! they were. once upon a time.

nono and daddy after shopping.
best deal of the day was at children's place.
all of the toddler summer shirts were a buck!
let's just say, brody is covered for next year.

drove through boron. no offense to those who call this place home,
but yuck! definitely a scary looking desert town.
one you don't want your car to break down in at night.

cal-city.
a bit better than boron,
just a little.
we ate at the pizza factory here for dinner, not too bad.


made pioneer woman's cinnamon bread. it turned out so yummy!
i got her first cookbook for mother's day, it is a must have if you like good ol' comfort food.

the before

the after

yum!


ciara came home from new york one weekend to visit and to be in a friend's wedding.
it happened to be dad's b-day too!

lax is renovating.
if it was my first time there, i would be scared. it looked like a war zone.

shorty and tall-ey waiting for shash :)

nono showing his auntie where he got her flowers,
right next to the parking structure. haha

at marina del rey for dinner
nono convincing auntie cerisa to stick a quarter in the "telescope"
so he can look at the ocean

bro and auntie ciara

probably should have read this before they stuck the quarter in!
it was indeed "broken"

lolo and bro waiting to be seated at shangai red's
happy birthday lolo!!!!

lolo and ma

the kiddos always do this when the napkins are actual fabric

pirate noah and i

coconut shrimp. not bad, not bad.

my goofy husband and goofier seester


we went to a pretty wedding one sunday in moorpark

purrrty ciara as a bridesmaid


nono had to get shots for school on this particular day

noah showing off his war wounds after 4 shots. :(
he cried, i laughed.
not cause he cried, what kinda mother do you think i am!?
but because when the doc offered him stickers after,
he asked him if they had ice cream instead.

immunizations are no fun for anyone.


bro and i went thrifting one day when noah was at school.
it was a succesful trip!

found these teal jars for 2 bucks. i was so excited when i saw them.
they are exactly like the ones i was wanting! you can see in a previous post.
:)

found these wire baskets for 50 cents each. score!
gonna use 'em to put stuff in. naturally right!
either will help me to organize my desk or the laundry room.

look at this mirror! gorgeous!
after i found the jars, i turned around and saw this.
10 bucks!
it's gonna be painted white. or black. or pink. or teal. or purple.
hmmmm...
and it's gonna end up in my bathroom. or over my computer desk. or the guest bedroom.
haven't really thought this one through yet.
help!?

lastly, i found this awesome 1950's-ish chair.
it is still original, and it is super sturdy. not one wobble or creak!
5 dollars! holla!
i am gonna re-cover the cushion and possibly paint this bad boy.
it's new home will be at our computer desk. it is just the right size. :)

whewwww...that's all!
for now.