I Guess Santa Thought She Was Naughty

On the 24th Olivia was all dressed up to take a picture

with Santa at the mall and he was MIA, gone... boo!

So Olivia's sneaky mom got into Santa's village and took some pictures anyway,

so you tell me... didn't Santa miss out on taking a picture with this cutie?

And this is how Olivia's 25th of December was spent:

waking up in Christmas jammies

having yummie breakfast

waiting for grandma and grandpa Windhorst to get on webcam

liking cousin Maya's gifts better than her own

(I got her a onesie and baby signing dvds.

I guess I should have gotten her toys? blah!)

opening gifts from grandma Nely, the Birds and friends

Hanging out with bff Brighton at the Pinegars'

It was a great first Christmas for baby Olivia.

How was yours?

Once Upon a Time, I Was Always on Time

And now I am always late!

This is our Christmas card,

Some of you will still get it in the mail...

Hope you're still having a wonderful Christmas weekend!

My Christmas Started 9 Months Ago...

When this stuff was born:

and today she is the main thing that keeps me going.

My love for her is impossible to measure,

to describe, to explain.

Her smell makes me warm and her giggles light my day.

Happy 9 Months Birthday, Olivinha!

Mamae te ama, tanto tanto tanto!

(Born March 21 2009, 6lbs 10oz 20in. 9 months later 22lbs 5oz 28.4in)

Oh Christmas Day...

We spent most of it with Trevor's family.
His mom made her yummie egg/potato/sausage casserole, we opened gifts and chilled. I am not a huge fan of gifting on this season, I don't know, one day I will explain, but Trevor's parents did hook us up with some lovely stuff, and his little brother Jared got my baby girl the CUTEST dress ever! I'll take a picture later to show it off :)

So here is a picture of things that happened that day:
The tree at Trevor's parents' house where we spent most the day, the dinner table ready for the adults at uncle Ed's house (we always have dinner there on Christmas day, I took flan - what else can I bake, you ask? nada!) and a picture of all the cousins making funny faces after dinner at uncle Ed's. I should really say SOME cousins and not all the cousins. It was only all the cousins that were there. What a big family!

Anyway, I hope you all had the Christmas you were dreaming of... did you? :)

Easy Steps for a Romantic Christmas Eve

1. Clip coupons before going grocery shopping

2. If you're shopping last minute at 3pm on Christmas Eve, don't get mad at the madness, laugh at it and at yourself!

3. You might need:
............ 1 box of mash potatoes mix
............. 1 pre-rosted chicken
............. 1 envelope of gravy mix
............. 1 bag of frozen dinner rolls
............. 1 bag of pre-mixed green salad
............. 1 bottle of sparkling cider
............. 1 candle and candle holder (heck, you're trying to be romantic, right?)
............. 2 toasting glasses, but they're $10 so, if you're poor like me, go for paper cups!

Follow the instructions on each box or bag and your yummie and romantic Christmas Eve dinner might look like this:

Last and most important step - Make sure your hubby/boyfriend has done something VERY exhausting the entire day, so he's VERY hungry when he gets home and will REALLY believe that YOU made dinner from SCRATCH! Ha! ;)

He Lives!

Motu's Farewell

Thursday was our little Christmas/Farewell celebration at the restaurant I work at, Motu's. For those of you who don't know yet, the restaurant is closing on Dec 31 so come by before then and have some lunch with me! We're open Dec 22, 23, 29, 30 and 31 8am till 3pm. I still am not sure what will happen to me once it closes. I might go back to the call center. I'll keep you posted. So far, it has been a good ride and even though I get stressed out down at the restaurant I also have a lot of fun!

Because the employees are from all parts of the world, we had a yummy variety of food choices for our dinner. It was all so good!
I made Brazilian Flan - Pudim de Leite, and sprinkled it with green and red coloring, you know, for Christmas colors! :)
Our manager, Marvin, ordered this Tres Leches cake (I LOVE tres leches cake!!!) to celebrate Azalia's birthday and our farewell. It was yummie!

This is us, the Tahitian Noni Cafe/Motu's team all together by a pretty Christmas tree.

I'll miss you all!

A Christmas Tag :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Whatever the dollar store has.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I've never a Christmas tree, let alone a real one. I think they're pretty but we were given a fake one by Trevor's mom. It's pretty too!

3. When do you put up the tree? So far the first Sunday of December. We don't skip Thanksgiving, people! :)

4. Do you like eggnog? I think it's gross!

5. Favorite gift received as a child? A Barbie. We usually got clothes for the next year of school so getting a toy was fun.

6. Hardest person to buy for? I try not to make Christmas about gifts, I like making and mailing cards or small things.

7. Easiest person to buy for? Trevor cuz he is like me, not into buying gifts this season.

8. Do you have a nativity scene? No but I want one, or a statue of Christ.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail to family and closer friends, email to acquaintances.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Again, my Christmas is not about gifts so... can't answer that.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? I think the serious ones are too depressing and the goofy ones are too goofy... don't have a favorite.

12. When do you start shopping? I don't.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? And wedding gifts too :)

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? In Brazil, salpicao. Here, my mother-in-law's pretzel jello salad.

15. Lights on the tree? They are colored but I wish they were just white or beige. it's cute anyway.

16. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night by Josh Groban.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I wish I could travel but... stay home we will :)

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? ha ha, no.

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? I got a star cuz I couldn't find an angel I liked.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Trevor's family opens them on Christmas morning.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? How it's all about the gifts for most people and how we tend to forget those who can't celebrate like we can, we need to concentrate more in Christ and do more service!

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don't know what this question means...

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I am blessed to HAVE a Christmas dinner, so anything is welcome :)

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? I just want to be able to concentrate in Christ and find ways to do service.

Now I tag:
Rachel R
Janessa T
Lisa G
Susie L
All my Brazilian gals!
:)

Let the Parties Begin!

On Friday we had two Christmas Parties!!

The first was at my co-worker Jason and wife Danielle's house. Here we are at their house with them, Justin and wife (Justin used to work with us at TNI too):

After that, we went to TNI's Christmas Party at Costco, in Orem. The previous two years that party was in the morning on a Saturday, but this year they did it on Friday night. It was AWESOME!

We took our friends Jordan and Lindsey with us (and they just found out they're having a girl too!!) and had a great time sipping on Italian sodas, eating crepes and other yummie snacks, playing games for hams and gift cards and doing so much more. I really had a blast!

And even though these parties are so much fun, I want to share a poem from this talk by Pres Hinckley about Christmas:
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!
Christmas in lands of the fir-tree and pine,
Christmas in lands of the palm-tree and vine,
Christmas where snow peaks stand solemn and white,
Christmas where cornfields stand sunny and bright. …
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!
For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all;
No palace too great, no cottage too small.

What parties are YOU going to attend this month?

Our Tree

Yesterday Trevor and I put up our tree. Thank you, Trevor's mom , for giving us the tree and some decorations two years ago! :)

I don't like the commercial side of Christmas. All I can think about is all the billions of people who will not have a home, a meal, a gift, a reason to be happy this year. And it makes me sad... I feel wrong receiving gifts when so many don't. Yet, I do tease Trevor with "what are you giving me this year for Christmas?" But he knows really I just want us to be happy.

So to help me concentrate on the REAL Christmas spirit, I have been reading some talks on lds.org. This one is simply beautiful, by Pres Hinckley, and here is a quote from it:

Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties.

It is love.

It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful.
It is peace.

It is the peace which comforts, which sustains, which blesses all who accept it.
It is faith. It is faith in God and His Eternal Son. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and our Lord.

What do YOU do to concentrate on the Savior during this season?

What is Happiness?

“True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.
“It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men."

---- President David O. McKay

New Year, A Blog!

Everyone knows I am an internet rat, so why not add a blogspot to my many online pass-times?! It will be a great way to keep posted on how you are all doing and get you to know how Trevor and I are doing!

2007 was fun and adventurous indeed! I got a promotion at work and Trevor and I got to visit my family in Portugal, in September. My brother is going to be a daddy for the first time in January and we might go back there to see the baby. As for our own babies - cuz EVERYONE asks, like, DAILY! - we are working on making practice perfect first:) hee hee hee

Christmas was awesome! Trevor and I decided to not feed into the comercialized Christmas - nothing against those of you who do (SINNERS!! jk heheheh), but we just decided we didn't want to do the whole gifting thing. Instead, we spent Christmas eve dining with two family of friends (one dinner with some Brazilian friends and another with a mix of Brazilian and other South and Central American friends) and we spent Christmas morning cuddling and talking about our year and, yes, future 'resolutions'. We didn't go for the Christmas Tree either - part cuz I am lazy and part cuz we wanted to focus on Christ and decide what we wanted to give HIM this Christmas. Hello, it's HIS bday, people! :)

Anyway, on Christmas evening Trevor's family has dinner at his uncle's house in Draper and that was a blast! Of course I ignore my body's low tolerance to sugar and fats and feel sick after every big meal like that, but I survived. Trevor's mom makes an awesome pretzel jello salad and I just can't resist!

New Years Eve will be busy too! Trevor and his capoeira school have a demonstration at the Provo Town First Night party and then we go to some friends' to cook Brazilian food, watch movies, play games, and celebrate 2008!

We hope that you are all doing great and that Heavenly Father and His angels are watching over your families! We love and miss you, please keep in touch!
Hugs,
Kika&Trevor*