Christmas 2007

We had a great Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Tiff's family and went home to our house to sleep.

Two tired Santas.

The next morning, we were up super early with Ez but Bella still hasn't figured Christmas out completely yet and so she slept until 9:00 (we had a late night). When she finally did wake up, she took the time to get into a skirt before coming out of her room. So, no pictures of her cute, new Christmas Eve pjs.

Bella got her pink purse and a Bella Dancerella from Santa.

Trying out her new sleeping bag for sleepovers with her cousins. She was so excited!

Ez actually smiled at his Santa gift. (The picture is a bit dark though).

Mine and Blaine's parents spent Christmas together in Chile. We were glad that they were together but a bit bummed that we weren't with them!

Church Debut

(No, his hair isn't that long and shaggy yet...it is just the shadow!)

Ez made his church debut today. All went well...not even one Young Woman touching his face or hands! We made it through a successful bottle feed at church with out any vomiting and both Blaine and I were able to tend to our responsibilities with our callings. After 2 1/2 months of not being at church all together, it was nice. And sacrament meeting was fabulous with wonderful Christmas music. I finally felt the true Christmas spirit today as I listened to a performance of "Oh, Holy Night". I felt the spirit of Christ so strongly and I was overcome with emotion and gratitude for His life and His teachings, and ultimately, His suffering and atonement so that we can one day return to His presence. As my thoughts have been so focused on material gifts recently, it was nice to ponder on the spiritual gifts that Christ has given, and continues to give. Anyway, thought I'd share.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas filled with family, peace, happiness, love, and health!

I've been tagged

Jami tagged me...So, here are 6 little known facts about me. I hope I don't bore you with the details...

1) I am what I affectionately call a “Latinga” (Latina/Gringa). Yes, it is true…I have absolutely no Latin blood coursing through my veins but I love the Hispanic cultures. My favorite vacations are in Mexico. I love Mexican food, I love speaking Spanish, and I LOVE to listen to Spanish radio. Catch me in my car, and you can be sure I’ll be singing along to Mana, Juanez, or Shakira. Every time we vacation in Mexico, Blaine and I always find ourselves scheming to move to the Mexican coast. Only problem is…dinero. How can we make REAL money in Mexico? Any ideas?
2) The first one kind of goes along with this one…I love to sing in the car. I feel so free when I am driving and I love to blast the tunes. Blaine used to always tease me that someday I was going to end up on that t.v. show where they rig your car with a video cam and catch you grooving out. I’m sure I’d provide many laughs…I can bust a pretty good move in a moving automobile, too. (Jami…how come we never took a road trip together? Sounds like we would’ve had a blast!)
3) I think I have blonde hair. When we moved to Colorado our first year of marriage, Blaine and I had to get new driver’s licenses. When he saw me writing “blonde” for hair color, he started laughing and told me I don’t have blonde hair. I was shocked and this created a total identity crisis. I had always considered myself blonde (because I WAS) and I didn’t even realize I was going brown. So, in an effort at identity preservation, I get my hair highlighted. But, I have finally started to admit that I have LIGHT brown hair. ☺
4) I know where every gas station is in a 100 mile radius that carries diet dr. pepper as a fountain drink. And, the really good ones have the super small ice chips. Diet DP is my favorite “adult beverage”.
5) I switched colleges/Universities 7 times while completing my degrees! Here’s how it went down: a few classes at Ventura college in high school, Ricks college for a year, BYU Hawaii for a semester, BYU Jerusalem for a semester, BYU in Provo for a year, went on a mission to Chile for a year and a half, back to BYU in Provo to graduate. And then number 7 was the University of Utah for a Master’s Degree. But, don’t worry, I have vowed to NEVER go back to school again. Yep, I’m getting dumber every day and I love it. ☺
6) I know I’ve already written about music but I LOVE it. I am very eclectic in my music taste. Besides Latin music and regular pop, I love country music. Blaine is disgusted with this side of me and told me that I deceived him when we were married. The truth is, I liked country music in high school but I stopped listening to it until last year. True, there are some twangy and otherwise stupid songs in the country genre which I don’t particularly enjoy, but I just switch it to another station when they come on. So, yeehaw, ya’ll...I like me a little Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and Kenney Chesney. You gotta problem with that?

So, I will now tag...ALL of you who haven't done this yet...YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE...

Here Comes Santa Clause, Here Comes Santa Clause...

Cutest dang Santa I ever did see (the little one, of course)!

Bella, as usual, is still not thrilled with the idea of sitting on a big, fat man's lap who is dressed in a funky soft, red suit and who has a big white beard. Even though she told me all morning that she was going to sit on his lap and ask him for a pink purse, when it got right down to it, she freaked out. No amount of candy or gifts could get that girl happily on his lap.

Safe at home, and with a big monkey and bag of candy from the library Santa, Bella cheeses it up for the camera.

Seriously though, have you ever seen a Santa this cute?

Did she really say that???

Yep, it's true. Enough is enough. Bella has had it with Ez... Here's our conversation...

Bella: "Mom, let's get a baby sister."

Tirsa: "Well, maybe we'll get one when you and Ez are bigger."

Bella: "Um, well, maybe you can take Baby Ez back to the hospital and get a baby sister."

Tirsa: (Totally busting up, and not quite sure what to say).

Bella: (Buries her head and starts to kind of cry because I am laughing).

No worries though. She bounced back quickly and was saying how cute he is and that she loves him within the hour.

Frankly, I'm surprised she lasted a whole month with him home before wanting to give him the boot.

Baby it's cold outside...

It's about this time every year that Blaine and I look at each other and ask, "Why do we live here?" How is it that two southern California sun seekers ended up living in the snow? Don't get me wrong...it is beautiful but it is COLD and kind of a pain. Bella loves it though. She begged to go outside and play in it. She couldn't wait to use her Dora umbrella as it was still kind of snowing. Once out there, she was eating snow like it was flavored. Who taught her that?
Bella thought that maybe Ez wanted to talk on her cell phone.

Lovin' Life

Bella loves to hold Ez. He is pretty patient with her.


Bella is so excited about Christmas. She tells me that Santa is going to bring her a purse. She is such a girly girl! Just about every morning she asks if today is Christmas. These are going to be a long few weeks.

Best daddy in the world...Blaine having a tea party with his little ballerina.


I recognize that I am, for this very moment in life, exactly where I want to be. And that feels good. I have everything that I want most in my life...a husband who is my best friend, a three year old daughter who makes me laugh by the things she says and warms my heart by telling me at least a dozen times a day that she loves me, and a little baby boy, who at 6 pounds and 6 ounces, fits so perfectly on my chest as we snuggle together. What more could I ask for? Sure, life isn't perfect. I wouldn't mind a few bucks more, a few pounds less, and a house that cleans itself but I know that I need to just enjoy this time in my life. I am generally, by nature, a happy person. But, there are times in my life that I long for things that don't easily come. I know that those times will come again...most likely in a year or two when I start to wonder where my next child is. But, not yet. For now...I am going to bask in the moment of feeling totally and completely fulfilled.

The other day Bella came into my room to wake me up (I was already awake thanks to Ez) exclaiming..."Mom, come look at the sky!" I had a feeling that she was noticing a sunrise for the first time so, feeling totally groggy and tired, I told her to tell me what she saw. She exclaimed with the excitement and wonder of a child, "The sky is pink, and orange, and purple! Come look!" I decided that no amount of rest would be worth missing a sunrise with my sweet Bella and so I dragged myself out of bed to enjoy it with her.

Today as we were driving in the car Bella said, "Mom, my bottom is making bubbles. Do you hear that?" I was busting up! What a creative way to describe it.