BWW

 Last Buffalo Wild Wings of the year. Bianca’s been asking to go there everyday. She LOVES their salt and vinegar wings.

Plus, look how cute she looks wearing the sweater that has been passed through generations in our family! 

Christmas 2022

Because this year I was working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we had to change a few things and do it differently than how we usually do. We had our traditional Christmas dinner one day before Christmas eve, on the 23rd.

Giovanna made a beautiful presentation about the true meaning of Christmas. Then we ate desserts and watched to my favorite Christmas movie Home Alone. 

On the morning of the 24th we did our secret Santa. The goal was to make each other gifts instead of buying them at the store. Everybody did a great job and I am very excited to keep this tradition in our family for years to come.

From Giovi to daddy

From mommy to Giovi

From daddy to Bibi

From Bibi to mommy

I had planned to have Ale and the girls spend Christmas eve with the Matutes while I was at work. I was lucky enough to be put on call which means I was able to spend a few hours with them before heading to the hospital around eight o'clock. 

The girls had a lot of fun. Parting with the Matutes is always fun!

 

On the morning of the 25th the girls run to the Christmas tree to see if Santa had left gifts for them. I prepared a delicious Christmas breakfast and we spent the day watching Christmas movies until it was time for me to go back to work.

Dance, dance!

Today the girls played Christmas songs and made up silly dances, and they made me record at least seven different movies of them. Bianca said: “record it and post it on Facebook”, which obviously I didn’t.

But here is a picture of them dancing for your entertainment. I love these girls! They make me laugh hard. 

Library day

 Remember when I used to take the girls to story time? Well, I keep take them to the library, but now I teach them how to ready the reference number and find a book.

They are so big it hurts! 

Christmas bingo

 This past weekend we headed to the Britos for our traditional Christmas bingo. We love this time of the year and we love spending it with friends.

On Friday, we played games and ate Brazilian pizzas, while the kids played with each other and watched movies. 

On Saturday, Mell cooked Brazilian chicken stroganoff for lunch, and in the evening we played Christmas bingo and exchanged gifts.

On Sunday, before heading home, Mindy baked and decorated Christmas cookies with the kids. They always have a blast!

It was such a fun weekend! I am so grateful for Britos friendship. I can’t wait to get together to help the girls get ready for prom! Ha! 

Twinkle is back!

Our sweet Twinkle is back! Every morning the girls wake up excited to see what mischiefs she has done while we were sleeping.

So far she has fallen into the cereal bag, rocked baby Jesus from our nativity set to sleep, played video game, made a mess in the girls rooms, and hid in the bathroom.

She is so much fun! We love her! 

TEAS

 Last Saturday I finally took my TEAS test. I borrowed a couple of books from a neighbor, studied for about a month, and I delayed taking the test as much as could. For some reason I lacked courage to just do it. 

I left the testing center with the test results. After a little over two hours of test, I passed with a score of 75%. I needed at least 60% in reading and 60% overall in order to be accepted into nursing school. I was so happy and relieved!

I am excited and scared of starting this new chapter in my life, but I know Heavenly Father wants us to be wise, productive, and to use the talents He gave us to learn and grow on this earth. I know He will bless me in every step of the way.

Nursing school here we go!

Young Women

 Every girl from church is invited to start attending Young Women the year they turn twelve. The Young Women Organization helps young women to make and keep sacred covenants with Heavenly Father, and deepen their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

I am excited for Giovanna who turned twelve this year, and is soon starting on this wonderful organization. Along with other girls, she will learn about her divine identity and purpose. I love that as members of the church we know who we are and where we came from.

Last Sunday she was invited to attend her very first class in Young Women. She already loves it. She learned about things that are good, better, and best, and how to prioritize, and put Jesus Christ first in her life. 

I am so happy and excited for her! She will learn and do wonderful things.

Decorating for Christmas

The most wonderful time of the year is here, and we are ready!

This year the girls and Ale decorated the ENTIRE Christmas tree. This never happens because they get tired fast, and I always end up finishing the tree myself.

We still need to find the perfect star for our tree. We haven’t been able to find one that fits the top of our tree. The ones that they sell at the stores are too wide.

Picture Day 2022

The girls school picture is ready, and they look so cute! I can't believe how big they are getting. Giovanna goes to middle school next year!

Giovanna - 6th Grade

2022-2023

Bianca - 2nd Grade

2022-2023

Picture day 2021-2022 (1st grade/5th grade)

Picture day 2020-2021 (Kindergarten/4th grade)

Movie night

Movie night with my girls while daddy is in Salt Lake for the night. We have popcorn, drinks, chocolate, and snacks.

I love spending time with my cuties! 

Mell’s baby shower

Our dear Mell is having another baby girl. And of course we celebrated her and her little princess with a perfect baby shower. Huge shout out to Samantha who prepared everything so wonderfully.

We had a great time.

Thanksgiving 2022

I am so happy for being able to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends this year! (Remember last year I had to work?). We headed to the Matute's home per tradition, and we had a fun time overeating, singing, and laughing.

I absolutely love Thanksgiving time, and I NEVER decorated for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over.

"(...) the spirit of gratitude is always pleasant and satisfying because it carries with it a sense of helpfulness to others; it begets love and friendship, and engenders divine influence. Gratitude is said to be the  memory of the heart".

-Joseph F. Smith

Turkey Trot 2022

 Giovanna has never liked Turkey Trot. She doesn’t like running, and she doesn’t like competitions. This year she asked me if she could skip school and stay home.

Bianca on the other hand was excited to go to school to have a "Pie Party" with her class after Turkey Trot.

Both of my girls walked half way and ran the other half. This year they ran around the school, which was much better than running six times around the field track like on previous years.

Today they had school early out, and they are officially free to enjoy Thanksgiving break.

Bedtime

FaceTiming my gang before they go to bed while I am at work (we are missing Bianca). I love my little family.

With faith in every footstep

 I've been putting a lot of thinking about my personal goals and life in general lately. The world is changing so much and so fast. I recognize signs of the second coming everywhere. It is scary, and makes me wonder how much sense makes to plan for the future.

Today while looking for some answers to my questions, I found a talk from President Holland titled "Terror, Triumph, and a Wedding Feast". I love him and all his talks so much. These particular paragraphs really spoke to my heart, and came as an answer to me:

"First, we must never, in any age or circumstance, let fear and the father of fear divert us from our faith and faithful living. There have always been questions about the future. Every young person or every young couple in every era has had to walk by faith into what has always been some uncertainty. But that is all right. This is the plan. It will be okay. Just be faithful. God is in charge. He knows your name and He knows your need.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ- that is the first principle of the gospel. We must go forward, as it says in K. Newell Dayley's hymn commemorating our pioneers of the past, "with faith in ev'ry footstep". But like those pioneers, you do have to keep taking them- one step and then another and then the next. That is how tasks are accomplished, that is how goals are achieved, and that is how frontiers are conquered. In more divine language, that is how worlds are created and it is how your world will be created.

God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future; He expects you to embrace and shape the future- to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities. 

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe".

I know I can build my world and shape my future with faith trusting Heavenly Father is in charge of everything. I know He wants us to rejoice in the beautiful world he created for us. 

Giovanna loses her ninth tooth

Today Giovanna lost her right canine tooth. I am so proud of her for pulling out her own teeth. I remember being so scared of doing it myself when I was her age!

Way to go Giovi! Tooth Fairy is coming tonight.