Happy Halloween!

We had a really fun Halloween! We just made it around our neighborhood and over to the Hodges. We tried Grandma and Grandpa Delgado, but their lights were already out.

Abby (Hannah Montana), Devan (Darth Vader),
and Lizzie (Princess Leah) ready to go!

Halloween is a huge deal in Arizona. People decorate the outside of their houses, sit in lawn chairs in their driveways, and hand out candy.

Spencer made a great Goliath the Lion!

The only thing you have to worry about at Halloween is making sure the kids don't get over heated in their costumes. Spencer had a warm costume this year, so we just had him strip down to his undies before putting on the costume. We never had this problem in Idaho or Utah!

Spencer and Princess Emma prepare
to hit the streets!

One of the fun parts of Halloween was seeing all our friends from church and primary dressed up. Here were some of my favorites!

The 3 Robinson Fairies

Devan wanted to go faster. Halloween is catch up time for everyone. We kept running into people we knew or stopping to visit at neighbors' and friends' homes. Devan just wanted to go!

Julie Mills and her baby girl!

A few of the men from church have been working out really hard lately!

Jason, Emma, and Ivan

The Carranzas were among our favorites!

One of our neighbors had a counter this year to see how many kids came through. When we went by just before 8 p.m., they were already at 287! It's a lot of fun to see so many people from the community out on the streets.

The Fish kids were all adorable!
Here we have Shelley and Ann posing with their pumpkin family!

When we got home, the kids decided to go through their candy and trade each other. It brought back a wave of memories of going through candy with my brothers and sisters on Halloween back in Indiana. There's just something about Halloween.

Dividing all the Halloween Loot!

Signs Of Winter

This is a story that one of our friends, a math professor from BYU-Idaho, wrote. He has written some really good stories. To see more of his works, visit DarisHoward.com

Signs Of Winter
By
Daris Howard
copyright 2006
all rights reserved
Any commercial use of this article without written permission is strictly prohibited though sharing on the Internet is encouraged.

It is that time of year when I go out to help my mother winterize her yard. So recently, one evening, I took my son along to help me with the heavy lifting. I also took my two littlest girls to see their grandmother.
It was a beautiful fall day. The geese were winging their way south, honking to the rhythm of their wing beats, like a person directing the rowing of a racing canoe across the blue ocean of the sky. They were fat and happy from gleaning the grain the farmers had left behind in the yellow stubble fields.
The trees were dressed in a kaleidoscope of colors: oranges, browns, golds, and purples. The regalia they wore made them look like royalty in fine robes and golden crowns, with leaves cast at their feet, as if they were golden coins strewn in their path.
All around us the harvest was still in full swing, though it was beginning to wind down. There were plenty of potato trucks rumbling by and, no matter where a person went, the clang of diggers and pilers was audible in the autumn air. The smell of the rich dirt being rolled and tumbled by the machinery wafted across the cool breeze.
The days were already starting out crisp in the morning and the gardens looked like sleeping giants with quilts pulled up over their heads, as the most industrious and stubborn gardeners, reluctant to give in to the nightly frosts, tried to extend their growing season by coaxing another week or two of maturation out of their tomatoes and pumpkins.
Driving along, I nearly sent a family of racoons to racoon heaven, as they waddled out for their nightly foray into a neighbor's corn patch. They stood on their hind legs and eyed me suspiciously, as if I might be there to steal their ill-gotten winter sustenance.
We drove along while eating hot bread that was smothered with warm apple butter, freshly made from the apple trees in our yard. The spices for pickles, cinnamon for pies, and other rich aromas of canning and baking lingered on our clothes. Our pantry was full of potatoes, apples, and carrots to enjoy through the coming winter. Jars of canned peaches, pears, applesauce and assorted jams and jellies lined the shelves.
The harvest moon hung bright and full in the sky even though the sun was still measurably above the horizon. The clouds roiled in the western sky, carrying an ominous warning of snow in our not-too-distant future.
It was at this point that my five-year-old, Heather, turned to her three-year-old sister, Elliana, and announced that winter was coming. Elliana looked at her older sister with great admiration. "How can you tell?"
I looked at all of the beauties of the world around us, inundating our senses, and wondered which one she would expound on to explain how she knew this important fact.
She looked straight at her little sister and, in her great wisdom, said, "Because grandma is packing up and heading south."

I've been tagged!

Eight Favorite TV Shows:
1. KOLD13 Morning News (I have to give them a plug!)
2. Hannity and Colmes (I love Fox News!)
3. Glenn Beck
4. American Idol
5. Real Simple
6. BYUTV's Scrapbook Memories (to gather ideas that I never have time to accomplish!)
7. Mission: Organization
8. Family Ties (I know this is an old one, but I heard it's now out on DVD!)

Eight Favorite Restaurants:
1. Los Hermanos (In Provo, Utah)
2. Old Pueblo Grille (In Tucson)
3. Golden Corral (My whole family is happy with this choice.)
4. Panda Express
5. Subway
6. Inn-N-Out
7. Bajio Mexican Grill (In Rexburg)
8. Texas Roadhouse

Eight Things that Happened Yesterday:
1. I found out at 5:20 a.m. that my good friend Robin Morse was in the hospital and getting ready for surgery.
2. I shot a television segment for KOLD13's Morning News that aired today.
3. I updated my money saving blog.
4. I made lots of black cat cookies with all the dough from the television shoot.
5. Larene Kimber came over to my house while her mom taught piano lessons making it really easy for me to visit teach her this month! I love the Kimbers!
6. I made a huge dinner- All Day Salsa Chicken (101More Things To Do With A Slow Cooker), Rice, Steamed Broccoli, and my mom's Homemade Wheat Bread.
7. The missionaries came over for dinner.
8. Paid quarterly taxes.


Eight Things to look forward to:
1. My brother Barry visiting next week
2. Our Primary Program at the church on 11/23
3. The daily high temperature dropping below 80 degrees! (We are suppose to hit 90 on Nov. 1st!)
4. The day after Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday Sales!
5. Seeing the lights at the Mesa Temple after Thanksgiving!
6. The election being over!!!!!!!!!!
7. My date with Ivan tomorrow.
8. Staying home for Christmas and getting my closets cleaned out while Ivan is off for the Holidays.

Eight things on my wish list:
1. Paying off the house! 9 years left!
2. The Emma Smith and Errand of Angels DVDs
3. A bathroom that cleans itself
4. An organized office
5. Lasik Surgery
6. More time with my husband
7. Less homework. It's quite the ordeal with 3 kids in school.
8. Time to scrapbook.

Eight Things I love about the Fall: (I have to change this to fall/winter because that is when we experience fall temperatures in Arizona until December.)
1. Wearing long sleeves and sweaters.
2. Actually being able to sleep under covers.
3. Trick or Treating in 75 degree weather!
4. Being able to open windows at night!
5. Thanksgiving and all the sales after!
6. Baking!!!
7. Decorating for Halloween!
8. Planning for Christmas

Eight people I tag:1. Suzanne B. 2. Jenilee F. 3. Allison E. 4. Jenn N. 5. Rachel W. 6. Kim S. 7. Amy T. 8. Shawna K.

My Favorite Halloween Treats

This morning on my KOLD segment I showed how to make these cookies for Halloween. For my birthday, my brother redesigned my website! Thanks, Chad! If you click on the news link, video 1 shows a clip of me making a portion of this recipe when we lived in Utah. Click here to check out my new cookbook website.

Black Cat Cookies (from my book 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix)
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 chocolate cake mix
plain M&Ms
Red Hots

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together peanut butter, eggs, and water. Gradually add cake mix and blend well. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and flatten balls with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch out 2 ears at top of cookie. Add M&Ms as eyes and a Red Hot as a nose. Press fork into the sides of the cat face to form whiskers. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Note: You can use candy corn instead of M & Ms for the eyes.

An Unforgettable Weekend-Jenn and Jason's Baptism

The Mouso Family on Their Baptism Day

This weekend was truly unforgettable. We have been good friends with the Mouso family since we moved to Tucson in July 2005. They were the first people we met when we moved to Tucson. We miraculously rented houses next door to each other as we both were having homes built on the same block of the same street in a different neighborhood. We became instant friends with their family. They came to church with us for 2 primary programs and for Emma's baby blessing before Jenn ran into the missionaries who were stopped in front of her home one day. The new missionary was actually looking for our home. She told them that they had been to church with us before. They asked her if she would be interested in learning more. She replied in the affirmative. I was so excited for their family to start attending church with us! We knew the joy the gospel would bring to their family.

Elder Bearss, Elder Moss, The Mouso Family,
Ivan, Elder Olsen, and our newest Elder

They came to church and felt the Spirit. Jenn commented that she had been feeling as if there was something missing in her life. While she was sitting in the Gospel Principles Class her first Sunday she had the distinct impression that "this" was what was missing! Jason commented on how the teachings of the gospel just made sense. My dad said the same thing about his experience when he joined the church.

Jenn's mom, Mary, and Jason's dad, Harvey came to give their support.
Jason's dad came all the way from Georgia for their baptism!

Their two boys instantly loved coming to church. It helped a lot that most of their good friends were already there. Alex, 12, had an amazing experience while reading the scriptures in Sunday School which helped confirm the truth of the gospel and the church to his young heart.

The Ashcrafts and The Mousos

I always love the spirit that is felt at baptisms. This baptism was no exception. Not only did we have our good friends being baptized, but we also had a phenomonal senior in high school also getting baptized.

Jake Weiss (left) was able to baptize
one of his best friends, Nate Prathers.

It meant a lot to Ivan to be able to baptize the Mousos. I was asked to speak on baptism, and another friend, Allison Esplin, spoke on the Holy Ghost. While I was preparing my talk, I ran across a quote that I really thought summarized the concept of baptism as a gate. Bruce R. McConkie, a past leader of the church, in teaching about baptism said, “I think that baptism is a gate. It is a gate which puts us on a path; and the name of the path is the straight and narrow path. The straight and narrow path leads upward from the gate of baptism to the celestial kingdom of heaven. After a person has entered the gate of baptism, he has to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, as Nephi expresses it, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men; and if he endures to the end, then he gains the promised reward.”

We were so thrilled to see these five amazing people enter that gate on Saturday. Sunday was just as remarkable. We had a baby blessed and all five confirmations during sacrament meeting. Ivan confirmed Jason a member and was able to give him the gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Olsen did the same for Jenn. Rion Westfall confirmed Alex, while Brother Hodge confirmed Zach. A father of one of Nate's friends confirmed him. The Spirit was incredibly strong and I had to wipe away several tears as blessings were pronounced and promises were given.

I love this church with all my heart. The gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the greatest treasure on earth. It blesses families and brings us closer to our Savior. It has hit me with such force lately that we do not belong to an exclusive church. The Savior invites all of Heavenly Father's children to partake of the gospel, and so must we.

Lots of love,

My sister Katrina's Update

Some of you know my sister, Katrina, who lives in West Virginia. She just emailed me what they did for their ward party.

"We had a Chili Cook off and Trunk or Treat at Church yesterday (Saturday). And to my surprise, I got "Best Overall" for the Chili I made. Meaning it was considered to be the best Chili there! And there were 25 or more crockpots full of different kinds of chili and soup. I used Stephanie's (Mrs.101) recipe for Winter Chili in her 101 Things to do with Ground Beef book. I was so excited to win. I won a medal with a picture of a pot full of Chili. Thanks Steph! :)

Cinderella Beka!

Afterwards, we had a trunk or treat, where the kids go outside in the parking lot and trick or treat in the trunk of everyone's car. It was quite fun! Beka enjoyed every minute of it. This was her first Halloween she has really gotten into and she just loves her costume! She is looking forward to the Gym Daycare Costume Party on Wednesday and trick or treating for Halloween on Friday. She's growing up so fast and I'm enjoying every minute of it!"

Katie called me Saturday morning asking for a good chili recipe. I was glad to hear my chili did okay! :-)

Halloween Comic!

I got a laugh from this one!

Values Vote

The American Family Association emailed me this video clip. I thought I would share it.

10/23 KOLD Cooking Segment

My Thursday Morning News Segment will be shown between 5:50 and 6 a.m. on KOLD13. Total Cost $4.20 per person for a meal that includes a huge steak, salad, grilled asparagus, and dessert for four adults. If you leave out the asparagus, the total drops to 3.80 per person. They also have hotdogs and buns on sale for your kids who don't like steak!

Jazzed-Up BBQ Steak (from 101 Things To Do With A BBQ by Steve Tillett)

2 to 4 sirloin steaks

Jazzed-Up BBQ Sauce:
1 bottle (18 ounces) BBQ sauce, any variety
½ can (or 6 ounces) cola, not diet
½ sweet onion, finely diced

Preheat grill to high heat. Sear steaks over direct high heat 1 minute per side then turn grill down to medium heat and cook until desired doneness. During last 5 minutes of grilling, coat staks with sauce, then turn every 1-2 minutes. Remove steaks from grill and allow to sit 2-3 minutes before serving. Makes 2-4 servings.


No-Bake Chocolate Drops (from 101 Things To Do With Chocolate)

1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup butter or margarine
18 large marshmallows
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
2 cups rolled oats

In a 3-quart heavy pan, combine chocolate chips, butter, and marshmallows. Stir constantly over medium heat until marshmallows and chocolate are melted; remove pan from heat. Stir in vanilla and then fold in coconut and rolled oats. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto wax paper and cool before serving. Makes 20 cookies.

Bashas’ Shopping List:
2-4 boneless top sirloin steaks 2.99/lb Limit 2 packages
1 bottle 18 oz BBQ sauce 1.39
1 Sweet Onion .99/lb
1 can Cola (need 6 oz for recipe)
Asparagus (optional) 1.38/lb
Dole Premium Classic 10 to 12 oz Salads 1.50
Food Club 12 oz Milk Chocolate or Semi Sweet Chips 1.67
Food Club Coconut 1.50
Food Club 16 oz Large marshmallows 1.50
Butter 1 lb 2.50

Items Needed from your Pantry:
Olive oil and coarse salt for Asparagus (optional)
Salad Dressing from your refrigerator
Vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
Wax paper for cookies

Faith of Our Fathers and The Testaments

Sunday we had an excellent Sacrament Meeting. The talks were based from a 2008 April Confernece talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said, "My own ancestors were living an ocean away at the time. None were among those who lived in Nauvoo or Winter Quarters, and none made the journey across the plains. But as a member of the Church, I claim with gratitude and pride this pioneer legacy as my own."

My parents were the first to join the church on my side. I have always felt the same way as President Uchtdorf.

President Uchtdorf went on to say the following: "As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, “we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” And “we believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” We believe in the great plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation, whereby God’s children may experience mortality and return to the presence of the Father—a merciful plan established from before the foundation of this earth.

This is the plan and the faith of our Father!

I testify that the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the faith of our Heavenly Father. It is His truth, revealed to His servants the prophets from the days of Father Adam until our own time. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith to restore the faith of our Father on this earth, never to be taken away again. God desires that all of His children receive it, irrespective of their background, culture, or tradition. True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father."

My grandmother is a huge example of this to me. She had been a member of the Methodist church for 65 years before she seriously began to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know if it was true. She received her answer and she knew that she needed to be baptized. She knew this meant leaving a church that she worked to build and had loved her whole life. She knew that God knew that she knew it was true. She was in her early 80s when she was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She chose to leave the traditions of her fathers and follow Her Faith in The Father and in His Son Jesus Christ. For this, I will be eternally grateful.


Sunday night we had the opportunity to watch The Testaments: Of One Fold And One Shepherd with our friends, Jason, Jenn, Alex, and Zach Mouso. If you haven't seen this yet, it too is a must see. The movie portrays what it must have been like for those living here in the Americas at the time of Christ's birth and death. It depicts the coming of the Savior to the people here after his resurrection. I've seen this movie several times and haven't ever been able to watch the entire thing without crying.

The Mousos will be getting baptized this Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Marana building. We are so excited for them. Jason's dad is coming all the way from Georgia to see their baptism. Jenn's mom will also be there as well. We are all looking forward to Saturday!

High School Musical And The Mesa Temple

Last night we headed to the Tucson Convention Center where we met up with several other families from Estes Elementary School to watch High School Musical on Ice.

Spencer was so excited to watch the show
with "his best friend" Hailee!

It was so fun to watch the show surrounded by lots of friends and neighbors. Spencer was especially excited to watch it with his friend, Hailee.

Liz loved High School Musical on Ice!

Emma, 22 months, loved the music. She was dancing and clapping her hands. The other kids loved it as well. Once I get the pictures I took of the kids by the ice, I'll add them to this post.

This morning the Kimbers brought their teenagers over to watch our kids, so that we could go to the temple with their parents and Sister Patterson. There happened to be 8 of us from our ward in the 11:30 a.m. session we went through including our bishop and his wife. It was our stake temple day. We went to the chapel session at 2 p.m. with our amazing stake presidency. We saw about 25 from our ward during the short time we were there. I know we had others go that morning and later on that evening as well.

What a blessing to be in the temple! There is such a peaceful feeling there. It was neat to share the experience with so many people we love. I wish the temple was just a little closer, but when I hear of sacrifices others have to make to get to the temple, I guess our 1 1/2 to 2 hours in each direction isn't that bad.

A Week In Review

So, we've been home a little over a week. The kids had school the 3 days after we returned. We collected all their work to be made up. Thursday and Friday were both early days out. Then, this whole week has been Fall Break.

I have 2 good friends who home school. After this week of make-up work and pulling teeth to get it done, I have decided that I would not do well at home schooling! I don't know how they do it. I'm counting down days until Monday! :-) Is that horrid? I'm grateful we had this week to play catch up though!

We have had some neat things this week. On Sunday, Jenn, Jason, Alex, and Zach came over to watch Mountain of the Lord with us. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a must see! It's a dramatization of the building of the Salt Lake Temple. It took 40 years for them to build the Salt Lake temple. I have a larger appreciation for the sacrifices made by those who constructed that amazing House of the Lord! Afterward, we showed Jenn and Jason the slide show I have of all the temples on this blog. We are already making plans to go to Utah with them after they are able to go to the temple, so they can go through the Salt Lake and other temples there. Their baptisms are coming up on the 25th. They asked Ivan to baptize them, and he is so excited.

We had a fun Family Home Evening with Abby. I think I had the lowest score on Phase 10 Dice, my new favorite game! On Wednesday, I shot another cooking segment for KOLD that aired this morning. Lizzie had fun going with Bailee to Activity Days Wednesday to learn about dinner time etiquette. Today Devan and Ivan are going out to the White's Ranch for a cub scout service project. Then, tonight we have tickets to go see High School Musical on Ice in Tucson. I'll try to get some pictures to post.

Day 7 Disney World- Magic Kingdom

Our last day was a big one! We got up, got the kids ready, hit Walmart for souvenirs at 7 a.m., went to a 3.99 breakfast buffet at 8 a.m., and tried to get to the park shortly after it opened. Joy, who played Snow White at Disney World, said the best time to get pictures with the Princesses was when the park first opens. We got our pictures with Mickey and Minnie and with the princesses. I'll post them when our CD of pictures arrives.

The kids enjoyed visiting Minnie and Mickey's homes!

The night before we had talked to each child and parent to get a list of 4 things that they each wanted to see or do at the park the next day. Then, we made a game plan including picking up Fast Passes. I actually felt like we were able to do the most that last day. Our plan worked! Yeah. While waiting to go on Splash Mountain with Fast Passes which took our wait time from 1 hour to 5 minutes, we explored Tom Sawyer's Island.

We had a great view for the parade!

The kids were so excited to ride the Dumbo ride. They braved a long line to ride.


After the parade and riding Dumbo, we headed back to use our Fast Passes on the Jungle Cruise. We weren't sure we were going to be able to go because it started to pour as we were waiting for our boat to pull up. Luckily the boat was covered but the rain came down hard all around us.



We ran to Tiki room show which was inside to stay dry. Once the rain came to a low drizzle, we headed to Tomorrowland to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride again. We met up with the Bratsmans. Dayne and Ivan were best friends growing up in Idaho. We went on Space Mountain with them twice. It was fun to see them again.

The Ashcrafts and the Bratsmans

We left the park as the fireworks were going off after a detour to combine all of our PhotoPass Cards from the trip. We grabbed Subway sandwiches and headed to the condo. I finished most of the packing, and went to sleep for a couple hours. Ivan and I got up at at 3 a.m. to finish packing the van and to check out of the condo. We were on the road by 4 a.m. to return the rental van and to catch our flight by 6:15 a.m.. We arrived back to our home by 3:30 p.m.. We were all thoroughly exhausted. Everyone else caught up on sleep while I hurried to get ingredients to shoot the morning news cooking segment the next morning. We need a vacation from our vacation! :-)

Day 6 Sunday in Orlando Florida

The kids were sad to leave the amazing playground
we had right outside our 1st condo!

We had to be out of our 1st condo by 10 a.m. on Sunday and couldn't check into our 2nd one until 3 p.m. that afternoon. We let the kids play on the playground one last time.


Then, we sadly said goodbye to my brother Chad and Camille who headed home to Miami.


The first session of General Conference didn't start until noon in Florida, so we headed to the beautiful Orlando Florida temple grounds with the kids.



While we were there, we ran into 2 other families with the same idea. One family was from Tennessee and the other was from Rexburg. The husband from the Rexburg family had actually been Ivan's Aunt Helen's Cancer Doctor before she died. He and his wife are also good friends with Ivan's brother, Brent.

What a small world it is! We find another family
from Rexburg at the Orlando Temple!

We headed over to the church to watch the first session of conference. It was really good. We had some of the only kids in the whole chapel. It looked like a singles ward was there watching it along with a young married ward. We headed to our condo with the hope of checking in with plenty of time to catch the 2nd session online at the hotel.

The kids enjoyed just hanging out at the condo on Sunday. We had been running non-stop, so it was great to be able to rest and get to bed early for once!

Day 5 Disney World-Disney's Hollywood Studios

Devan and Cameron get sniffed by a dog
at the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground.

We decided to go back to Disney's Hollywood Studios instead of going to the Animal Park. It really takes 2 days each park to go through the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The kids wanted some real time to play on the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Playground.

Spencer hitches a ride on the back of a giant bug!

The boys went to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, while the girls went to see the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast live shows. We rode the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster again. The lines were a lot longer, so we waited for 45 minutes to ride it. While we rode the Coaster, Debra took Spencer on the Tower of Terror twice.


We were also able to see the car stunt show again. This time Elizabeth stayed awake! After the stunt show, we went to Cici's Pizza. Then, Ivan met up with Don and his friend from high school, Dayne, to the Priesthood session. I took the older kids swimming while Debra watched Emma at the condo. It was sad to say goodbye to Ivan's family. We felt blessed to be able to see them.

A Baby's Hug

I wish I knew who wrote this. My friend, Jenn Mouso, emailed it to me. I hope you enjoy it.


"We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.

We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby ; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'


Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.

My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. A s I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.'

Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.'

I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God , we must become as little children."

Day 4 Disney World-Magic Kingdom

On Friday (the 3rd), a huge group of us went to the Magic Kingdom. We had Kevin, Michael, Joy, Jennifer, Chad, Camille, Debra, and Cameron along with the 6 from our family. We went to Tomorrowland first to ride Carousel of Progress, the Buzz Lightyear ride, and Stitch The Great Escape.

Spencer was so excited to ride with his favorite Jennifer!

Then, we headed over to the Indy Speedway next. This was probably Emma's favorite ride.

Emma teaches Dad a thing or two about driving!

Speedy Devan

Liz, you are too young to be driving!


Crazy Driver at the Wheel!

We went on Space Mountain and then the Teacups!
Emma giggled on the teacups the whole ride!

Ivan spun the boys super fast. They were dizzy getting off the ride!

Aunt Debra and Emma

We met up with Michael, Joy, and Kevin to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

Joy, Spencer and Michael enjoy Pirates!

Our favorite ride was Splash Mountain.

It was hot and the water felt so good!

Kevin, Devan, Liz, Cameron, Joy
and Michael wait to go on yet another ride!

My brother Chad, Lizzie, and Camille

The best part of the trip was being able to spend it with family. We sometimes feel so isolated from our families living in Tucson. It was great to share this experience with Ivan's sisters, their families, my brother Chad, and Camille.