I've always like the number 7. I was born on the 21st day (that's three 7's) of the 7th month. Driving home after work tonight I noticed that my odometer was just rolling to 77777 on January 27... I guess that it is a fitting number since my truck just turned 7 this month! I quickly snapped this picture as I was stopped at the light at Imperial & First.
Saturday morning I drove down to Imperial to spend the long weekend with the family. We spent lots of time just enjoying ourselves and the cousins had a great time playing together. The highlight of my Sunday (besides driving to Yuma for church) was making banana splits with the kids. Yum! It had been a long time since I had one of those. Monday we slept in and then all went to Mom's place for brunch. Trying to find something fun to do was a little challenging but we finally came up with a plan. We all piled into a couple of cars and drove to Sunbeam Lake. It had been years and years since I'd been there. The park was really nice and the weather was perfect for a day outdoors. We all had fun on the swings seeing who could go the highest =) Then we took a walk along the lake and enjoyed the beautiful view. See lots of pics by clicking here. 
at Cypress College. During his 27 years at Cypress he won seven conference titles and a pair of state championships and was eventually inducted into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame. He coached numerous successful players including future NBA stars Swen Nader and Mark Eaton. An All-American selection in 1952, he played at UCLA for legendary coach John Wooden. It has been about eight years since I met Coach Johnson at Biola where he is the one of the assistant coaches. Together with his wife Collette they have become dear friends. 
As I sit hear looking at the pretty lights and enjoying my Christmas tree I am thinking back at the last 12 days and what a fun filled Christmas it was. Dec 24 dawned with a sky beautifully painted with hues of pink, orange and yellow. With the truck packed full of luggage, food and gifts I was on my way. It was so good to see the kids again! We all were busy getting everything ready for our family Christmas eve celebration. 
David helped me make a pecan pie. The girls were getting all dressed up and I had fun creating pretty and unique hairdos for them all. Once everything was ready and all of us were there it was time to eat! The food was very yummy. We had some typical Colombian dishes like empanadas, bunuelos and tamales. After dinner Abby read us a Christmas story and then it was time to open all the gifts. Little Margie was so excited about that part! We got to bed pretty late...was it 2 or 3 am? Early Christmas morning I was woken up my Nino (the basset hound) whining outside wanting a walk so off we went for a brisk, cold walk. The kids got up later and opened up their stockings and we had a nice relaxing lazy day. Dec 26 we went shopping with all the kids, ate a delicious lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ
and came home and made 5 minute chocolate mug cakes. On Saturday the 27th I got up bright and early and drove to Yuma with Mom. We spent the day at Mary's (Donna's neighbour) making Mexican tamales. 
It was a first for me. We made over 200 tamales all together! At the end of the day we decided to bring Alyssa & Josh back to Imperial with us so they could spend the weekend with their cousins. Having the six kids together was a great time! From dancing and playing together to going on a road trip to a date farm in Thermal we had a blast! 
Monday night Aunt Grace and Uncle Jon arrived and the party began in earnest =) That night we put up the big camping tent right in the middle of the living room and the kids all had a slumber party together. Dec 30th was our "second Christmas" for those who weren't here on the 24th. We all met up in Yuma for a great meal (of our homemade tamales) and gift exchange. Grace brought all her photo equipment from work so everyone had fun posing and getting their picture taken in front of the tree. It was a great time of family, fun and lots of laughs. Dec 31 New Year's Eve... Donna, Greg, Alyssa, Josh, Mom and Frank spent a great evening together (eating more tamales) playing Mexican Train. We rang in the new year with a toast and prayer together. It's so good to share these special moments. 
Later that night we spent time eating and talking and enjoying each other's company late into the night (sorry for keeping you up so late!). Frank and I went to church the next morning and had a great time of worship, an encouraging sermon and communion. Sundays here are always bittersweet because it means that I have to say goodbye to everyone and make the long drive home. After a brief stop for lunch in Imperial to see the kids (and take a little nap) I was back on the road. This had definitely been one of the best Christmas holidays ever! I am so thankful for my wonderful family and friends! Click here for some pics... More pictures coming soon!
