Gratitude Journal

5 Things I'm Grateful For Today

1.  Walking home from Kindergarten holding hands with Van hearing about his day.

2.  Getting my car serviced.

3.  Baking brownies with the girls after school.

4.  Dinner with my family.

5.  Typing and reading in my soft cozy bed.

Christmas Highlights

Dear Diary,
My Christmas wish came true.  I have all I really want... a healthy and happy family.  Ok, presents are icing on the cake, but their novelty is short lived.  What really matters and what really makes me happy is being together.  We may not be harmonious 24/7 but when we are it's always a good time. My family is my sunshine and I love lots of sunshine!

1st thing Christmas morning

Cousins galore

My beautiful sisters

Love him!

Michael and Cathy

 My favorite people... Grams and Mom

Friends may come and go but family is forever!

December Reflections

Dear Diary,
I welcomed this Christmas season with open arms.  The kids were excited as each day got closer and our calendar was full of fun activities.  So much for taking the time to organize and clean around the house... no, we were always on the go.  Jeff and I squeezed in a few date nights and we definitely had lots of family gatherings and events.  Here are just a few...

Annual Christmas dinner with Sherry & John and Heather & Mike at the Chart House Marina Del Rey.

Mike, John and Jeff

Heather and Sherry

Our annual Ave C Santa visit.

Neighborhood party

The Lewis Christmas Tree

Date night... dinner Il Fornaio and Berlin concert.

Hover board fascination

 Hover board injury... 5 chin stitches

Christmas Eve Mass

Christmas Eve family dinner at Avenue Italy.

Josette and Gigi

Jessie and Van

Our gang

Dessert and wine with Robyn and Ted.

Santa Time

Dear Diary,
We're so lucky to have Santa visit our South Bay streets!  It's been a fun tradition since Josette was a baby.  Seeing Santa never gets old.  He brings us lots of joy and smiles!

TBT 2002

Making my way to the Santa Maria Assunta in Positano Italy to marry Jeff.  My Mom, best friend Sherry and sister-in-law Allyson... by my side.

Spaghetti Tacos

I know what you're thinking, but they're actually good!  Your kids will love them and they're super easy to make.

Cook spaghetti pasta per box instructions

Mix in about 2-3 cups of jar sauce (I love Rinaldi's Original)

Stuff taco shells with pasta

Add a side

Serve on paper plates for easy cleanup :)

Enjoy!  Your kids will love it!