Christmas JOY

Holidays bring SUCH JOY and HEALING to my life as we, my family of 5, form new traditions that I pray my babies will look back on with TONS of warm fuzzies and GREAT memories!!

We will be doing our traditional Christmas Eve Feast again this year! A house filled with laughter, noise, crying (of course, there are LOTS of babies!), game playing, seafood and sweets! Our home is opened up to all our family and friends as we celebrate and rejoice together!! We chat about what has happened in the past year (yes, there will be LOTS of running talk, and teasing from my husband OF COURSE,LOL!), jokes about what New Years resolutions we will once again attempt, kids singing Christmas favorites, toasting glasses of yummy wine . . . all of this is JOY to me!!

This is why I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Christmas season. Yes, it's to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but along with that it shows me just HOW MUCH God loves ME. Despite my insecurities, my brokenness, He has surrounded me by all these amazing friends that support me and LOVE ME and "this" is what has been in store for me all along. All the years of darkness and fear have led me to this. I've listened to His voice, followed my heart, have been obedient and now I'm able to experience His ABUNDANCE and I couldn't be any more thankful.

Matthew 16:25 "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

Thank you Lord for filling my home for the holidays, filling it up for birthdays and other special occasions that we celebrate LIFE! The more I identify myself in Christ and my obedience and perseverance has paid off in ways I can't use the word Thank You enough to express.

Breaking bread with people we hold close to our hearts and "do life" with, and sharing our joy over some wine is SO WHAT I'm looking forward to on Friday! So now it's time to get things started in The Auditore Home!!! :o)

Menu for this Year!

Baked Cod
Fried Shrimp
Fried Calamari
Seafood Ceviche
Linguine and Clam Sauce
Broccoli rabe
Bread

Appetizers
Assorted Sides

Big Ol Fancy Christmas Cake ordered by my sis!
Italian Wedding Cookies
Fudge
and some of these yummies:
Rainbow Cookies
Oreo Truffles
Grasshopper Brownies
Chocolate Coconut Candies

And I'm sure I'll add on to the list when I finalize it tonight! :o)


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boldness

I know I'm not a "good blogger" or very consistent with it and that's really okay. Sometimes I have the extra time to sit and write down my thoughts and sometimes I JUST DON'T. This is a very busy season for me and for my family as it is for most of us. I just had to share some AWESOMENESS as I sit here and reflect on just how GOOD God is!

So, my husband works for a company that had a big Convention a few weeks ago and I will try to get right to the point here....LOL....So they were handing out awards and everyone went up and thanked graciously as anyone would, but there was one man who went up there and not only thanked eveyone but thanked the Lord for everything He had done in this man's life to bring him to the place that he is at, started to point to a particular scripture in Malachi that described a part of his life. Anyway, at the end everyone not only clapped but stood up to clap...WOW....imagine having that kind of BOLDNESS for God? Whew! Then afterwards, the owner of the company's brother was chatting with the guy and mentioned starting a daily morning prayer group over the phone. So how does this affect me? Well, they heard it through the grapevine what Chris and I are doing and the path we are on to eventually plant a church and they asked him to join them. Yes, to some this may sound weird but to be honest I really don't care anymore. God has shown me SO MUCH, especially this past year and a half that I just CAN'T ignore, discount or NOT talk about it!

So, this morning he had his little prayer phone call with the other 3 guys and it was GREAT! He loved it and I JUST LOVE HIM! There is NOTHING like having a husband who leads your home spiritually. I didn't think marriage to this man could be more perfect, truly, but this brings a level of deepness, love and respect that nothing else could touch.

Now, the really cool thing is shortly afterwards when I dropped Christopher off at school, totally stressed out about what was ahead of me today, the director at his school called me into her office to give me candy canes to use for our Orange Santa Distribution Day event and then asked if she could pray for me. She very lovingly held my arms and the words that came out of her mouth were EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I instantly felt warmth and love and was just so very thankful to her! Now, don't get me wrong, it's taken quite some time for me to come to a place to receive that without feeling a little bit (or alot) weird. But I am so thankful I am at that place because let me tell you....there is just no feeling that I can express that compares to that kind of peace.

So as I sit here in the midst of a HUGE to-do list, 90% of it is doing for others, serving people I don't know, God stepped in and lovingly reminded both Chris and me just how much HE loves us and to keep on the path that he guided us to.

This day has been a blessing to us. I am so thankful for those of you BOLD in your faith and your love of God to not hesitate to share it with others. These two people, both of whom Chris and I don't even know very well, listened to God, acted with their heart boldly and had a HUGE impact on us both!

This is why I just *LOVE* this spiritual journey!!! :o)

Hopefully I'll be able to share more of what's going on soon! Thank goodness for Facebook though! LOL

Tis the Season to be Jolly!! :o)

Ahhhhhhh....the holidays are HERE at last!!! Christmas Tree lighting at The Domain, store fronts decorated in red, green, silver and gold, Christmas music jingling in my ear, Egg Nog and Gingerbread creamers, oh this is MY SEASON!!! I feel most alive this time of year. I am truly full of joy when I reflect on holidays and what they bring to me. Christmas time brings such warmth and such a sense of healing to a part of my soul that's untouchable. The random acts of kindness, the baking, the cooking, the holiday cards from family members and friends that I don't get to see or speak with on a regular basis, Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Story, all the laughter and joy around me, hanging ornaments on the tree and remembering the special meaning of almost all of them . . . these things just FILL ME UP!

Planning menus, reviewing sale adds, writing letters to Santa, working on Christmas crafts --- oh how I just love this!! It's exciting and invigorating, how can it NOT bring life to me?!?! Watching the kids hang candy canes on the tree, begging to just have "one more", laughing as they check their stockings to see if there was anything left from last year, asking 100 times for the baby to STOP touching the tree (LOL). . . THIS is what I "live" for!

Sure I let my "Holiday Gina" come out the day of Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve when I'm preparing the meal and well, she's not so nice BUT quickly changes once everything is set and ready to go! I LOVE serving my family and my friends, it truly brings me the most joy. From here on out, it gets a little more hectic, some days are more stressful than others, but there's just something about catching a glimpse of the sparkly decorations around making everything just a little bit prettier that makes that stress not seem like such a big deal!

So here's to The Holidays 2010!!

Thanks Heather for photographing my family once again!
You capture these moments of joy for me and I'll always be thankful!

San Antonio Rock n Roll

Finished my last Half Marathon, full report here! Intimidated a bit by DOUBLE THE DISTANCE but am thinking I'm pretty sure I may be finished with half marathons once I complete the Austin FULL Marathon.

But then again, who knows! LOL

Menu Plan Monday 11/15

I'm trying to incorporate fish into the menu weekly whether it's for lunch or dinner. Found a really cool season packet by McCormick at HEB for Salmon and it ROCKED!!!! Had it for lunch last week and am doing it for the family this week for dinner!

Happy Monday!!!

Mon: Sausage and Peppers (doing it with Chicken and Feta sausage, should be good!)
Tue: Pasta Fagioli, salad
Wed: Honey Mustard Pork Chops (a good WWatchers recipe!), jasmine rice, broccoli
Thur: Baked Ranch Chicken Breasts, roasted veggies, Red Lobster cheddar biscuits
Fri: Pot Roast
Sat: Salmon, rice and green beans
Sun: Baked Ziti

Menu Plan Monday 11/7

Okay, trying to find my groove again and get better at blogging!! :o)

I ALWAYS have my menu on my Google calendar and will try to be better at putting it out here too! I *heart* menu planning!!!



Monday: Sofrito Pork, Beans and Tomato Salad
Tuesday: 40 Clove Garlic Chicken in Crockpot, green salad & bread
Wednesday: Quesadillas, Fruit Salad
Thursday: Baked Cod, corn on the cob, cranberry salad
Friday: Beef Stew in Crockpot
Saturday: MNO
Sunday: Chili, Cornbread

My Irish Sweetie!

Today was a WONDERFUL day! Chris and I were able to take part in a very special family's Baby Dedication, not only as guests but Chris actually performed the ceremony and I was blessed to be named one of the two Godmothers. This family holds a VERY special place in my heart.

They are two of the most giving and loving people I know. I adore them both! Honest, nurturing, giving, humble, loyal, organic (yes I admire those organic types!), the list really can go on and on. There is something about this Irish Beauty, aka Sabrina that just boosts me up every single time I talk to her! She is one of my biggest fans. And I don't mean "fan" in the way of idolizing or worshiping another person, I mean that type of "fan" like a mother or family member can be to someone. She's encouraging, motivating, loving and seriously just breathes life into me when we get to visit with each other! She speaks my language. She knows what I need to hear and doesn't hold back. I truly need a friend like her!

I hate that I forgot my camera but am just hoping that she emails me a pic from today!! It truly was an AWESOME day and I just LOVED sharing it with so many of her newer friends that I just KNOW she's had some great impact on! Every person she touches, she leaves her mark...I just love her!!!