Our Christmas Home 2012

A Blessed Christmas from our home to yours....



Welcome to our 2012 Merry Christmas home Tour. Come on in!




Our Christmas decor would not be complete without our nativity scene greeting our dear guests and reminding us all of the reason for the season




I love decorating especially for the holidays.  It's a way for me to prepare not just our home but also my heart for the celebrant of the season....for the One Who "stepped out of heaven onto earth, in order that we might one day step out of earth into heaven".  The One Who left us peace...'not as the world gives' (John 14:27) but the kind of peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), so that it may be for us, heaven (in the here and now) all the way to heaven.  



Our homes should be a place of comfort and refuge; and so I like to create an atmosphere that reflects simplicity, peace, and serenity, that my heart might be prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ, The Immanuel (God with us), and also the birth of our middle son, Immanuel.

View of our Living Room from upstairs




and of course, every year since Isabella's involvement with SFBallet Nutcracker production (since 2009), our Nutcrackers and ballerina ornaments come out to grace the top of our piano joined by our taekwondo ornaments (representing our 3 sons)


Dining/Living Room

Family Room



I hope you enjoyed our Merry Christmas home tour this year.
Blessed Christmas from our family to yours.
Our end-of-year family letter is available here



Nutcracker

It's Nutcracker Time at the War Memorial Opera House!

Here is Isabella's schedule for 2012.  She will be one of the 4 dragonflies in Act 2 this year.
for tickets go to: sfballet.org


Date                     Time       
12/8    Saturday      2 PM, 7 PM
12/11  Tuesday       7 PM
12/13  Thursday      7 PM
12/15  Saturday      2 PM, 7 PM
12/18  Tuesday       7 PM
12/19  Wednesday  7 PM
12/21  Friday          2 PM, 7 PM
12/23  Sunday        2 PM, 7 PM
12/24  Monday       11 AM
12/27  Thursday      2 PM, 7 PM
12/28  Friday          7 PM


Here are some photos (by Erik Tomasson) of Isabella as a butterfly from last year's production








Thanksgiving 2012

Ever so grateful for an awesome Thanksgiving celebration this year filled with so MANY blessings.  Our loving family is complete, as always, including my dear niece, Daisy, and dear auntie Edith who came to join us this year.

Though the usual turkey was absent from this year's menu  (our oven had a stuck key that couldn't be reset)  we still had plenty to feast on including beef caldereta (stew), inihaw na bangus (grilled milkfish), empanaditas, and fruit salad. We eventually had the turkey the following day:) I set our old table (that we finally moved back from Pismo) in our family room so hubby and the boys can watch their favorite sports shows while feasting.


Later in the afternoon, we headed to the park for some photo shoot and some football fun for Isabella and big bro Phil (Isabella is inspired by a  book she's currently reading about a girl playing football).



While Phil and Isabella were playing football, Ian and I were enjoying photo shoot fun with Daisy as our photographer






And more park fun until dawn!!!



And park fun continued the following day, Friday, playing basketball and more football.


And for Saturday, it was on to bowling fun with the kids and Daisy who slept over.  They finally got me to play bowling for the very first time.



And we ended the week with fun in the city on a beautiful Sunday.  We (my sons, Daisy, and I) headed to Crissy Field after dropping Isabella off at SFB for Nutcracker rehearsal.  Immanuel met us there with our dog Isis.


And finally, after we picked up Isabella, our beautiful Sunday ended over wonderful dinner at the equally beautiful Yerba Buena Gardens