Christmas pictures yesterday

Last year, 2008~ This was our girls Christmas photo and I had them done at Sears. Now lets' compare how much they have grown.

This year 2009 You can't tell but they both grew into 2 sizes larger clothing and at least 3 sizes larger in shoes.....Well, I went to Sears Portraits for Christmas pictures again, this year. I didn't get pictures of me, with them, since recently in ALL my photos I am SO non-photogenic. I look so bloated this pregnancy and look like a racoon with a mothers mask of tired freckles and dark circles under my eyes..something I never had so long before, NO THANKS.

I like Sears Portraits..they always do a great job, for me with their well trained photographers and they never overlap in scheduling and have an amazing cost per packet. This year, it was only $7.99 for a packageof 35 photos at least 1 or 2 of each larger size . I figured we will be having a new addition to the family early this next year, so I also renewed my Smile Savers card for about 13 bucks, which gets me all those year round coupons in the mail...

Isn't Tali cute here? SHe was so Blaze about smiling that I am surprised we got any Big smiles out of her. Yet she was better than last year at least she said Cheese this time and didn't make a run for it....The photographer Elina who was great with the girls, took at least 2 dozen and it was edited down to 8 ...with smiles.

In some of these pictures, we used one of our Christmas ornaments from the tree. I liked it cause it had the word BELIEVE embroidered in the little velvet pillow with real chimey sleigh bells hanging. Lana refused to hold it, so we hung it on the window pane.

the fake Christmas background looks okay when it's done in Sepia.

Christmas Countdown

Trick & Treat

Santa Monica Pier

Precious Family Candid moments

At the wildlife park while being busy playing with the camera amazed at the wonderfully pink and boring flamingo, I realized my family was no where near me and then I followed the path I guessed they moved on to and from behind them I found this picture moment and was glad I could make it forever.

Interesting

Why Toddlers Don't Do What They're Told
Study using SpongeBob SquarePants shows they're not ignoring you, but rather storing what you say for future reference.

Are you listening to me?
Didn't I....
just tell you to get your coat? Helloooo! It's cold out there
So goes many a "conversation" between parent and toddler. It seems everything you tell them either falls on deaf ears or goes in one ear and out the other. But that's not how it works.
Toddlers listen, they just store the information for later use, a new study finds.
"I went into this study expecting a completely different set of findings," said psychology professor Yuko Munakata, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado at Boulder. "There is a lot of work in the field of cognitive development that focuses on how kids are basically little versions of adults trying to do the same things adults do, but they're just not as good at it yet. What we show here is they are doing something completely different."
Munakata and colleagues used a computer game and a setup that measures the diameter of the pupil of the eye to determine the mental effort of the child to study the cognitive abilities of 3-and-a-half-year-olds and 8-year-olds.
The game involved teaching children simple rules about two cartoon characters—Blue from Blue's Clues and SpongeBob SquarePants—and their preferences for different objects. The children were told that Blue likes watermelon, so they were to press the happy face on the computer screen only when they saw Blue followed by a watermelon. When SpongeBob appeared, they were to press the sad face on the screen.
"The older kids found this sequence easy, because they can anticipate the answer before the object appears," said doctoral student Christopher Chatham, who participated in the study. "But preschoolers fail to anticipate in this way. Instead, they slow down and exert mental effort after being presented with the watermelon, as if they're thinking back to the character they had seen only after the fact."
The pupil measurements showed that 3-year-olds neither plan for the future nor live completely in the present. Instead, they call up the past as they need it.
"For example, let's say it's cold outside and you tell your 3-year-old to go get his jacket out of his bedroom and get ready to go outside," Chatham explained. "You might expect the child to plan for the future, [and] think, 'Okay, it's cold outside so the jacket will keep me warm.' But what we suggest is that this isn't what goes on in a 3-year-old's brain. Rather, they run outside, discover that it is cold, and then retrieve the memory of where their jacket is, and then they go get it."

Biggest Loser Tryouts

Well... I tried out after backing out almost 3x and then my cousin Laite, (Filipe's sister) backed out and then got back in right before the day...We had V.I.P. passes to go to the front of the line...and as we passed I got stink eye from a couple of people and heard some talk but couldn't make out what they said. My lil cuz' was mad when we walked ..." What the BLeep she said that guy just said "I wasn't fat....what? She was bugged until I turned to her and said ..."Um Laite ...isn't that a compliment?"
She looked at me and then we both got a good laugh...Well normally it is unless your trying out for the Biggest Loser...We didn't make callbacks but we had a great day anyways...Don't think I didn't feel like a reject not getting callbacks but there was great relief in it as well.

You're Eating … What?

By Sally Wadyka

Strawberry Yogurt?

Want some dead bugs with your dinner?

Well, that's just one of the freaky ingredients involved in making some popular processed foods. And while all seven of these sound incredibly icky—though presumably used to help make your food tastier or look better—some additives are decidedly more disturbing than others. Here's what you're eating—which may inspire you to start contemplating those ingredient labels a lot more closely.
Carmine
According to the FDA, this red food coloring (also known as cochineal extract) is made from dried, ground bugs . The Dactylopius coccus costa insect is native to Peru and the Canary Islands, where it feeds on red berries. The berries accumulate in the females' stomachs and in their unhatched larvae—which is what gives the extract its red coloring. Carmine is one of the most widely used coloring agents, and food manufacturers routinely use it to turn foods shades of pink, red or purple. Chances are it's what makes the color of your strawberry yogurt or that cranberry drink look so appealing.
But the problem is that at the moment, you have no way of knowing if you're ingesting these little red bugs. Instead, the label will simply read, "artificial color" or "color added." But the Vegetarian Legal Action Network petitioned the FDA to disclose the presence of carmine, and in 2010, that requirement will go into effect. "But it will still be listed only as carmine or cochineal extract, with no mention of the ingredient's source," says Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "The onus will be on the consumer to know what carmine is, and that's asking a lot."

Just in case you haven't eaten your fill of bugs,

Here's another opportunity for insect consumption. Shellac—which is used to make that shiny coating on jelly beans and to give fresh fruits and vegetables that perfect, glossy finish—is made from the excretions of Kerria lacca insects that are native to Thailand. Again, vegetarian lobbyists have urged the FDA to require that labeling indicate if fruits and vegetables are coated with an insect-derived substance. The FDA wouldn't go that far, but, according to Jacobson, it did require produce packers to disclose whether any coating used is animal- or vegetable-derived. "But it would be on a placard or on the box of produce, not in bold type on the fruit or vegetable itself," says Jacobson, and not necessarily displayed to grocery shoppers. "And I don't know that the regulation is very strongly enforced," he adds.

Those innocent-looking little Gummi Bears

...are hiding a somewhat distasteful secret. According to the USDA, the gelatin that gives them their kid-pleasing texture is created at the expense of several different animal parts, including ligaments, skin, tendons and bones. Though some non-animal versions of gelatin are available, vegetarians know to avoid packaged foods containing gelatin, unless it's specifically labeled as being derived from a vegetarian source.

So....for Valentines

My 1st and Best"est", perfect"est" Valentine's night, was last night.
Well, while the rest of the U.S. world celebrated on Saturday, I babysat 4 of my favorite friends' kids. We exchanged snickerdoodles, and frosted valentine sugar cookies , a few poopy diapers and well, babysat.
However my friends Tamara & Johnny Feinga did a babysit switch. Aisake (Isaac)and I went out last nite and we had a great time. As you can tell from my latest music video we went and saw Inkheart and I thought it was good even though Aisake waved his hand and said it was okay. I kinda liked that fairytale, gone bad, with a happy ending of course! Then we went to His favorite place to eat ~Chipotle and stuffed ourselves with burritos. We shared the chicken and Balbacoa. oooooh I never tried that one before and it's my newest fave! I love sharing plates and he usually doesn't let me, unless I am super persuasive about how great my plate is!
Besides the food and movie, the really fun part was that we got to know eachother a little more. He surprisingly stopped at JoAnn's and went in, so I could ooh and ahhh at the store in Chandler, that looks more like Michaels than Joann's. It was funny cause I could sense how out of place he felt as he pretended to be interested in the end cap, that I realized had knitting needles and yarn displayed. At the checkout, he paid for the cute rainbow, princess and pooh bear, iron-on patches... that I wanted for our girls' boring jean overalls, that I found on sale last week at Target. He listened to me ramble on like that about the same ol' and really seemed interested in my ridiculous chatter, because he responded and asked questions....weird.

Then for him we went to "The electronics area in Walmart.. (lol) this is his favorite place. We considered buying something... I normally try and convince him we don't need...another DVD PLAYER, but this one records video cassetes to DVD...whoo hoo!

Unfortunately,;+( It was out of stock and the upscale model was almost $200 something more) but I still became interested in his search for the missing Magnabox and asked him and the electronics helper questions to try and find it and though we didn't,

I noticed we ended up really being interested in eachother's wants, a little more than usual. So last night, I believe I did begin to unravel a big tangled secret about the delicate mystery between a man and a woman.... C'mon, I bet you could Guess.

Broken Camera

Yup My blogs are still without pictures.

NO camera Maybe I will get one for my Birthday!

I HOPE!

This is the camera I really want it's only about $350. pops!

(Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd)

Talitha Cumi

Talitha Cumi

The Sun will rise, on her sweet face
He said, “Believe. She’s only sleeping”
“Talitha Cumi; Dear daughter, Arise!”
"Talitha Cumi" , the father cried.
open her eyes and bring her near
I want to know she’s not lost forever
Can you heal her heart and make her reappear?

That day of days of teaching all and His, disciples.
Three followed him, to The place, of Her 12 years

Those who were there
They wailed, they cried, Full of Despair and full of pride
without a comfort. over her last Breath. As if in vain,
as if they knew, but they could not

Believe in whom this stranger came for
they never knew, why his power was brought here
But how could He, even the Father’s teacher and their Redeemer,
Die for All?

Talitha Cumi; Dear Lamb, arise!
"Talitha Cumi, our Christ has died"
Open my eyes and bring me closer
I need to know, I’m not lost forever
And thou art near, erase my fear.

The Sun did rise, on his sweet face.
He said “Believe, I’m only sleeping.”


Copyrighted 2009
by Mary Tui

Last Friday midnite, I went to the E.R. for some problems with slight bleeding and I was told I had a common U.T.infection and was given meds and told to rest all day. I did get to see the baby on the ultrasound and hear the healthy heart beat of a 9 week old baby, although they said it was as small as 8 weeks. Two days later I went into labor pains every 5 minutes I was rushed to the hospital but just before was given a beautiful blessing from Heavenly Father, through my husband, that put me back at peace. Although I still had hope for the baby , The doctors were sorry to inform me that the fetus had went from the uterus to the cervex and I was now experiencing a miscarriage. Well it's been a few days since and I haven't really been able to do much. I am not sure if this would have been as hard if I had not seen that beautiful heartbeat and told that the baby was fine. Maybe however i will always remember how perfect and alive my baby was at one time. I believe we will meet again.