Love. . .My. . .Family

A Great Christmas Morning

We had another wonderful Christmas this
year! It was extra special because Tommy's
parents are visiting from Boston and this
is the 1st time they have been able to see
the boys open gifts on Christmas morning,
and the 1st Christmas we've ever spent all
together.
This was also the first time we ever had
to wake the boys up and tell them that
Santa came! Once they were up, they
were ready to go! We read the story of
the birth of Jesus before heading downstairs
to see what Santa brought.

They hunt to see if their names are on
the gifts.

They open their gifts pretty fast
(especially because they get 3 gifts,
plus a gift from Nana and Papa, and
one from Grandma). It was great for
them to have their grandparents here
to enjoy the morning.

I love my boys

Drew loved his new Star Wars Game and
his new Leap Frog (Jake is a pro and
wants to help teach him)

Jake was so excited to get new
games for Wii and also Beyblades.
He loves battling his dad!

It was another great year, we are so
blessed. Thank you Jesus!

Luke loved all his Toy Story 3 toys,
including his new Buzz Lightyear!

Tommy and I decided this year that instead
of exchanging gifts we would give money
for a cause. God has really been putting
on my heart to give more and more. Sports
ministries (Fellowship of Christian Athletes:
FCA, and Athletes in Action: AIA are 2
ministries that I love to support!) are
so important to me, and also Gospel for
Asia (we bought a COW this year! and also
some chicks: www.gfa.org) as well as
Samaritans Purse. We give to these different
ministries, but for Christmas Tommy chose
to give to The Ronald McDonald House and
I chose to give to the local Make a Wish
Foundation.
I was watching Glenn Beck the other day and
it really confirmed the choice we made this
year. He was talking about giving and how
many times it means even more when we give
even if we don't have much to give. It's the
heart behind it. I know my flesh wants to
"have" and "get" but to "give" is of the
Spirit and that is what will last!

God Can Use YOU

I saw this in an e-mail and just had to
share it:

The next time you feel like GOD can't
use YOU, just remember...

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was
a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too
young
David had an affair and was
a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while
praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced,
more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...
AND Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!! God can use
you to your full potential. Besides
you aren't the message, you are
just the messenger.

Merry Christmas from the Amico Family

Wishing you a very Merry and
blessed Christmas!

From Jake

Drew

and Luke

It's very hard to get a picture with
all my boys smiling, especially when
you have a moody 3-yr-old

But we bribe and bribe and finally
find a way to bring back a smile
(usually by offering candy)

The tree is decorated and the boys are
ready for Santa to leave presents by it.

The table is set and we are excited to
have our family over (and this year
my in-laws from Boston are here, so
we are very happy about that!).

I wanted to leave you with this thought:
somebody posted this on Facebook and the
words are so meaningful:

Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no
servants, yet they called him Master. Had no
degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no
medicines, yet they called him Healer. He
had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won
no military battles, yet he conquered the
world. He committed no crime, yet they
crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today. Merry CHRISTmas

Now that is what Christmas is about,
or I should say, that is WHO Christmas
is about: Jesus Christ.

CA Thunder OC

Last Sunday night my mom and I went to
Fullerton to attend the CA Thunder OC
Softball Banquet. They have two teams:
12U and 14U. It brings back a lot of
memories because when I was 16 years
old a group of us started the Thunder
team and that year we won 16U ASA
Nationals. I have so many great
memories from that team and so many
friendships that I still cherish.
We were involved with a great group of
people. I was so fortunate to always
play for positive coaches who helped
us to compete at the top level and
one of those coaches was Murray
Sportsman who has helped to start up
this program again. He is coaching
the 12U Team and has surrounded himself
with other coaches with the same
philosophies. We had dinner and
Murray spoke to the group and then
I spoke and shared some of my
experiences with the teams. Afterward
I signed some autographs and we took
pictures.

Here is the 14U Team


The 12U Team


My mom and I stayed and hung out with
the whole Sportsman Family!

Sylvia (Murray's wife), Geneva (I played
with her), Taylor (Murray's neice plays
18U and is working toward a college
scholarship), Me, my mom, Murray and
Jada (in front: Murray's granddaughter,
plays 12U Thunder OC)

It's so fun to get together and reminisce
about when we played! I'm so grateful for
all that softball brought to my family.

Pre-School Parties, Santa, Gingerbread Men & Sugar Cookies

Last Friday started out with Drew's Pre-School
Christmas Party at New Hope Christian School

It was a Pajama Party! You were supposed to
wear your favorite Christmas pj's but we don't
have any so Pokemon are second best

An hour later, Luke had his class Christmas
Party. The thing is, I thought his was a
pajama party too! But it WASN'T! I walked
in and Luke was the only one in pj's! And
Toy Story at that. I dropped him off quickly
and slipped out quietly and cracked up all
the way back to my car.

I went back at the end of his party and made
it for the "hot potato" game. Luke had no
idea he was the only one wearing his pj's :)

He was so excited when the music stopped on
him!

Next he had to pick out a present. So many
to choose from.


Luke and one of his teachers

After we left the school, we made our 3rd
trip to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. The
1st and 2nd times we went the lines were
TOO long. Third time's a charm!

They were doing their best to be on the
"NICE" list!

After telling Santa what they want for
Christmas, the boys and I headed over
to Tai Pan Trading Co. where my mom
works as a store manager. She helped
me to pick out some new Christmas
garlands and I picked up a few gifts
as well. If you've never been to
Tai Pan Trading you need to go check
it out. It's a huge home goods store
with so many good deals! It's by
the Ontario Mills.

Next we headed home to decorate cookies.
We started with these gigantic
gingerbread men that the O'Keeffe's
gave us from Trader Joes.

Luke going to work

The boys wanted help making their
gingerbread men into ninjas

Working hard

I saw Drew eating some frosting
in between working on it, so I
had my camera waiting and caught
him in the act again!

Luke's (& mom's) Creation

Drew and his "Ninja" Ginja

They had to eat some of this SUGAR!

Later that night my brother came over
with his kids. My boys were excited
to decorate sugar cookies with their
cousins.

I made the mistake of giving them the
"spray" frosting

These make me sick just looking at
them but they loved their masterpieces!

We have taken a long time to get around to
decorating, but thanks to my mom's help,
it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas
around here.

Christmas Party with Friends

Last weekend we had a Christmas party
with friends. We had an Italian-themed
Pot Luck and all the food was wonderful!

Most of my Bible Study girlfriends

All the husbands being nice and taking
a picture because we asked them to!

White Elephant Gift Exchange

Landon and Joanna received some
lovely matching Under Armour polos :)
We actually picked the gift they
brought too: Fruity Pebbles (my
favorite!), cute candles holders
(with wax on them :) ) and
a plant (sorry plant, you don't
stand a chance in this home either!)

Glad I didn't get this umbrella with
a hole in it!

Kristi and me

We rarely go out together without the kids.
It was a lot of fun to just hang out as
a couple and enjoy such great friends.

Tis the Season. . .

These boys look so sweet. . .

But there is no shortage of whining
and moodiness in this house at times!

This is what happens when the 3 yr old
won't stop hitting his brother.

Sometimes, you just gotta get out of the
house and focus your attention somewhere
else!
On Tuesday we headed to the Christmas
lights in Alta Loma with friends, but
first we stopped with the Menashe's
at Bass Pro Shop to try for a 2nd
time to see Santa. Didn't end up
working- they told us to come back in
45 min and we wouldn't wait longer than
an hour after that. We'll see Santa
another day!

We had a big group of people that we
met there and they all know that this
is the reason for Christmas:
The Birth of

The streets were packed with cars and
people because these houses are all
decked out with lights!

People were selling water, soda, hot
chocolate, coffee, juice, popcorn,
churros and more. This year there
was even a Cupcake Stand!

This was about half of our group.

Some of the Moms

My friend, Michele, and her triplet
girls!

All the kids loved this dog!




Bryson and Jake (giving bunny ears
to the snowman of course!)

Bryson and Jake checking out this cool
Countdown to Christmas Clock

We ended the night happy! Always a good thing.

Merry Christmas