~Happy New Year~

2009 has arrived… Remember, life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. New Years is meant for celebrations and spending joyous time with loved ones. May the beauty of the New Year be with you forever and your wishes of peace, health and happiness ring true.

~Mamita Allen~

On Saturday morning Sam's grandmother passed away at the age of 93. She was a wonderful lady who will be missed by so many people.

~Weather.......Brrrrr~

Welcome to winter in Chicago! Today the weather was unbearable - wind chills of negative degrees and temps only in the single digits. If you didnt need to go out today it was a good day to stay home and turn on that fireplace if you have one! The winds were so bad that the snow drifted onto the streets like the plows had never been through.

Our house - Sam did a great job snow blowing the driveway!
Our little Abby posing for a picture in the cold~
I think her paw is just a little bit cold :-( But she loves to just run around in the snow and play!

~Ice Skating Performance~

Last Sunday we went to see Ciara's skating performance of the Nut Cracker. She had a solo part and did a great job!
Troy and Nick~

We all brought Ciara flowers for doing such a fantastic job!

Mom, Rosa and I~

Mom, Ciara and Dad~

Ciara with her parents~

Sam, Ciara and I~

Great job on a fantastic performance Ciara!

~Happy Birthday Abby~

On Sunday, November 30th our little Abby turned 4 years old! She received a new bone for her birthday with a pink ribbon!

~New Purchase~

On Thanksgiving Sam and I ventured out to the outlet mall in Aurora for their midnight madness sale - boy was it madness! We got there at 10:30pm and didnt realize that some of the stores had opened at 10pm so the place was a mess! We waited in line for hours to get into the Coach store, but unfortunately did not buy anything. When we left the mall at 1:30am the traffic was backed up for 5 miles on 88 - it was crazy! When we went home we fell asleep and Sam got up at 5am and headed to Best Buy where he purchased our new TV~

~After Thanksgiving Party~

On Saturday we had friends over for an after Thanksgiving party. Nick and Isenia brought the beverages and made us all a drink.

Yum - Strawberry Daiquiri's!

Rosa having a drink~

We played a game of gesters - Nick was giving Sam some ideas of what he could do.
Mom acting her object out~
After the game we were hungry so out came the dessert!

Ciara and I~

At the end of the night Ciara and Troy were wound up!