Happy New Year!

So, it's been a while since I've posted, but we've had a busy month and a wonderful Christmas! I'd dare say it was the best Christmas ever. We did so many things to get into the spirit of Christmas: going to see the lights, making goodies to deliver to people, going to parties, decorating the house and the tree.
Christmas Eve we did our big family party with the Aldama's. We started a new tradition last year of having a White Elephant gift exchange. It was fun. We also celebrate Noelle's birthday, had a delicious ham and turkey dinner, and then we ended the night singing Christmas carols.
I love playing Santa for our kids. Julio and I were up until 1 am assemblying all the toys and then we open our gifts to each other. We were exhausted! Lucia woke us up in the morning by telling us that Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk, and oh, by the way, she got a Disney Princess talking kitchen. THe kids were so excited about their gifts this year, it was so fun to watch them open them. THen we went to my parents house to open all the family gifts. The aftermath was amazing! We relaxed the rest of the day and had leftovers and our homemade empanadas (another new tradition)Callie and Brian prepared a FHE about the symbols of Christmas that brought the Spirit into the home and reminded us of the true meaning of the day.
I'm sad that all the family has gone home and the holidays are over. The cousins got to play together a lot and they had so much fun. We will miss them so much. Back to real life now. It's time to set some new goals, tomorrow!

December 2008

Our electronic Christmas letter

For those of you who I don't have an email address for, this is what I sent out this year. If I don't have your email and would like to receive a letter, please send it to me at nicolerh1975@yahoo.comMerry Christmas 2008
Dear Family and Friends,

This year, I’m too lazy to put together Christmas cards, so we’re doing e-mails instead. I apologize because I know how fun it is to find Christmas cards in your mailbox! I am just too tired and busy from taking care of the three little cutie pies pictures above.
Julio said at the beginning of the year that this would be eventful and life changing and he was right! I will take you through a month-by-month synopsis of 2008.
January-We found out that we would be adding another child to our family. It wasn’t exactly planned, but we were excited and a little bit scared just the same.
February- The presidential primaries began and an inspirational junior Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama begins to win some states. We also get a new cousin/nephew-little Corom is born to sister Tami and broter-in-law Dan.
March- We find out that Lucia and Marco are terrified of the Easter Bunny. They do, however, love looking for the hidden eggs the Easter Bunny left in our house.
April- We got a knock on our door late one night to find out our next door neighbor Rosie had died in her home. It was unexpected and sad for all who knew her.
May-Julio graduated number 8 in his class from Lincoln Law School!!! His mother, sister and boyfriend, niece, aunt and uncle and best friend came for the occasion. We were so excited for him to be done and he got many awards and recognitions.
June-Lucia turns 4! She had her first birthday party with all girls at the park. She planned the whole thing. She wanted a princess piñata, Barbie princess goody bags, fruit salad, and white cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles. She’s a girl who knows what she wants!
July-Julio was studying for the California Bar Exam. At the end of the month he went to Los Angeles to stay with his mom and take the big test. While taking the bar, there was a 5.8 earthquake! He survived and came home safely.
August-Marco turned 2! We celebrated with family. He becomes obsessed with pirates and loves to make a sword out of anything he can find and say, “Ahoy Maties!” Julio and I also celebrated 5 years of marriage. Sylvia Rose was born on August 29th after a very short labor. I didn’t have time for an epidural and had to do it all natural! I wasn’t prepared for that, but luckily she was tiny at only 5 lbs. 13 oz. She’s our little angel and we love her so much!
September- Lucia started preschool at Garfield Elementary. She enjoys it and it gives me some quiet afternoon time. Sylvia got jaundice and had to go to the hospital for a couple of days. Fortunately, Julio is available to help at home now!
October- Lucia gets her finger caught in a door at church and had to go to the ER. Her fingernail was removed and she had five stitches. Poor thing was so brave through it all! For Halloween, Lucia is Sleeping Beauty, Marco is a lion (he now has to roar at everyone he meets) and little Sylvie was a pumpkin. Julio took them out trick-or-treating for the first time.
November-Marco had surgery to remove a swollen lymphnode. Everything turned out fine. Julio gets his Bar results and passed!!!! We take a trip to Utah for Thanksgiving and a had a reunion with the Shirley family and a visit with the Jessop’s and Cole’s. The country elects its first African-American President.
December- Julio is sworn in as an attorney (Bar No. 260508) and begins his job search. Nikki gets a root canal. We look forward to celebrating Christmas!
We are so thankful for the many blessings and trials we have had this year. We hope to have many exciting experiences in the coming year. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Julio, Nicole, Lucia, Marco, and Sylvia Hernandez

Catch up

Ok, so I'm a little behind in posting. Last week Julio was sworn in as an attorney. He is official now! I went down to the courthouse to witness and one of his professor's who is a judge swore him and a few of his classmates in. It was quick and easy! He does have a lead on a job, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Last Friday I had some more dental work done, including a crown put on. It has been bothering me all week. I have to keep a constant dose of Tylenol in my system or I'm in a lot of pain. Not fun! I go in Monday to get it checked out.
We also need to post pictures of the kids decorating the tree. We got a new fake one at Target and for $50, it is pretty nice! So, pictures are coming soon. We have been trying to get in a family Christmas activity every night. It's getting to be a little exhausting for me! We went Christmas shopping one night, put up the tree and decorated it another night, watched "Charlie Brown's Christmas" another night, and read some Christmas stories and made some goodies another night. Tonight we're going to see the Christmas lights.
Hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season! Until next time...

Requesting Ideas for Christmas Traditions

So, it's that time of year-Christmas time. I really want this time of year to be special for our children. Growing up in Utah, we had the snow to mark the season; it was so magical. Here in California, we don't have that. I remember bundling up and going to the Christmas tree lot that had trash cans with fires burning in them. We would then go home and decorate the tree together. I loved the "T'was the Night Before Christmas" pop-up book that we would read. I remember most years we would have an advent calendar to count down the days to Christmas. Every year we would write a letter to Santa and mail it to him. We would go to the mall to sit on his lap. We also got to see Santa again when he came to the ward Christmas party every year. I remember getting together with the cousins and Grandparents every Christmas Eve and acting out the story of Christ's birth. We would all dress up and read the story from the Bible. It was so magical going to bed and dreaming of Santa visiting our house and bringing the desired toys. We would leave cookies out for him and I would check in the morning to see if Santa had eaten them. One year I set out all of my dolls and stuffed animals on the couch so they could witness Santa's visit for me. We were not allowed to wake up Mom and Dad before 7 am. So, Brandon, Tami and I would sneak into the living room where the stockings were and ransack them at 5 am. At 7:00, we would wake up Mom and Dad so they could take us into the family room where all the presents were. Dad would go in to make sure there were presents and then we would go in and see our gifts. We were only allowed to open one gift at a time starting with the youngest to oldest. (we still do that now). Christmas day we would gather again and show off our toys and have a delicious meal. I loved Christmas as a child and have many wonderful memories.
So, does anyone have any special traditions that they love? I would like to start some with our family. We do go see the lights around town. We have made Christmas cookies to take to people. We made tamales last year for Christmas Eve and they were so good, I think we'll do it again. Those are just a few things we like to do. I would love some more suggestions.
Happy Christmas!

Thanksgiving week

Cousins

Mom, Dad and Sylvia Rose after her blessing.

Mom and Marco doing Michele's music class.

Noelle, Marco and Lucia at John and April's house.

Enjoying the clam chowder.

The 5 cousins together

Marco and Corom

Noelle and Sylvie

So, now that it's a week later, I get to finally sit down and blog about our holiday. It's been laundry and cleaning (including a filthy van) the past view days, so I haven't been able to do it sooner. Anyway, last Tuesday, despite me having a terrible cold, we decided to drive halfway to Utah. We got a motel in Winnemucca and stayed the night. It was nice breaking up the trip, since the kids got so restless-even with the portable DVD player. We got to Salt Lake on Wed. evening and were very tired and sick. Johnny and Amanda and their girls were very welcoming and gave us a very comfortable place to stay. Thanks!!! We did go to Aunt Serena's 40th birthday party over at Grandma's. Didn't get any pictures there-I don't know why??? Maybe because we were so tired and hungry. Thursday we decided to relax and just went to Tami and Dan's so the kids could play. We did get some cute pictures of them together. Thursday night we went over to John and April's for clam chowder and homemade bread. Yum! Friday we did our Thanksgiving dinner at the church with all the Shirley clan. Michele (my cousin) did a fun music class for the kids that was really cute. We also blessed our beautiful baby Sylvia Rose. It was so nice to have all the men standing in the circle to bless our baby. She is a special little one and we are so grateful to have her. The dinner was a colaborative effort and it was delicious. Saturday we went down to Lehi and Alpine to see the Jessop's and Cole's. It was fun to see everyone again. Sunday we finally made the long trek home. The kids were good in the car and we were glad to make it home safely.

Callie do you have the family pictures we took at the Jessop's and Cole's? Maryam-did you get any cute ones of the kids? If so, could you guys send me some? email is nicolerh1975@yahoo.com

Bar Results Are In

I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't belive it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at those cheeks!

Sylvie at 11 weeks old.

Just an update..with pictures

Marco with bandage on.

Marco's stitches

Marco had his procedure this morning and everything is fine as far as we know. The doctor removed a very large lymphnode and sent it to the lab for testing. Marco and I were both very tired arriving at 6 am and he wasn't happy to be there. He came out of it ok but has been acting very wild ever since-NO NAP! He keeps taking off his bandage too.
Another thing-only 3 more days until the Bar results!

Poor Booga

Marco has to have surgery next week. It's not as bad as it sounds-at least I don't think it is. Since he was born he's had enlarged lymphnodes in his neck. He would always turn his head to the right side and sleep on that side when he was a baby. It doesn't seem to bother him now, but they are getting bigger. They aren't cancerous, but the doctor said the only thing he could do was remove them. It's an outpatient procedure, but he will be under general anaesthetic. So, he goes in for his pre-op appointment tomorrow and we'll find out more. But, we are nervous about it-please pray for Marco that everything will go well. Thanks!

Random Pictures of the Last Few Days

Sylvia looking cute in her car seat

Lucía and Marco putting on a play with their finger puppets.

Nikki passed out while watching "Dancing with the Stars", after putting in a 12-hour day as mommy, with no pay. I love you honey!





Kids Attacking Daddy while listening to Joy Division's Transmission, one of the best bands ever!!!!

My personal thoughts on Obama's historic election....

When 8:00 p.m. came, I knew that they would call the election for Obama. It was going to be an exciting moment. I could not believe it, so much so, that I teared up. Lucia asked me why I was smelling (she meant sniffling). I told her that Obama had won. I did not believe it was possible until it actually happened, I really believed that McCain would win.

As a minority, I never thought it would happened, only on "24" or "Deep Impact", Hollywood fantasies. But here, it was happening, in my lifetime. It was incredible, a deeply moving moment for me personally. This is how it must have felt to Blacks in South Africa, when Mandela was elected after years of Apartheid, or in Bolivia, how indigenous people felt when Evo Morales, the first first fully indigenous head of state in the 470 years since the Spanish Conquest was elected as President. Or in Chile, when Michelle Bachelet was elected, after she had been tortured by Pinochet, in the name of the same country she was now leading; how those who have been tortured, pursued, and detained in the name of Chile must have felt. But this was in my country, after all this country has seen, from Sengbe Pieh to Dred Scott to Rodney King, here, this country had passed an important threshold. Stunning...

I thought about how my bi-racial brown children will grow up with a bi-racial, brown, dark face as the leader of this country. It's a new reality, the new normal. My children will see his face, as they grow up, and not think it weird, unusual, or even historic that he is the President, but just normal, and that, is the most important thing.

There is much to be done, and I am optimistic and hopeful (hope!) but will reserve my final judgment of President-Elect Obama for the future. But for now, his victory is a victory for America, for the promise of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and all the sweat and tears of so many nameless and forgotten.
As the President-Elected stated, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. "

Obama wins...kids celebrate....

Let's hope he is able to take this historic event and make his administration one that history will remember. Amazing.

I've been tagged (again and again)

I'll just do a combination of some of the tags I've had.
First-2 truths and a lie
1. I don't like sugar cereals
2. I've traveled to 9 foreign countries
3. I'm dying to go back to work teaching.

8 wishes
1. To buy a house with at least 3 bedrooms with hardwood floors, custom kitchen and bathrooms, and a nice sized yard and a playroom.
2. A vacation to Italy.
3. Julio to pass the bar and get a better job.
4. My children to be healthy-no more sickies! (we've had colds and stomach flu this week)
5. To be able to buy nice furniture for the above mentioned house.
6. For all of my siblings to live close by someday.
7. To lose 10 pounds
8. To be able to go to the temple regularly

Lucía's Medical Emergency

Lucía as Princess Aurora, but note the right hand.



Here is a close-up.

Last week during church, between Sacrament meeting and Sunday School, Lucía's right thumb was smashed by a closing door. We are not sure how it happened, since I was with Marco, and Julio was with the Sylvia. One of the counselors was nearby when it happened and managed to clean it up and get some bandages on it. He said that there was a lot of blood. Once they found us, they told us what had happened, however Lucía was still crying heavily, it was obvious she was in a lot of pain.

We took her home immediately. We were unsure the extent of the injury, but we decided to let her calm down, so she watched one of her videos. After about an hour, Julio noticed that blood was soaking through the bandages (Band-Aid). We took her to the bathroom to change the bandages, and assess the damage to her thumb. Once we took the bandages off, it was clearly a serious injury, as the nail was practically falling off, her thumb was purple, and there was a lot of bleeding. Julio then took her to the emergency room.

When I (Julio) got to the emergency room, the triage nurse quickly admitted her. They said that the nail bed had been damaged, and would require stitches. I was painful to see Lucía in so much pain, especially when the had to inject her several time with local anaesthesia. Once the drugs had numbed her thumb, she watched the doctor repair the damage. In total she has 5 stitches, three that will have to be removed. The doctor reattached her nail. He also said there is a possibility that the nail may not grow back, but hopefully that won't happen. It was a crazy situation. Be careful of closing doors.

Lucía is doing better now, but the stitches will not be taken out until later this week.

Ward Halloween Party on Saturday Night

Marco doing his lion ROOOOAARRR!!!!

Sylvie hanging out, looking around.

Marco enjoying a cupcake.

Lucia and Madelyn-the pretty princesses.

Sleeping Beauty, the Scary Lion, Baby Pumpkin and Daddy.


We had fun at the Ward Party on Saturday night. We decided to skip the dinner part (chili dogs) and had In 'N Out burgers at home. But we got there just in time to do all the games and then trunk or treat. By the time we got home, we were beat! That was just the beginning of the marathon Halloween week.

Another trip to the pumpkin patch

Lucia the Witch Marco on the tractor

The hayrideLucia and her friend Madelyn

Marco loves the pumpkin patch. We went on a fieldtrip with Lucia's preschool class on Friday. It was a different one than the last one we went to-it was out in Natomas. It was hot! But the kids did enjoy going on the hayride, playing on the seesaw, climbing the hay pyramid etc. It was hard doing it alone with the kids and without Julio. Here are some pictures of the kids and their friends.

Ugh, the Dentist

So, has having babies destroyed anyone else's teeth? I never had a cavity before I got pregnant with Lucia and was vomiting all the time. I had one small cavity with her. After I had Marco, I went in to see the dentist again, and had two huge cavities to be filled. Now, after having Sylvie, I went in again and this time, I have to have a crown put on one tooth, three fillings and a deep gum cleaning! I am so depressed-not to mention the nearly $200 co-pay!! So, I have to start having the work done in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this time I'll get enough novicane.

Sylvia's Baby Shower

Last week we were invited to go down to the Attorney General's Office for a special baby shower for Sylvie. Julio's co-workers were so kind and generous to put it together. They insisted that we register and then bought almost everything on the registry. We got a really nice swing, a booster seat with tray, wipes and some cute clothes. I guess they're always looking for an excuse to have a party, but it was very nice of them. They even got Lucia and Marco little gifts. Marco was hamming it up, and Lucia was playing mute like she usually does around strangers. Sylvia was a little angel and didn't cry the entire time. When we had to leave, Marco insisted on riding in the cart that they gave us to carry out the gifts in. As we were driving through downtown, Lucia said, "Mom, this is the town, but we live in a village." So, we went home to the village to count our many blessings. We have many generous people in our lives.

Mom and the guest of honor

Here's Marco being pushed in the cart we used to carry the gifts in by Julio's boss and former professor.

The Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year that I love-fall. I love the change in weather, Halloween, the harvest, Thanksgiving, new tv shows, etc. One of our fall traditions has been going to the pumpkin patch. We were fortunate that as we were arriving, another family was leaving and gave us free passes to a lot of the activities-stuff the kids wouldn't have done otherwise. Those places cost a lot of money! So the kids had a great time in the corn maze, hayland, the haunted barn, and the tower slide. Next weekend we'll go to Apple Hill. It gets really crowded there and Julio doesn't like it, but it's such a "fall thing" to do, that I can't resist it. Happy Fall!

Something Funny from SNL

We laughed so hard we were crying.

Sylvie-6 weeks

Happy Birthday Mr. Ju-li-o!

37 Things About Julio/Daddy

1. He was born and raised by Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles.

2. He was raised Seventh Day Adventist.

3. He is the middle child.

4. He's taller than anyone in his family at 6'1".

5. He can fix anything technical or electrical.

6. He wore braces for 4 years.

7. He speaks Spanish fluently and English with an accent (although he won't admit it.)

8. He graduated from Glendale Adventist Academy in 1989 (class fo 62 students).

9. He graduated from Cal State LA with a degree in Latin American studies in 1999.

10. He got his teaching credential through LAUSD in 2004.

11. He got his Juris Doctrate from Lincoln Law School in 2008.

12. He loves soccer and even traveled to Korea to see a World Cup match.

13. His favorite sports to play are field hockey, basketball and soccer.

14. He read cookbooks, Reader's Digest and encyclopedias for fun as a child (wierd).

15. He has many scars from injuries sustained as a child.

16. He likes to wander off and see his surroundings wherever he is-which got him lost at the Rose Parade when he was little.

17. His mother described him as a "tremendo" or wild kid, but he says he was just curious.

18. He has had many jobs including collections, catering, museum worker, teacher's assistant, teacher, and legal secretary.

19. He loves to travel and has been to Hong Kong, Korea, Peru, Central America and all over the USA.

20. He has had blue, green and purple hair.

21. His favorite bands are Pink Floyd, Tears for Fears, Chemical Brothers, to name a few.

22. He loves to go to concerts but hasn't been to one in a long time.

23. His favorite food is sushi.

24. He loves to bake and has made delicious croissants, empanadas, cakes and rolls.

25. He joined the church in March of 2003.

26. He proposed to his future wife on Lake Titicaca.

27. He got married on August 9, 2003.

28. He became a father in June 2004, August 2006 and August 2008.

29. He was sealed to his wife in the Oakland Temple on Dec. 30, 2004.

30. He has a hard time going to bed early because he feels he'll "miss out on something."

31. He hates getting out of bed in the morning.

32. He is a news and political junky.

33. He is a registered Green Party member.

34. He hates to go clothes shopping.

35. He wants to run for political office someday.

36. He is awaiting his Bar results and looking for a job as an attorney.

37. He is the best father and husband in the world-so selfless, caring, hard-working and patient!

WE LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
love,

Nikki, Lucia, Marco and Sylvie

Sylvie

Today-upset at being put down.

Last week-happy being held.

Picnic at the temple

Last Saturday we took a picnic up to the Sacramento Temple grounds. It was a beautiful day and the kids loved being in that peaceful setting. We've got to do things like that more often-it makes life more enjoyable.

Ranting

So today, after waiting two months to get an appointment, I packed up my three little ones and drove out to North Highlands (the ghetto) to the WIC office to recertify for our vouchers. After filling out paperwork and waiting for 10 minutes, the WIC counselor told me our income is $6 over the limit to qualify!!! I was fuming mad! Could they not tell me this over the phone?!! I yelled at her. It wasn't her fault, but this state system makes you jump through a lot of hoops for nothing. She felt bad and gave me one month's worth of vouchers for just me since I am nursing. So I had to wait another 10 minutes while Sylvie was screaming and Marco was running all over the place. I was at my wits end and ready to get out of there! At least I don't have to deal with the embarrassment of holding up grocery lines while the cashier manually puts each voucher through for each WIC item while impatient customers tap their toes and roll their eyes behind me. I won't have to sit through one of their "classes" on nutrition and breastfeeding for ignorant people again. And finally, I won't have to wait on hold for 15 minutes to talk to a WIC rep or go to that blasted office ever again!!! (For those of you who don't know what WIC is, they give women, infants and children under age 5 vouchers for groceries such as milk, cheese, eggs, cereal, juice and peanut butter. It saved us a ton of money each month, but now Julio's $400 raise is going straight to groceries :-()
So now Julio needs to find another job pronto. He has applied at two firms who hire people without their Bar cards. So we are waiting to hear from them. He's still looking, but most places won't consider him without his Bar card. So pray for us please! I know we've asked for a lot of prayers lately, but hopefully it will all pan out soon. Thanks for reading.

Catching up

We haven't posted pictures of Sylvie for a while because we ran out of memory and had to do some clean up on our computer. She is 3 weeks old now and doing great! She had a dr. appt on Wed. and she's up to 6 lb. 13 oz. She is such a sweet baby. She sleeps through most nights and doesn't fuss a whole lot. Lucia and Marco are doing really well with her. Marco is antagonizing Lucia more and she's being more of a crybaby, but we're dealing with that. I started getting back into a routine this week-we did our ward playgroup on Tuesday, library storytime on Thursday. It is definitely a handful and a challenge with three kids. Marco doesn't like sitting in the double stroller, so it is hard to keep him in tow. Thursday night I got to go to my book club where we discussed the book "Eat, Pray, Love" If any of you have read it, tell me what you think! Anyway, Sylvie slept the whole evening, I stayed up way to late, and then she wanted to be wide awake at 3 am. I didn't get much sleep that night. Yesterday, I got to go out to lunch with two long time friends Julie and Tiffany. We had so much to catch up on, we talked non-stop for almost 2 hours. We've decided to do a monthly reunion lunch. It felt so nice to talk and reminisce with old friends. So, now the weekend...I love having Julio home and available to do stuff! Hope you all have a good one.
Here are some pictures of Sylvie

Just recovering...

From mastitis (if you know what it is, you can sympathize) and a $450 car repair. Ugh!

Brotherly Love

Marco and Sylvie sharing a moment.