Breath from Heaven

Now, I don't normally enjoy smelling people's breaths (except for newborns). But, last night, I couldn't stop smelling Kirsten's! Does that sound strange?
We were just laying on the couch together chatting about stuff. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of Kirsten's breath. I moved my head closer to hers. While closing my eyes I could picture my Grandma. The scent coming from Kirsten's mouth was the same scent I would smell when I hugged my grandmother or was near her.

Is it just coincident that Kirsten was born on Grandma Owen's birthday and is named after her (Mozell)?

I tried to smell it again this morning...but I was only rewarded with her usual stinky morning breath.

Will I ever be able to smell Kirsten's breath from heaven again?

Oh how I miss my grandma!

TP, Prop 8, and Laughing

Last month our home teachers read us Elder Worthlin's talk "Come What May and Love It". They challenged our family to smile and laugh in the face of adversity. This morning we were given the chance to fulfill our assignment.

This is what we woke up to:

Our first reaction was that of disappointment. Why would somebody do this? Why was our family singled out when there were others on our street who displayed YES on Prop 8 signs as well? I wanted to take it down right away, but David said no. He was proud of it.

"This is like wearing the scarlet letter," he said. "Let's keep it up for the day. "

But when we drove to our house after being uplifted from church, we all agreed that it needed to be cleaned up.

Everyone smiled and "horsed" around as they rolled up the TP. The boys wondered if it was used TP and insisted they saw brown spots on it.

So... Thank you to whoever did this to our home. The experience brought our family closer together and gave us a good laugh. And a good story to tell for generations to come.

Building Wise Men

This is the banner that our Cub Master made for the Los Gatos Christmas parade. The cub scouts from our ward and another ward combined to participate in this parade. Half of the boys rode their scooters while the others raced space rockets on a trailer. Every ten minutes the boys would switch. We got there at 9:15am and left at 1:30pm. It was a long and tiring afternoon, but worth it. While giving me a hug goodnight, Steven said with a tear running down his cheek that he didn't want this day to end. I asked him what had it so special and he said, "The parade."

I need to refer back to the banner. "Building Wise Men who seek Him". Isn't that what this life is all about? I am so thankful that my children have the gospel in their lives and a scout program led by righteous men and women.

Trying to Out-Smart Santa

Everyone knows that the Santas wearing a fake beard, hair, and stuffing are "Santa's helpers". Right? That's what my children have learned. The "real" Santa lives in the North Pole, but attends the Tomball Ward in Cypress, TX. (We've seen him)

With this valuable knowledge, Steven knew right away that the Santa at our ward's Christmas party was NOT the real one. He stood in line with Kirsten, but had no intention on sitting on his lap. Steven did not want to waste his time on a fake Santa. But as soon as Kirsten had finished talking with Santa (telling him she wanted a Kirby DS game), Steven told me that maybe he will sit on his lap (I'm sure the candy that Kirsten received had nothing to do with his flip).

A few minutes later, Steven walked away from fake Santa with a devious grin, proudly holding his candy cane.

I asked him how it went and Steven said, "I told Santa that I wanted a STINK BOMB!"

I laughed and told Steven that now he's really going to get one for Christmas.

Steven shook his head and said, "No. Because this isn't the real Santa."

I replied, "But Steven, he's Santa's helper. Remember! He's going to tell the real Santa that Steven Zinn wants a stink bomb for Christmas."

Steven looked a little disappointed. I was sure he was kicking himself for making this mistake. He was probably wishing he had said what he really wanted for Christmas, which is a DS Light.

But then Steven said, "Oh......COOOOOL!"

City Lights

On Saturday, we drove to the Oakland Temple for the lighting of the Christmas lights. Like most temples, it sits on a mountain with a spectacular view of the city. We were in awe as we pulled into the parking lot. Here is what we saw (although the camera didn't capture all of the vivid colors).

We spent an hour walking around the grounds of the temple and then joined hundreds of other people in the theater to watch a program. The first half hour was entertaining. But after that I think everyone just wanted it to end. We all wanted to see the lighting of the lights. Finally, the program ended and everyone congregated outside. I was surprised to see it so dark. Even the temple was dark. Then it began...First the palm trees. Then the little trees. Next the bushes and flower beds and nativity. After some ohhs and ahhs everybody was silent. The only thing left to turn on was the temple. I knew this must be the finale, but nothing was happening. After waiting around for about 10 minutes, we decided to go inside the Visitor's Center before it closed. When we came back out, the temple was lit and the grounds were beautiful. I know it's not as breathtaking as the Salt Lake Temple, but it is still a site to see.

I wish I had a picture to post of the lights, but the one I took didn't turn out. But here are a couple of our family.