Your Joyful Order With Leslie Martinez
Ever wish you had your own personal cheerleader or coach in your ear, whispering encouraging words? Telling you how to kick butt in life, plus showing you how to get there? That’s exactly what you’ll get when you tune into Your Joyful Order Podcast. Each week you’ll get a mixture of preaching and teaching from your host Leslie Martinez who is a Certified Life Coach, Business Owner, Wife and Mom. Listen along for some entertaining real talk about life, business and relationships. Leslie wants to help you to reach your goals and motivate you to live out your God given purpose, by bringing you insightful knowledge, resources and sharing some tips and tricks to take action. No topic is off the table here, just know that faith will always be the foundation of our conversations and an occasional kick in the butt might come in the most loving way! Get ready to take your life to the next level and learn how to chase joy!
Your Joyful Order With Leslie Martinez
#96 Renewed and Refreshed: The Magic of Family Holiday Traditions with Steve Martinez
What if your family holiday gatherings could be filled with unforgettable laughter and the warmth of cherished traditions? Join us, Leslie and Steve Martinez, as we open the doors to our festive past and present, sharing stories that highlight the joy and connection family traditions bring. From childhood memories of my dad picking out the perfect Christmas tree to Steve's heartwarming tales, where his parents donned the iconic roles of Santa and Mrs. Claus, we invite you to reflect on your own family traditions and the magic they hold.
Our journey through the holiday season wouldn't be complete without discussing the beautiful balance between faith and festive fun. We explore the significance of our annual goal-setting retreat and the decision to prioritize experiences over material gifts, focusing on the true spirit of Christmas. We emphasize the importance of togetherness and the simple yet profound joys it brings. As we share our stories, we hope to inspire you to cherish your traditions and create new, joyful memories with your loved ones.
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Email: lmartinez@yourjoyfulorder.com
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Hey friends, this week we got a special treat for you. Today we're going to dive into our theme for the month Renewed and Refresh. But we're inviting you to cozy up with us as we reflect on family traditions that both Steve and I do every year and looking back at fun family traditions that we had growing up. We'll reflect on joys, traditions that make the holidays magical and share how we as a couple carve out intentional time to build a vision for the year ahead. So let's celebrate what matters most, and that's family love and fresh beginnings. So go, grab a cup of cocoa or hot tea and come join us in this week's episode.
Speaker 1:Hey everyone, I'm Leslie Martinez and you're listening to your Joyful Order podcast. Each week, I will bring you joyful stories that will motivate and inspire you and, at the same time, bring order to your everyday life. Let's just say the show will be a mixture of preaching and teaching, with a kick of motivation from your girl here. Welcome to your Joyful Order podcast. All right, friends. So this week I don't need a fancy introduction.
Speaker 1:As you guys know, steve is a big part of the podcast my amazing husband. He is the backbone to this podcast. So this week I thought it would be great to have him come on as we just share some of our family traditions during the holiday season. We've never done an episode like this. I typically take the month of December off because we're deep in our holiday traditions, but this year I thought it would be fun for us to just share with you, our audience, some of the fun memories that we've had. So let's start with family traditions. Steve, what is your earliest memory of a childhood tradition that you and your family did growing up during the holidays?
Speaker 2:So I grew up in the city of Santa Fe Springs and Santa Fe Springs has a really cool float that they do for Christmas and that float has Santa on it with Santa's Springs. And Santa Fe Springs has a really cool float that they do for Christmas and that float has Santa on it with Santa's elves and it's it goes throughout the city of Santa Fe Springs and one of the things that we always did as kids is we always went to go take pictures with Santa Claus and we got candy canes and you know we we were able to enjoy that, wait in a really long line and then take our Polaroid picture with Santa Claus.
Speaker 1:Okay, but you have to share something special about that float also, because not only were you guys, like as kids, able to go see Santa. Like kind of share a little more about that, like kind of share a little more about that.
Speaker 2:So once I got older and my parents decided, you know what, we don't have kids anymore, they decided to be Santa and Santa Claus themselves, which is actually super cool because my mom and dad loved it. They went throughout the city, they did private house calls to families in need and they were on the float. They would go into the residence of the families in need and they would be sentenced. And Mrs Claus so, and they did it for, I'm guessing, at least 10 years.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 1:Every year for quite some time your parents did it and we got to hear all the fun stories of them doing it. And then also our boys were kind of in that when they were little they got to go and see grandma and grandpa dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs Claus. So we have pictures with your dad dressed as Santa and your mom with Mrs Claus on the float when they were little. I think, right, I know we have some. If not they like. So your dad would just dress up for some of our Christmas parties to remember would just show up. We have parties for the kids and your mom made him an amazing dark red velvet Santa Claus suit and we just have grandpa would just show up with gifts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he had his own suit.
Speaker 1:Yes, and he still has his own suit, yes, and he still has his own suit to this day that we actually borrowed last year. Remember we borrowed it for a photo shoot. So that is something I think that is a great memory and that's kind of a memory that I have with your parents too. Now I would say for me, growing up, my special memory that I have now I've shared a lot and not to like damper the season, but this truly is like my favorite memory. So I don't have very many good memories with my father growing up, but Christmas time was one of the good memories that I have with my dad. So we always went to go pick a real Christmas tree out at the lot and we kind of made it a thing Like my dad always knew OK, let's go this weekend, let's go pick out your tree.
Speaker 1:And there was a big age gap between me and my sister. We're like almost six years apart. So there was a long period where my sister was just over it. You know she was a teen and she just really didn't care. So then it was just me and my dad that would go in his little Toyota yellow pickup truck. We'd go to the lot and I'd get to pick out the tree and he'd, you know, put the tree out, you get it, put it in his little yellow pickup truck and then we'd drive home, he'd set it up and then me and my mom and my sister would decorate it. But it was always an exciting time for me, because one it was just me and my dad and then he, like it, was just a fond memory that I had. You know, I have very few fond memories with my dad, so that is just one that I hold on to tight for sure. And then, even as our boys got older, we kind of carry that tradition of going in the lot, right?
Speaker 2:Yep Up until last year.
Speaker 1:You guys, last year is the first time we got a fake tree and that's only because we started paying like ridiculous amounts like $200 for a fake I mean a real tree, y'all. It was crazy. So we decided, you know what we're putting out like 180 to 200 for a real tree. We might as well put that money into a fake tree and have it much longer than just a couple of weeks during Christmas time. So, yes, it was a um more of a I don't want to say investment, but more a of a budget driven it was a business decision, it was a business decision.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 2:It was a business decision yeah, because those trees are heavy, they're and and I'm not getting younger yeah, and this year, noah was not here when we put the tree up, so he was my partner to crime with the Christmas tree.
Speaker 1:To get the trees?
Speaker 2:Yes, they're not light. No, at least the ones that Leslie wants.
Speaker 1:You guys, I am looking for like the eight to nine foot trees. And then, like I'm really bougie when it comes to trees, because I'm actually allergic to the Douglas firs, which are like the cheaper trees and I don't say cheaper as in cheap quality, those are just the cheaper in price trees, yeah, but I'm very allergic to those. So we kind of have no choice but to go with like the noble firs, which are the most expensive of the trees, and then, of course, the taller you go, which are the most expensive of the trees, and then, of course, the taller you go, the more expensive they get. So, yeah, $200 for a tree that's going to be out for like three weeks. It was a budget decision, a business decision, so to say.
Speaker 1:Now, moving on to our childhood memories. You know there's actually hold on. I have to share this one also. So, not only going to the lot with my dad another fun family tradition that I have, and we can kind of banter off this a little bit because we still carry this with our kids.
Speaker 1:Now, christmas Eve is a big thing for my mom's side of the family. So my Ramirez family, that side of the family, since I was a little girl, my mom is one of 11 y'all, so I have like a gajillion cousins right, and I am on the younger end of the cousins that I grew up with. So I had all these fun older cousins, some that are just like one, two years older than me, some that are like 10, 12 years older than me. But Christmas Eve was our time that all of the family got together. We had family in Sacramento, family from different parts of the state that would come drive down and that was the only time of year we got to see them. Well, we had a big celebration on Christmas Eve with all the food and all his kids would get together and just have so much fun.
Speaker 1:We would put on a talent show. We would dress in like our Christmas pajamas big fancy dresses sometimes and we would all put on a little talent show for our family. And I remember a lot of times it would be at our house and my mom had this like a step in den kind of which made remember in our house. Like my mom had this like area where it almost seemed like a stage and there was even like curtains so you could close the curtains and you'd stand in like the living room and people would sit in our den and we'd put all of our family in chairs in the den, we'd open the curtains and then we would perform for, like, my mom, dad, our aunties and uncles, and it was just so much fun.
Speaker 1:We do games and to this day we a couple of years ago we were doing karaoke. Right, we did karaoke. We do fun games and then we sing happy birthday to Jesus and that's a fun family tradition that we have carried with our boys since they were born. I want us to share a fun, a funny or like just memorable holiday moment that you had either as a kid or us as a family during the holidays, something that every time you think about it, you just laugh or smile and it's just something that you won't live down.
Speaker 2:You know, that actually brings to mind my mom's mother passed away when I was like 2021-ish, when I was like 20, 21-ish, and I was her second grandson, or her second grandchild, and the first boy, the first boy on that side of the family, and I always, you know, when my grandma would come and visit, she would always rub my shoulders and I don't really like people rubbing my shoulders, but my grandmother would rub my shoulders. I don't even know if Leslie knows this. I don't know if people rubbing my shoulders, but my grandmother would rub my shoulders. I don't even know if Leslie knows this. I don't know if I ever told you that. I've ever told you.
Speaker 2:I don't remember it now you would come to the house, and she would normally come during the holidays or something like that, and she would rub my shoulders. Well, this year, uh, this one year that that comes to mind, leslie, myself and my our family went to go visit my grandmother in rosemont, california, and, uh, it's a desert out there and we we were getting ready to eat and it was the time to eat. My grandmother made delicious tamales. My grandmother made unique it was a different, different masa and, um, it was a different flavor meat as well. And that was the great thing about both my grandparents, my grandmothers they made tamales, but they taste completely different.
Speaker 2:And it was time to sit down. We got down and we sat at the table. My tamale was warm and it was time for me to start eating. I started eating and, all of a sudden, I felt something in my mouth and and I'm never gonna forget this like this is one of those things where, again, being the first, first boy grandchild, I definitely got favorable treatment right, and so I I spit out what I was chewing on and it come to find out it was actually a fingernail with red nail polish on it, and and so, like I think, I leaned over to leslie.
Speaker 2:I think she was sitting next to me at this time, right less, and I was like look what I found. And and my, my grandmother, I, she, just she knew something was what's going on. And she's like what, what are you talking about? I think she told me in spanish, like what are you talking about? And I had I had told her. Well, I, I found the fingernail in my, in my tamale, grandma, and she's like that's where it went. I missed, I, I totally lost one while I was making the tamales.
Speaker 1:So you're the lucky winner she didn't just lose one remember. Oh, that's right, she held her hands up and she said oh yeah, I lost a few making the masa and it was like every other nail was broken. Everybody's taught eating their tamale. Okay, that is probably my favorite favorite funny memory also. Um, and it's just oh my gosh, it's just your grandma like she didn't care, she's like well, you'll find more. He did not give a crap whatsoever. She was just like, yeah, you're the winner, by the way, you're going to find five more.
Speaker 1:She was so much a lot about it too. Huh, exactly. She did not give a flying crab that you were chewing on her fingernails, I don't even think she apologized.
Speaker 2:Now that I think about, it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was just. Oh wow, they're still good, right how's it taste, oh, my gosh um one. I actually have red nail polish on today too, so this is an honor to grandma nana, because she always had red nail polish, like always had red nail polish, do you remember that? And I almost want to say it was like a glitter red, which is what I have on today and I never red nail polish it was like that, like the old school red, like it was like the Avon red nail polish yeah, that's what it was.
Speaker 1:It was like the avon red oh my gosh, that that story alone we will never live down um, I think and we have kids, right?
Speaker 2:I don't, we weren't even no we.
Speaker 1:We weren't even married yet. We were. I think we were just engaged at that time yeah um and I. I don't remember if this was. I don't remember if your grandpa was there at that time. I don't remember if this was. I don't remember if your grandpa was there at that time. I don't think so. I think your grandpa, yeah if that's the way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was just your mom and dad and stuff and that was just classic. Okay, so this is non-Christmas but it's still the holidays. This happened during Thanksgiving. My sister is probably going to totally kill me for sharing this story, but my sister makes. My sister is a true cook. Okay, my sister is like the Martha Stewart of the family that loves to cook, she loves to host and all of that.
Speaker 1:Well, this Thanksgiving I was hosting Thanksgiving at my house and at the time she was living with my mom and my mom has this old, like 1930s oven that you needed to put like a piece of foil in the in the door to hold it shut, kind of thing that me. That thing was made of pure tin also. Well, my sister was living with her at the time and my sister was making her famous stuffing. Now my sister makes for Thanksgiving. She does kind of like a traditional soul food type of Thanksgiving with the collard greens. The stuffing has this like soul food taste to it the sweet potato pie, the cornbread, like she does, she throws down for Thanksgiving. Well, this stuffing is a stuffing recipe that was passed down from her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law taught her how to make the stuffing and it requires a lot of work, a lot of chopping, like there's a lot of work that goes into the stuffing. So we're at my house and she brings, like those silver tray right, those silver. What do you call it? Dispensable, not dispensable, what's the word I'm looking for.
Speaker 2:Foil tray.
Speaker 1:Those foil trays? Yeah, just like you know the cheap little foil trays. Anyways, it's a big foil tray, like the biggest ones that you can get, and it is filled with stuffing. So she rolls up into the driveway of my house and she wanted to put it in my oven, because my mom's oven, where she was staying at, just sucks. So she's like, hey, I'm going to, and this is my mom was like living down the street from us at this time we were living in Norwalk. My mom was at the house that I grew up in. We lived a few blocks away from her. So she called and was like, hey, I'm going to bring the stuffing to put in your oven. So I'm like, okay, cool, we dinner hasn't started yet or anything. She just rolls up and she goes to pull the tray out of her back seat. Well, rather than putting her hands on the bottom of it, she just grabs the sides of it and the whole thing caves in and they're stuffing all over her car, all over her pants, her shoes, my driveway, and I just hear her screaming my name, lastly.
Speaker 1:And I come, opening the door to my house, seeing what happened, and I just started laughing, like laughing hysterically, hysterically. I get my phone, I take a picture of her and she's like, well, you've stopped and help me. Like she didn't want to move. She's like get the tray and she's holding it by the ends and the whole thing is just like collapsed in. So I have to like grab the bottom. Thank god, like only half of the tray spilt, but you got like we're talking those big, the biggest trays that you could get. It was full of it so. So much of it was on her pants, on her shoes, on the car, on my driveway and we're just I'm cracking up and my sister is so pissed she's literally almost in tears because she worked so hard to make that stuffing, like it's not. It takes her two days to get everything to make a lot of chopping and has eggs.
Speaker 1:Has like turkey, like right she smokes the turkey like it's the turkey neck she smokes and, oh my, and then the cornbread. She makes the cornbread from scratch that goes in there Like it literally is so much work. The onions, the you know, the celery, all of that. It is like the best stuffing. I absolutely love my sister's stuffing. So my sister was super pissed with that and I went and she was pissed that I took a picture before I helped her. Do you still have the photo? It's somewhere. I have to look for it.
Speaker 1:This was like early 2000s I think. I don't even know if the boys were born yet. Maybe I don't know we had just bought our house. Um, so if we, if anything it made, noah was maybe little during that time. But that that's like my funny memory that I have. My sister's so gonna funny memory that I have and my sister's so gonna hate me because I laugh every time like I just think of walking out to my house or walking out to the, the driveway and seeing my sister there with just stuffing all the way down and I think you had to get the water hose out to spray the way down, huh and her car, um yeah it was a mess.
Speaker 1:It was a lot of stuffing it was a lot and, who knows, some wild animals had fun in the, in the gutter or or in our street gutter there. Once you watered it down. But that's a fun um memory that we have now. Okay, these are memories that we've had kind of going back. Now let's talk about traditions that we made with our family, with just us, with the boys, because the holidays were a big thing for us. So what is a holiday tradition that you love, that we carried with our boys, or that even that we started with our boys?
Speaker 2:with our boys, or that even that we started with our boys. I know it was a lot of work and I think, at the end of the day, it brought character to not only the holidays, but it showed how important our families were and and I think maybe we've talked about it before in podcasts, but but during Christmas, christmas was a crazy time for us. Especially leslie was working for, for, for the church. Uh, we, we, we basically split up. I took the boys to my family and we hung out with them for I don't know, probably up until seven or eight, maybe, ish, and then we would meet up with leslie and then, from and once we meet up with Leslie, we would go to her family's house and then, after her family's house, we would go to midnight service. Luckily, at this time, actually, we did it in Norwalk and we did it in Covina, right, yeah, so it was rough, like that was. That was a really crazy time for us. Uh, we, we were running.
Speaker 2:At the end of the day, we were running and, and you know as much as we could have gave up on going to one family, we decided not to, and I'm actually, it was just my grandfather yeah, they got to spend time with their great-grandfather, father, my, their grandparent, their grandparents, and then they got to finish the night off at leslie's family's house and then go to um, then finish, finish, finish the night off with church and and I think maybe they don't remember that, but it was, it was hectic for us.
Speaker 2:But and the reason why I say I like I, I I brought brought it up to be one of those great memories because, like that was time that I got to spend with the boys without Leslie, that I'm, I'm never going to get back. At the end of the day, I'm never going to get back. And I'm glad I was able to do that because, cause it was like, okay, we're going, we're going, we're going, okay, guys, we're done, let's head over and meet your mom. And then they went to go play with their cousins in probably somewhere with Leslie's family, and then after that, luckily, they stayed up the whole night.
Speaker 1:They would stay up for midnight. We had the midnight candlelight ceremony and then one of the things that I love is that as a staff, so for Christmas Eve, we had four services on Christmas Eve. And one of the things that I love is that as a staff, so for Christmas Eve, we had four services on Christmas Eve, and one of them was midnight. We'd have like the five. No, we had three, no, we did have four, I don't know. We had like the five, five, six and seven, was it? Or five and seven, I don't know, it was too many services. And then we have like a long gap and that's how we're able to go to my family's house for a little bit and come back for that midnight service.
Speaker 1:But the staff, we got to bring the family up on stage and we got to light the candles, which I think was a special memory. So you and the boys will come up. We'd have like the large candles and the boys would get to walk with the big candles too and go and like at the end of each aisle, like put their candle to everyone in the congregation and then you just like look around and the candles, all the lights would go down, and then you look around and all these, I mean the, the um, our worship center seated oh my gosh, I don't even remember like how many babe 5,000?
Speaker 2:No, not that many. 1,000? 1,500? It was like 1,500.
Speaker 1:I don't know, literally a thousand people. You look around and it's lit and then our worship band is singing Silent Night and it was the most magical, beautiful moment I think that we could have as a family, and it was allowing us to have that moment as a family with us, like each family on stage, we kind of huddled together, right. It was like, hey, the Martinez family, you know, whatever all the other families of the staff that got to be there. So that was great because since, yes, a staff had to be there, they still allowed us to incorporate our family into the services and that, and I think that was a great memory for sure. And I think that was a great memory for sure. I'm going to go with the fun memories that we created with the boys, not just about making church and family, about, you know, the important part of the holidays.
Speaker 1:But I grew up not like Santa wasn't a thing for me growing up. You know my mom was, which I love is that Jesus is the reason for the season. So, santa, we didn't believe. Or my home wasn't the home where Santa, you know, showed up, because it was just all about Jesus. So Santa never, you know, put the stockings up or really stuffed the stockings, it was always, you know, mom or dad the presents. We never got presents in the tree that said from Santa. You know, we never put out the cookies for Santa type of stuff. So that was stuff that I missed out in childhood. And although we laid the foundation for our boys and they know that Jesus is the reason for the season and they know that we're celebrating Jesus's birthday, I lived it up with doing the Santa stuff that I missed out on as a kid. We did the whole elf on a shelf thing also, which that was like a whole love or hate kind of thing there for the elf on the shelf. But we did the cookies for Santa. We'd leave carrots out, we even put like the glitter oats out for the reindeer. We, you know, we just did fun little stuff like that to just bring the wonder and magic of the season for the boys and we came up with some pretty crazy antics that our elf would get into, antics that our elf would get into and like toilet papering, the tree or, you know, writing on the mirrors in their bathrooms. I mean, the elves did some pretty crazy, crazy shenanigans and I think, just incorporating that stuff. It also, I think kind of and I know this is like now we're turning into a therapy session here because it kind of filled a void of childhood stuff that I missed out on being able to do that for the boys. You know, it's like all that magic and wonder of the seasons that I was robbed of as a kid. I was able to bring it to my boys and then also experience it myself, it myself.
Speaker 1:And then another tradition that we do, that we still carry on and my boys absolutely do it with like a how can I say like they do it kicking and screaming, but with a smile is the tradition of the Bass Pro Shop. So again, I don't have as a kid a picture with Santa Claus because we didn't do Santa Claus. So we take our boys every year to the Bass Pro Shop and I think we started this because we learned about it when I think Jacob was like one or two, right. So our youngest son, so the Noah, was maybe like about five years old and we take him to the Bass Pro Shop and they take a picture with Santa every year and the Bass Pro Shop does this huge Santa's Village. It's a big thing, it's like a legit Santa, a real good looking Santa with real beard and everything blue eyes and everything and they have this just wonderful setup and you get one free picture with Santa and they give you a free little four by six picture and this cute little frame with the year and everything on there. So we started this tradition of taking them there and Bass Pro Shop.
Speaker 1:If you've never taken your kids to Bass Pro Shop, it's just a fun adventure. They have fish tanks in there. There's all kinds of cool stuff that your kids can go and play with. They set up like all these little play areas for the kids and it's just super fun. You do have to make reservations online, so I will tell you that. Go check it out, but we have been taking the kids there every year and we still take the boys there.
Speaker 1:They're going to be so mad that I shared this, but because I missed out on like experiencing that magic during the Christmas time, I didn't want them to and because I never had a picture with Santa, I wanted them to have 20 pictures with Santa every year. We have Noah is 19, jacob is 16, and they're going to go take a picture with Santa this year and as they begin to get older and they're like, mom, I don't want to go. I'm like the only thing I ask from from each of you for Christmas each year is that we go together for, as a family, go get the picture with santa, and then we go and enjoy dinner afterwards and we maybe, like might, go look at some lights or something. I think a couple of years we went to thoroughbred lane after um, which is in rancho cucamonga, which is where uh bass pro shop is. So I'm telling you guys all this so that you guys can maybe create some fun family traditions with your little ones too.
Speaker 1:But we will be making reservations for this year, I told my boys, until Jacob is 18, you guys are going to do this with for me until he graduates. So that way I will have all of these pictures of them while they were in school together. So this we have two more this year and next year will be the last that I will make them do this, and then after that it'll be by choice. If they want to keep the tradition and maybe when it when, and if they have their own children, it'll be something that they can create with their own family as well. So that is a fun tradition. I think that we started.
Speaker 2:We even have it COVID year.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we did, they are wearing masks. Yes, that's right.
Speaker 2:And Santa was behind a plexiglass, yes, so.
Speaker 1:Santa is like behind a plexiglass. There's like a bench in front of the plexiglass. Yes, so Santa is like behind a plexiglass. There's like a bench in front of the plexiglass and the boys have their mask on for 2020. That's right. So like we did not lose a year because of that. So, yeah, I think the first year I want to say is 2010.
Speaker 1:So we've been doing it for like 14 years. I'll have to look at our picture and then, if you guys walk if you ever walk into my house I've shared this before in previous years I'll have to share it on my social media again. But I have this huge ribbon hanging in our hallway of every picture of them, so you can see the very first one to the most recent one of them. Actually, last year's picture is not on there yet because I ran out of ribbon space, yeah, so I'm going to have to start another ribbon on the other side and I haven't figured that out yet.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things that I want to kind of transition to is just our quality time During the season. It gets so hectic with all of these holiday events. Now that the boys are older, you know it's easier for us to kind of hop around and do all of these fun different things. But what were some challenges that you think we faced during the holidays? I mean, we kind of mentioned the whole Christmas Eve thing, but what were some challenges that we had that allowed us to kind of make it a point for you and me, because I think it's important for people to know too that even though when you have little kids, like, yes, it's all about them, but I think it's a priority for like couples you know, married couples to kind of have some time. So maybe share some of the challenges that we had and some of the things that we had and some of the things that we did as a couple to make sure that we got some quality time during this season you know, I don't.
Speaker 2:I don't remember what we did. Yeah, I don't remember what we did, how. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna throw that back at you and I'm gonna talk about how we spent quality time, like recently, together and how, like because because we're in a in a transition period where the kids don't want to do anything with us, and so, instead of taking the kids, we decided to take the dogs, and so we had a tradition. We started a tradition, probably around the same time in 2010. We go out and see this home up here in I don't remember what city it's in.
Speaker 1:Is it Lindora?
Speaker 2:Or it's on Flamingo Road and now it's a block. It used to just be a home, but now it's like a whole cul-de-sac block, that where they put on a whole light show, it it's coordinated with the music and you get to like sign in or turn on your radio and tune in to a specific channel to hear the music. It's super cool, and we've been taking the kids for let's just call it 10 years, and this year, no, noah's not here. Leslie asked Jacob hey, do you want to go? He's like Nope, I'm okay, I'll pass.
Speaker 2:And so we took the dogs and that was our time together. We went to Donut man, got hot chocolate, sat with the dogs and watched a whole sequence of of the uh, the light show and and the music, and then we came back home. So so I mean that's a good that that is, even though, like, we didn't really like talk or anything like that me and leslie were able to do that together, and I think that's really all that matters is that we were able to spend time together and go to one of our, our most favorite places to get donuts, which is donut map uh, yeah, we, we did do that.
Speaker 1:We did it last year also, like none of the boys wanted to come with us, and I also want to say, maybe the year before. So I think this is our third year where we've just taken the dogs because our boys don't want to go with us. Um, our oldest said, noah, now takes his girlfriend and they go take her. So, which I I absolutely love, because that's all about traditions, right? Is? He knew that? Hey, this is a tradition that I did with my family and now he takes his girlfriend to do this tradition. So they went right before Thanksgiving, when they were both home from school, and they went to go see the streets, on Flamingo Street, you know, and he didn't even tell us he was going until after. He was like, oh yeah, mom, you know, we went to go see the lights on Flamingo Street, you know, and he, he didn't even tell us he was going until after. He was like, oh yeah, mom, you know, we went to go see the lights and Flamingo Street and I was like what, this was during thing Actually I think it was before Thanksgiving and I was like they had him up. He's like, yeah, they had him up, and I'm like, oh, that's so cool.
Speaker 1:I that just melted my heart to know that he is carrying that tradition, like now he's bringing his girlfriend in to do it and they get to do that tradition together. So that's what traditions is all about is you do it together and then you just pass it on and bring more people in to be able to experience that tradition. And that's why we're kind of doing this episode just to share some of the family traditions that we've done. But I think one of the things that you and I have always done also and this is kind of just as a couple too, because our boys have always been in the parade so doing the Covina parade we just did last weekend too.
Speaker 1:It's always been you and me kind of sitting on the curb there because our boys have been part of the parade or they just didn't want to go because they didn't want to freeze their butts off, you know, sitting there and watching what they call. Oh, it's a boring parade. Our local city here, the city of Covina, puts on a parade as the first Saturday of December every year and it is just a fun parade, or local. It's the local community just coming together. Local bands, local music groups, just local businesses come together. They put floats on Even youth programs you have like your, you know, your AYSO groups, your baseball, your what do you call it? Little League, your Girl Scout troops. They just come and they march in this parade or they put a float together and it's just so much fun. So the boys have been in it numerous times for their you know activities that they've been in sports, cheer, all of that, and it's been fun.
Speaker 1:Steve and I just sit, steve photographs, I sit and kind of embrace it all and I don't know why.
Speaker 1:In the beginning of the parade it's like always that first wave of people that come out, always the first band that comes out, the minute that I hear, like them, the marching band turning the corner singing Jingle Bells or whatever Christmas tune it is, I tear up. I don't know. It's just such a fun parade and seeing that our little community come together it just it feels like one of those Hallmark movie type of things, you know, even though we don't live in this quaint little town, but it just has those Hallmark movie vibes of like the community coming together for this little parade and something that we look forward to every year. I just get emotional over it. So I always tear when that first marching band comes around. I'm just like this is just so pretty, I just love it. And Steve looks at me sideways like why are you crying? Like that's something fun that I think we always like get, get to do together and it's so serious that we have to put our chairs out now like 36 hours in advance.
Speaker 2:It used to be like 24, but now it's more like 36 y'all, our community just loves it, like you.
Speaker 1:so it's the first Saturday in December and we had to go put our chairs out at two o'clock the Friday before, 2 pm the Friday before, and we were already late. Our spot that we normally get was gone already. Y'all, let's just tell you that my mom called me at around like noon or something, I think, and she was like, have you gone and put your chairs out yet? Because she was going down Padilla to her dentist and she's like everyone has their chairs out already. I'm like, oh crap, we normally do it the night before. So we were late this year, 2 pm. We were rolling up late. We missed our spot. I mean, we still put our chairs next to our spot, but the spot that we really like had got taken. We just had to move like two chairs over from them to the left.
Speaker 1:So we still were right at the corner at the end where we get the parade kind of turning, because that's the best spot for pictures. So that is another fun family tradition for sure. But I think some of the challenges going back to that, when they're younger and we were working like for sure the whole Christmas Eve me working in ministry was absolutely crazy. December was a month we I typically never took any time off because you know everybody's coming to church and it's a very busy time for churches and ministry. So it was stressful and overwhelming for me. And that stress and overwhelm was self-inflicted, I think, because not only did I have a full-time job, little kids, but I was the one that wanted to make everything magical for the kids and Steve helped a lot with that also.
Speaker 1:But there was just that you know moms just have that extra stress of making this season. You know the shopping and the decorating and all that stuff that us moms typically do. So it's kind of that added stress and I think as we, as the boys are older now it's it's not as stressful. We don't have to worry about moving the damn elf, you know, every morning waking up frantically right, waking up in the middle of the night sometimes like, did we move the elf? Making sure that we wake up before the boys did, because we forgot to move the elf, or you know those times that we completely forgot and they woke up before and we're just making up some story like, oh, I think he's just tired, I think he just needed to rest or maybe he's sick.
Speaker 1:There's lots of different challenges and I think the stress of having two families that celebrate on Christmas Eve that was that was hard and wanting to, you know, make sure that our boys were part of both family traditions. That definitely caused some stress some Christmas Eve, where sometimes we were a little at each other's throats sometimes, but then we just had to like remember, you know, hey, it's all about family and we will make it work, which is what Steve did all the time when he'd have to drive from church to grandpa's, back to church, to my family, back to church and then home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they weren't around the block.
Speaker 1:No, we're talking from at one point, from Norwalk to West Covina, to Whittier, back to West Covina, to Los Feliz area, back to West Covina, then to Norwalk. Like y'all, if you're in California, southern California, you know what that entails. So a lot of time was spent in the car though, right Yep listening to Christmas music. Listening to Christmas music, yes. Now, what advice would you give to families, babe, during this time of allowing them to not stress out so much?
Speaker 2:I would advise, I guess, young parents to be patient, because the kids are going to want to enjoy whatever they want to enjoy, and sometimes it doesn't work the way you want it to work, and if you're going to be late, you're going to be late.
Speaker 2:You're better off showing up rather than not showing up at all. And that was our attitude during Christmas Eve, and even though if we were at my grandparents or my grandfather's house for maybe an hour to two hours at least, we were there, the boys got to hang out with them and and and just appreciate that time that we, that we did put aside, because, because we were running, like I mentioned, and, and then we put the time aside for Leslie's family, and so now, granted, would that time be better for, for just to allocate it to one family? That's up to you guys to decide. It was, it was our vision to make sure that we spent it with both families. Now, even though Leslie was, was at work, at least me and the boys around my family, and, and I would say, as long as you guys are together, that's all that matters.
Speaker 1:That's good, yes, for sure. Now I want us to transition into sharing about our favorite thing to do as a couple. I think it's one of my favorite new traditions that you and I made, and this kind of goes back into making new traditions and transitioning from like our kids not being part of some of these holiday things with us anymore because they're getting older and stuff. But one of the things that you and I started doing is planning for the new year ahead and in last week's episode I talked about how I wrap up my year and share my goals and you know how I set up a sauna and all of that share of my goals, and you know how I set up a sauna and all of that, and one of the things that steve and I do, um, we well, we started this last year. We're doing it again this year.
Speaker 1:Is we plan a weekend to go away? We booked a hotel room. We're gonna go away for a weekend local. You know, last year we're in dana, point. This year we're going to where are? Are we going? Like Calabasas area?
Speaker 2:Something like that. It's because it's free, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's the whole point of using your credit card like your rewards points, so you get free hotel nights y'all. We got a Hilton Amex that gets us free nights. So last year we got two free nights in Dana Point. This year we're getting two free nights in Calabasas or somewhere over there Agora Hills, I think we're at yeah, it's Agora Hills.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So we're using this time to go away and to plan our goals and our years and be intentional of working together. So can you just kind of share, like we? So this is something that we did prior to last year we would spend a day, sit together and just you know, kind of look, these are the goals that I made. These are the goals we wanted to aim for together. Last year is the first year that we went away to do it and we're going to do it again this year. So can you just kind of touch a little bit about what we do and all of that when we go away?
Speaker 2:Well, I think first is to plan, and we made the reservation, I think it was in October.
Speaker 1:I think so yeah.
Speaker 2:For the room, and so we were obviously thinking about this in October and I would say, definitely plan it out and then know where you're going. And I would say, be intentional with everything that you do. No-transcript, so and so, um, there's definitely some compromise. It's like, well, okay, I won't be able to do that, like for some crazy reason, for my goal to get another camera is not doesn't ever make the list and but but it's okay, we have a couple cameras.
Speaker 1:It's not in our budget goal.
Speaker 2:That's why, my dear we have enough cameras right now to get us by. And and I think I think you know, for me it's really fun because we get to actually come together in the goal making process, because we come together with our goals that are already done. And I want to say, before we started doing this, we didn't really really put goals together. Like it was like this is what I want to do, this, what you got here. And it's easy to do that as a couple because, like, for instance, I'm doing something I work in a completely different industry than Leslie has any intention to jump into, and so it's like yeah, these are my goals. I have my personal and my professional goals. This is what I want to learn, this is what I want to implement. And so for Leslie, it's the same thing complement. And so for leslie, it's the same thing. But but like it's like okay, how do we come together? And and part of that is okay, these are our professional goals and these are our personal goals and these are the goals that we want to do together.
Speaker 2:As far as, like leslie and steve and um, I think we wanted to try to get a car last year, but it just didn't, it just didn't plan out and um and and I think that was one of the things that we came together the year before to say, okay, let's try to get a car. Well, now it's like no, we can't get a car for us. We need to get a car for jacob because we want to make sure that he has some wheels to drive himself around, so we don't have to do that anymore, but first he has to get his, get his license, and I think you know. But it also allows us to spend time together like just us, without the distractions of home stuff, without the distractions of the dogs, without the distractions of the kids. And, like Leslie says, we don't go too far. We stay pretty local and I would recommend going to Dana Point because we found some really good places to eat in Dana Point.
Speaker 1:So we're kind of like foodies. When we go away to places, we Yelp local places. Anytime we go on vacation, it is a rule that we do not eat at like chain or franchise places that we can eat at home or franchise places that we can eat at home. We always yelp and look for local, you know kind of mom and pop shop places that we don't get to eat here. So even here, like when we're in California Dana Point is not that far from us, but we will look up. Okay, what are the cool little breakfast spots down over here? We found a really amazing pizza place down over there that we need to go back to, by the way, and we found that Hawaiian cafe that we ate breakfast at. We winded up eating there both days that we were gone because the breakfast was so amazing. So that's just something that we do, I look forward to. Okay, what are some places on Yelp that we're going to go eat? We're going to go try out, and then we just spend quality time in the room, literally. I take my planner, we take our computers, ipad, whatever and I shared in last week's episode I already started planning my 2025. So we each plan our own individual goals and then, like he said, we come together on this weekend and we're like okay, we share our individual goals and we also look okay, how can I support Steve in the goals that he's aiming for? And the same with Steve, how you know, he's like okay, how can I support you in the goals that you are aiming for?
Speaker 1:Goals with the podcast Steve is a big part of the podcast, so he has to add those goals to his list also and he will push me. He's the one who pushed me to get on YouTube this year. Y'all that was a goal that we set this time last year when we went away for the weekend. He's like I want to go to video. We got to get on YouTube and I was the one who kind of kicked and screamed the whole time about it because, like I said, I got to. Like I got to dress up. Now I can't just throw a hat on, no makeup, you know, and just not worry about a background and everything. I love, just recording and not having to worry about my appearance for it. But now that we're on video, I now it's a whole different ballgame. But now that we're on video, now it's a whole different ballgame. But that was a goal that Steve had for the podcast that I was like OK, I got to add it to my goals list and it's something that, even though kicking and screaming, I knew that this would help the podcast to grow.
Speaker 1:So we collaborate on a lot of our goals, we support each other in our individual goals and then we create goals as a family. You know, in our finances vacation, getaway stuff, even stuff that we wanted to do you know like, okay, we should get back to, maybe, our family devotion times. We haven't done that for a minute. You know, I think we had made the goal a while, a few years back, of doing our devotion time and stuff, and you know it's a time for us to sit and review and say what worked, what didn't, what do we need to get better at as not just a family but as a husband and wife also. So I strongly recommend that you do that with your significant other, you know, and you don't have to go away for a fancy weekend Like I do. If you can get away, go and get away. It gives you a reason to do it. But if finances and that is an issue don't stress about going away to like a hotel or you know a weekend, but get outside of your house, you know, maybe go find a park, maybe go find someplace where you guys can sit in a quiet area and just share. Go grab lunch or something, go to a local park, spend an hour or something together. But be intentional with going with your goals already planned out.
Speaker 1:Like we said, steve and I come together and we already have our stuff there. We just collaborate on what he has, on what I have, and then we say, okay, what do we need to integrate? Put on each other's list, like if, if I have that well, like last year he had, hey, I want to go to YouTube and I didn't have that on my list for podcasts. I didn't. So I was like was like kicking and screaming, like all right, I'll add it to my list, you know, and there are things that you know he had to add to his counterpart also. So you just got to learn to come together in that and I promise you, when you are supporting each other with your goals and you know what each other are aiming for, it just gives a sense of accountability, support and then also a connection.
Speaker 1:I think, right, babe, like we're just able to support each other on that and, like he has access, we have access in Asana, like I think we invited each other, right, but I don't ever really go in and check your goals and I don't think you ever come in and check my until the until the end of the year, really. Um, but we up, we update them, you know you, you still, you have yours in Asana still, right, yeah, yeah, so we both use Asana for that. I, I shared that again last episode. Um, this year I'm switching it up and I'm going to be putting my goals in MeisterTask and Steve's going to be like so well, steve is like so Asana, gung-ho. So we'll see if we can make that transition.
Speaker 2:But I, yes, I am Because I? Because at one point they would offer it for a free version. Now they don't.
Speaker 1:They don't Now they don't.
Speaker 2:So I'm like I don't know. I mean, yeah, I don't know if I could be an advocate to say, yeah, go with it, because I like Asana and it works. It's just, everything costs money.
Speaker 1:I know, wait until you see Meistercast, you'll really, you'll really love it babe, the podcast is going to be a Meister task, so there's a goal for Steve right there. Boom Transition, the Meister task.
Speaker 2:Okay, one that I didn't have in 2025.
Speaker 1:Yes, and he has a new goal now. So we're going to wrap up now. Y'all this is just a fun loose conversation with Steve and I where you get to get inside of some of the family traditions that we do over the holidays and just how we come together, we wrap up our year and just as we wrap up, you have any closing thoughts that you want to share with the audience?
Speaker 2:I'm going to say to definitely continue to be patient this season, because sometimes things don't work the way you want them to. But, like I said earlier, as long as you're able to spend time together, that's all that really matters. And and that, you know, one of the things that we did do with the boys was is it wasn't about the gifts, it was about the time that we were able to spend together, and and because I mean we, we continue to tell them and christmas isn't christmas because of the gifts, it's because, uh, jesus was born and and that's the reason why we celebrate and and so like, regardless of of your faith and whatnot, I would say you can twist it and turn it around to say you know what. It's not about the gifts, it's about the time that we're able to spend together. And, you know, one of the of the things that we decided to do with the boys was well, actually, me and Leslie don't really get Christmas gifts for each other.
Speaker 1:That's right. We didn't even mention that, huh.
Speaker 2:No, well, we don't, and it's because we would rather put like, for instance, spend that money on getting away and doing our planning for next year. Like that that would. That's a. That's where some of that money goes. It goes to feeding us during that time that we're out there, and so so, to wrap up, I would say patience, compromise and trust me. Eventually that camera will get on the list and those goals will collide, but you just got to trust and have patience.
Speaker 1:Yes, Okay, we totally did forget to mention about that. We don't buy each other gifts. I want to say and maybe have mentioned this in previous podcasts like Valentine's Day, our anniversary, Christmas, we don't buy each other gifts. What we do is we will plan a getaway weekend together. So for us it's more about spending quality time together than giving each other things, and Steve knows my love language is quality time, and I'd much rather quality time going away somewhere with him than you know some fancy purse or a pair of earrings or something like that. Like I'll just go buy that stuff myself when I want to, and the one that you want.
Speaker 1:I'll get it myself, babe, guess what I'll do you a favor. So we kind of stopped buying each other gifts when the kids started coming right and and it it kind of started. At first it was like it was a money thing, because we just wanted to spend money on the boys and getting them presents. So we sacrificed buying gifts for each other just so that our boys can have the best gifts possible. You know we wanted to make christmas so magical for them. They woke up and you know I we probably spoiled them a little too much. But it first started off that hey, let's just sacrifice buying each other gifts so that we could buy extra stuff for the boys. And then, as money became a little more you know not so hard for us during the holidays, then it we just kind of got used to sacrificing that and I'm like, well, I don't need anything for Christmas, like let's go away.
Speaker 1:Because when the kids were little that was just so hard for us to do. So I would even, you know, ask my mom. Like Mom, I think we kind of would go like January or February time, huh.
Speaker 2:It was only for a weekend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we would just go away for a weekend and that was what we spent our money on, and we'd always go somewhere close. We never would go far. You know, I think Palm Springs one weekend, you know, here, wherever we would just find a place to go and spend quality time, go eat at nice restaurants, and it was really about spending time together. So that could be something that if you're in the season where you have young ones you have a lot of them quality time is so important. Make it a point, and if that's the only gift that you ask of somebody is, can you just watch my kids for one night a day, like that would be the greatest gift for us and that's what I would ask my mom. Mom, don't get me anything for Christmas. Just watch my boys for a weekend as we go away.
Speaker 1:Time is the greatest gift that you can ask or give to anyone. So, as we wrap up, we just want to leave you with this last thought Traditions are not just routines. They are what allow you to connect with your loved ones and create everlasting memories that will just last years and years to come. And also just know that planning ahead isn't just about setting goals. It's about dreaming big with your loved one, and it's about sharing that journey, coming together to support each other and, you know, have someone to be accountable with, and if it could be your significant other, a loved one, it's just going to help you that much further to pursue those goals and dreams. So, from our family to yours, we just want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, a happy new year filled with joy, reflection and togetherness, and until next time, keep chasing joy.