Me and My Boys

Fun Photo Friday

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Really loves peas.

Project 52, Week 6

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Theme for week 6 is "Drink Up". Here's my photo.

This last weekend I had a migraine and I was miserable. Pablo went to the store Saturday night to find some Excedrin for me and couldn't find any. Did you know it had been recalled? I knew, but figured there would at least be some on the shelves that had not been recalled. Poor Pablo was trying to find some for me, but to no avail. So instead he buys some Tylenol, dark chocolate and Dr. Pepper. Pain reliever and caffeine! Since I've been caffeine free for over 4 months what he got me was perfect. About an hour later I felt so much better.

P.S. Yes the bottle is empty, but I did not drink it all, I only had two small glass servings. Pablo and the boys each had a small cupful the next day, but before we could drink it all I emptied it. Remember I am trying to stay to away from sodas and especially those with caffeine.

Bad Dreams

2012-02-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Happy woke up in the middle of the night and came into bed with us. This did not make for a good sleep environment. Happy tends to seek heat, therefore he tends to invade Pablo's sleeping space. Pablo usually ends up with an aching back because of this. This time I thought it would be a good idea for me to be in between Happy and Pablo so that Pablo would not be so sore in the morning. Big mistake for me because I was the one who was sore in the morning.

That night as I was putting Happy into his bed I kindly told him how important it is for him to stay in his bed the whole night.

This was his response, "But Mom! The only way to make the bad dreams go away is by getting into your bed!".

Now how can I say no to that. Guess we scare the bad dreams away.

Fun Photo Friday

2012-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Project 52, Week 5

2012-02-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

Theme for week 5, shadows. Here are three photos that I finally decided to go with. Two are of the huge tree in our yard. I love the shade it gives and how it covers the yard. The third one is of the view I have from my bedroom window in the early afternoon. I loved this project and the beautiful ways I looked at shadows this week.

Taken with Canon 30d

Taken with Android using Retro Camera app Baerbl

Linking up here.

Scripture Sunday

2012-01-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Printable can be found here.

Fun Photo Friday

2012-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

Love how fun warm weather and a slip 'n slide are.

Project 52, Week 4

2012-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Theme for week 4 is a self portrait.

Taken with my 30d Canon, 100 ISO, 1/30 shutter speed, 22 aperture

This was a hard theme for me. At the moment I don't feel too comfortable with the way I look. After having four boys and being more of a mother than myself I haven't been taking good care of myself. I've already decided this year to exercise more and in the last three months I have weened myself off of my favorite beverage, Coke. I've noticed the difference in how I'm not so tired since I stopped drinking soda. It's been great, but now I need to concentrate on exercising. The best part is that I'm doing this for myself and not for my boys or Pablo. In the past I was doing these things for them and I didn't follow through, but now it's different. After doing the theme this week I'm more determined to change how I feel about myself.

Water

2012-01-24T15:58:00.001-08:00

So I've been drinking a lot of water for the last few weeks. My body feels off when I don't drink enough. So I love the way I feel being so hydrated. What I don't like is how often I need to go to the bathroom. Good thing I'm usually at home.

Scripture Sunday

2012-01-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

A great resource that can be found here. Print it out, use it, and share it.

Fun Photo Friday

2012-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Project 52, Week 3

2012-01-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

Theme for week 3, I dreamed a dream. This is what I took a photo of. It's a painting Pablo's grandmother did. When she passed away this was one of the three paintings Pablo picked from her collection. He loves those paintings.

They are a reminder to us of the wonderful woman she was. She loved all her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the many in-law sons, daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters she had. When you were with her she made you feel so loved and important. I see those paintings and dream of the day I will see her again.

I used my Canon 30D, 1/5 shutter speed, 20.0 aperture, 1250 ISO, with a flash.

You can join or see more photos here.

Parenting Teenagers is Hard!

2012-01-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

Of course it's hard parenting, but teenagers is really hard!

I know I'm whining and I should stop since I'm not nice to whining children in our home.

Let me explain. We have been parents to a teenager now for two years and it hasn't been too bad. Well, this last Friday and Saturday it was hard.

Friday afternoon I get a call about four o'clock from Serious Man letting me know that someone messed with his bike, broke it, and his helmet is gone. I drive to his school and see that the handle bar slid off the the bar that holds it place, his pedal crank is off the the bike, his back brake cable is frayed, and one of the front brake holders is broken. He then proceeds to tell me that he came out from soccer practice and that's how he found his bike.

I was not happy because I had previously told him to lock his bike and he didn't do it. I proceed to take him to the school office to file a report. He files a report and they also let us know they will review the surveillance video they have of the area. I'm glad we did this off we go home.

Now I believe this boy of ours, but Pablo does not.

The next day Pablo starts asking Serious Man tons of questions. After about 10 minutes of interrogation from his father, Serious Man confesses. He tells Pablo he let a friend borrow his bike and that's how his friend returned the bike. Pablo is mad because this is the second bike we had to buy in a year when Serious Man bent the frame on his other bike (it was a cheap bike that Pablo was surprised lasted as long as it did).

Then I talked to Serious Man about this boy not being a good friend if that's how he took care of other people's things. I then asked Serious Man if he saw this so called friend destroying his bike. He tells me yes, that he saw him trying to do tricks on his bike.

Now I'm unhappy and Pablo is mad. What do we do to this boy?!

After much thought we came up with three consequences for his actions. For two weeks he has to walk to school, because he let his friend ruin his bike. For two weeks he can't play on the computer or X-Box for lying to us. Finally for two weeks he has to work lots and lots of extra chores because he filed a false report with the school.

I hope this convinces him that he needs to be honest with us and empower him to know that it's alright to tell a friend NO.

P.S.
Pablo was able to fix the bike with the spare parts he took from the old bike.

Scripture Sunday

2012-01-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

It's not a scripture verse, but I wanted to show this off. A few months ago we were having problems here at home with the boys fighting a lot among each other. We had more than one Family Home Evening to talk about the importance of loving their brother, but it just wasn't clicking for them. Then one day on Pinterest I saw this quote. I loved it! It was just I was looking for.

Immediately I opened Photoshop and started playing around until I came up with this. I then printed out two copies on the printer and framed them. The boys now have this quote hanging on their walls. I'm not saying that it solved the fighting, but they see it everyday and it's a gentle reminder of how important their brothers are to them.

Project 52, Week 2

2012-01-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Retro Camera on Android using the Baerbl camera with a 100 ISO.

Theme for week 2, made with love. Tough subject for me at first. Then I started thinking about everything around our home. Was going to take a picture of our house, but the outside planters need some work and I didn't want everyone to see what a black thumb I have. Then on Wednesday I made bread for submarine sandwiches. When Silly saw the bread he got really excited and said, "Mom, I love it when you make bread! I can't wait to eat it!" That's when I decided to take the photo.

Fun Photo Friday

2012-01-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

Scripture Sunday

2012-01-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Our family came up with a motto last year and we decided to do the same thing again this year. Last year it was interesting that the motto we chose coincided with the theme for the Young Men/ Young Women and that was the 13th Article of Faith.

This year we decided that it would be "Go and Do". We based it on two scriptures. The first one is from Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." and the second is from 1 Nephi 3:7, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.".

Love how the boys got involved in choosing our family motto for the year. Here's something I came up with to put in our house to daily remind us of it.

Fun Photo Friday

2012-01-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Unattended flour and a 2 year old.

Project 52 Week 1

2012-01-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

I've decided to join the Project 52 that is being hosted by Darcy at My 3 Boybarians. If you want to join in here's the link with all of the information.

Resolution

That's the theme for week 1.

My resolution for the year is to drink water. Some days I'm good and other days I forget and then I get a headache because I didn't drink enough water. One of the things that I did was look for an app on my phone to remind me. There were lots of apps when I searched, but I finally chose a free one simply called "Drinking Water". I love it because I can set the window of when to remind me and of how much water I want to drink. Very easy to use. I'm trying to convince Pablo to use it also.

I used the retro camera app on my HTC phone. I used the Barbol camera setting. I didn't realize I could change the ISO and I will play with that for the next photo.

Oregon Part 5

2012-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with grandma and grandpa. I loved how simple it was. We had the most beautiful tree and the most simple presents. The boys really appreciated the things they received.

I love this photo because of grandpa's face. I guess Happy must have stepped on grandpa's feet as we walked over to the couch to sit between them.

Serious Man showing us how silly he can be.

Little Man excited to open his present.

Silly being his normal self. He must have scared grandpa with his excitement.

Oregon Part 4

2012-01-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

The boys favorite place to be at was the archery range. Once they were done with the jobs around the campsite they would go to the archery range with Pablo and grandpa.

Here's Little Man trying to use the left handed bow.

Happy had a better time using the left handed bow. It does help when you are left handed.

This is the house my in-laws are living in while on their mission.

Pablo and I went out together one morning to explore the camp. We found a flock of wild turkeys. Pablo and his dad wanted to take the bows and arrows and hunt them. Lucky for the turkeys Pablo's mom wouldn't let them hunt.

Happy was excited to get to sit in the front seat of the gator while grandma drove.

We did walk drive down to Helaman Hall to cook hotdogs. We didn't last long because it was so cold! We just quickly cooked and ate our hot dogs, we cleaned up and went back to the house.

Oregon Part #3

2012-01-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

One of the fun things to do at the campsite was the confidence course. We all took the time to do one of the things in the course.

Happy tried to climb over the wall with Pablo's help. He gave up and cried until Pablo helped him down.

At least he did try to swing the rope across the "snake pit".

I even tried the course. This is much harder than it looks, especially when the boys are moving the rope you are trying to walk on. We all had a great time and great laughs at Pablo and I trying to do some of the things on the course.

Scripture Sunday

2012-01-02T05:00:00.000-08:00


Get this printable here.

This is the theme for the Young Men/ Young Women program in our church this year. It is such a great reminder to us all to let our light shine for all to see.

Oregon Part 2

2011-12-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

One of the fun things we got to do in Oregon was cut down our Christmas tree. The boys had been looking forward to doing this the whole drive there. Each of the boys helped cut down the tree. Little Man and Silly cut the lower limbs off with clippers. Serious Man used the hand saw to cut the tree down. Happy picked up the limbs that were cut off and dragged them to the trailer.

Once we brought the tree back Pablo, Serious Man, and Grandpa got together to make the base for the tree. What they didn't realize once the base was on the tree was how crooked it was. It still didn't matter, I thought it was the most beautiful tree we've ever had. The boys decorated it like this. We added string to mini candy bars and hung them on the tree, added lights, and hung a paper link garland. It was so much fun searching and cutting down a tree.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Sheet tent camping

Oregon Part 1

2011-12-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

So off we went to Oregon for Christmas to visit grandparents serving a service mission for our church. We had lots of fun and helped out a lot at Camp Alpine. It was wonderful feeling to be able to provide service at the camp. The boys worked really hard along side their grandparents and they had so much fun doing it. I really hope this helps motivate them to want to continue to serve others.

We moved things and covered them.

We traveled around the campsite enjoying the beauty around the area.

We loved being around the grandparents, even if it was cold and wet. Something we are not used to in southern California.

More pictures to come.

Scripture Sunday

2011-12-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Source

Merry Christmas!

Fun Photo Friday

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

We're currently visiting this fun loving grandpa!

Christmas Tree

2011-12-21T22:32:00.001-08:00

This is the tree the boys picked thus year.

We are in Oregon visiting my in-laws who are on their mission as care takers for a church owned camping facility. So grandma and grandpa took us out to the property and let the boys pick out the Christmas tree. Serious Man did most of the cutting. Silly and Little Man trimmed off the lower branches and Happy picked up the fallen. branches. We did not have any ornaments so we made our own. The boys made paper links and the adults put ribbon on lots of miniature candies. I love this tree!

Oregon

2011-12-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

We are here in Oregon for Christmas visiting my in-laws. They are here serving a service mission for our church in one of the campsites that our church owns. We took two days to drive up here from our home in southern California. I'm so glad we did take that time because it was foggy for most of the drive and Pablo and I would have been so tired trying to make the drive in one day.

We got here Saturday night and woke up really early to be ready to go at 8:20 in the morning so we could make it church at 9 AM. Church was great and the boys had a great time in their classes. I wasn't too sure about Happy wanting to stay in his class, but I convinced him and he did great! Serious Man, Silly, and Little Man also enjoyed their teachers and the children in the classes.

We woke up this morning with the intent to get outside and help with the work that is needed at this campsite. It's been very cold, but we got dressed warmly and set out to work. We moved piles of wood, covered some things with tarp and tied them down, moved a sand pile, and looked for a Christmas tree. We didn't find a Christmas tree, but we are going to look in other areas for one tomorrow.

The boys are enjoying all of the things to do around here. They love to drive around in the Gator cart, climbing on all the dirt piles around, climbing on fallen logs, and looking in the stream. The thing I don't like is how red the dirt is. That's going to be hard to get out of their clothes. Well, at least they are having fun while helping their grandparents with the work in the campsite.

I hope to post some pictures tomorrow.

Scripture Sunday

2011-12-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Source

Fun Photo Friday

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Can't get enough cake!

Released

2011-12-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

This last Sunday I was released as the primary secretary. This is a calling I had for almost 3 years and I really enjoyed it. I loved getting to know all of the children in our ward. I grew to love and appreciate the work parents and primary teachers put forth in teaching their children about the gospel. I saw this with the answers the children would give, especially when we were putting together our primary sacrament program together. Their answers always filled me with much love for the sweet understanding children have about Heavenly Father and His Plan for us.

I'm sad to not be in primary anymore. I will miss seeing my boys. I really enjoyed Happy waving at me and raising his hand as high as he could when he wanted to be chosen for something. I will miss hearing Little Man sing during singing time. (He really has a beautiful voice when he sings.) I will miss seeing Silly being a little wild during sharing time. So many other things I will miss.

I now have the opportunity to go to my Sunday school class and to Relief Society. I do miss talking to the sisters on Sunday.

Scripture Sunday

2011-12-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Joy's Hope

Fun Photo Friday

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

About to Cry

2011-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

source

Happy: "Dad, I want ice cream. Get me some."

Pablo: "No ice cream because it's almost bedtime."

Happy: "Dad, I want ice cream now!"

Pablo: "Happy, I already said no. It's almost bedtime."

Happy: "Dad, if you don't give me ice cream then I'm going to cry. Almost."

Scripture Sunday

2011-12-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

Creole Paperie

Fun Photo Friday

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gratitude #30

2011-11-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for doing this 30 days of gratitude. I'm reminded of this quote I recently read.

Latter-Day Chatter

This whole month I have been reminded of tender mercies in my life. Daily I receive so many blessings I am truly grateful for them all. May I always remember these tender mercies and always be grateful.

Gratitude #29

2011-11-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for prayer.

It works for Bobbi

A simple reminder that I have been needing. I sometimes forget the importance of praying. Praying is not just a help to get answers to problems in my life, but also as communication with Heavenly Father. Just as I tell my children the importance of communicating with Pablo and I as their parents I also need to remember I need to talk to Heavenly Father. Prayer is not just for asking for things, prayer is also a help of reminding me where I came from and that I am a daughter of God and how much I am loved.

Grateful for prayer and the calm feeling I receive when I prayer. This feeling is regardless of receiving answers to my prayers. Just knowing Heavenly Father is there to hear and comfort me is amazing. Then just being still and listening for an answer to my prayers is also amazing. The answer may not be what I want, but it's an answer I need.

Gratitude #28

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for the time I spent with my family this last week.

My parents were in town and I loved having them in my home. The boys loved spending time with their grandparents. I loved eating my mom's cooking. I loved talking with my dad. I loved spending time with my youngest brother and youngest sister. Thankful for the help they gave us, especially my youngest brother, in finishing our kitchen floor and painting. Thankful for entertaining the younger boys when we were working in the kitchen. I'm also thankful my mom decided not to clean when I wasn't around.

Grateful for having Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. I loved spending time with my sister's family and my two favorite cousins and their families. It was a wonderful, loud evening. Can't believe there are 22 of us when we get together. Lots of good laughs and great food. Can't wait to do it again.

Gratitude #27

2011-11-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High." Psalms 82:6

Love this song! I'm grateful for knowing I am a child of God.

Gratitude #26

2011-11-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for modern technology.

Computers, cell phones, and the internet. What wonderful inventions they are. They all allow me to stay in touch with family members near and far. I love being able to not just talk on the phone with my parents, but also see them via the internet through Skype. I'm grateful for cell phones and the ability to talk almost anywhere with people. I'm thankful for the navigation system on my cell phone and now I don't get lost like I used to.

There are so many things that I'm able to do because of these modern conveniences and I'm truly thankful for them.

Fun Photo Friday & Gratitude #25

2011-11-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Grateful for how much fun these boys have together.

Gratitude #24

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and today I'm thankful for families.

I love my family, close and distant. I love my parents, my sisters, my brothers from the family I was born into and through marriage. I love all of my nephews and nieces.

Gratitude #23

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for my dishwasher.

I was the dishwasher growing up in my family. I never knew what it was like to have a dishwasher. When Pablo and I got married, our apartment did not have a dishwasher. We then moved into our current home and still no dishwasher. So, our dishes piled up because I just hated to do the dishes. There were always so many with a baby and a toddler. Then one day Pablo came home with a dishwasher for me. I lost cupboard space in an already very small kitchen, but I didn't care. I now had a dishwasher! I immediately loved it! Just fill it up and it does the work for you. No longer did I have to ruin my hands washing dishes. It doesn't bother me so much to do dishes and I rather enjoy it.

I'm so grateful for my dishwasher and the time it saves me.

Gratitude #22

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for the ability to read.

Source

I love to read. It's something I have enjoyed doing since I learned to read. I would find ways to stay up late so I could read. The library was one of my favorite places to go to. In the summer my sister and I would walk to library and spend hours there looking and reading books. My parents would sometimes take my books away if I was misbehaving and I thought that was the most awful thing anyone could do to me.

I don't read as often as I'd like to because I'm busy with my family, but I still enjoy it. I'm so grateful for learning to read and having a husband who understands my love for reading. I'm glad at least one of my boys, Silly, also has a great love of reading. We both enjoy reading books together. He will read a book and then I will. It's so much fun getting to talk about the events in the book and seeing the different perspectives we each have on the same book.

I just love to read and hope to continue the ability to do so.

Gratitude #21

2011-11-21T11:43:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for a husband who is handy around the house.

Pablo is able to fix so many things in the house and with cars. It's so wonderful because it helps us save money. There have been many things that he's been able to fix; such as the washer and dryer, dishwasher, plumbing, changing the oil in our cars, changing the brakes, and so many other things.

I'm thankful his father took the time to show and teach him all of these things. I'm also glad for Pablo taking the time to show and teach each of our boys how to fix things around the house. He has them help him just as he helped his father. When Pablo does he's able to spend special time with his boys.

I really am grateful for Pablo being able to fix things in our home.

Gratitude #20

2011-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today is our primary program in our ward. So today I am thankful for primary.

Primary is a wonderful organization in our church geared to all children 18 months to 12 years of age. (Some of you may be more familiar with the term Sunday school, but Sunday school is a different program in our church.)

I love primary because of what my boys, Pablo, and I have learned from it. One of the most important things that is taught to the children is the phrase "I am a Child of God". It may not seem like much, but it really is. I believe when we all know who we are we all feel how important and capable we really are. Even in bad times for me I do remember I am a child of God. It uplifts to me to know this and it's something I learned in primary.

The Family: A Proclamation...

The children spend about two hours every Sunday in primary. They learn songs and scripture, listen to stories, learn more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and they get to know other children. Singing time is one of my favorite parts of primary. Listening to those sweet voices sing is such a blessing. They also have people who are called by the bishop in our ward to serve in primary as teachers, pianists, choristers, and leaders.

I serve in the primary as the secretary and I love my calling. Serving in primary has been such a blessing in my life for two and half years. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to be of service to the children in our ward.

Gratitude #19

2011-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for my car.

My car is not the fanciest car, but to me it is. It's a Dodge Grand Caravan, so yes it's a "mom" car. I don't care because it takes me where I need to go. The car fits my family and there's plenty of space for our things. It's reliable and I'm able to take my boys to their different activities and destinations. The radio works and it has a dvd player in it to entertain the troops when they get tired of waiting for someone to get done with their activity.

I'm so thankful I have the car I do.

Fun Photo Friday & Gratitude #18

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for a toddler and a hidden chocolate bar.

Gratitude #17

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for Pablo's employment.

His job at this current employer has been such a blessing in our lives. He earns enough of an income that I'm able to be a stay at home mom. We have good medical and dental insurance for all those health problems that may arise. He gets a good amount of vacation time. It's also a type of employment that he can work from home when I'm sick.

Working for this company has been great for our family and I'm thankful they hired Pablo when they did.

Gratitude #16

2011-11-16T10:10:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for my youngest boy, Happy.

He is this wonderful little boy who I love so much. He's loud, usually happy, loves to sing, and loves his grandfathers a lot. He has been a wonderful blessing to our family. We waited five years for him and I'm actually glad we did wait. He's going to keep Pablo and I young as we get older. I love his smile and his beautiful, brilliant blue eyes. I've been told that some girl will snatch him up quickly because of those blue eyes and brown hair. I sure hope not. I also love how much his brothers do love him. He may annoy them at times, but they will go out of their way to include him.

I love my littlest boy and am glad he's a part of our family.

Gratitude #15

2011-11-15T12:36:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for my son, Silly.

I love this kid so much. He's really funny. He is always saying funny things. Once he made an observations that since most things are made in China then he must have also been made in China. When he was asked why, his response was that he found a sticker on him that had written on it, "Made in China". These are the type of things he says. He's also very smart for his age. It always amazes me the concepts in regards to the gospel and in school he understands. Things I know his older brother and many other adults still don't comprehend and he just gets it.

Yes he can be moody, but those time aren't as common. Yes he has ADHD, but that doesn't define who he is. He is an amazing boy who keeps on our toes about the things we say because he has a pretty good memory. I love him so much and I'm so glad he's a part of our family.

Gratitude #14

2011-11-14T08:27:00.001-08:00

Today I am full of gratitude for my wonderful son, Little Man.

He's a serious and funny boy. He is so serious when he talks to you and most of his sentences start with the word mostly. It's funny to hear him have conversations with an adult because he sounds like an adult. Oh, and he talks so much. He's a sweet boy and really tries hard to get along with his brothers. I just love him and am so thankful he's in our family.

Gratitude #13

2011-11-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

Go here to get this printable from Creation Corner.

I first really paid attention to this scripture when I was asked to give a talk at church over a year ago and this was the topic I was given. I was so unsure on how to give a talk based on this verse and this talk, but I have learned a lot from this scripture since that day. I remind myself of it whenever I need to be strengthened. I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to talk about this scripture and the wonderful things I learned from it. To this day it gives me great strength to continue in times of trials and tribulations.

Gratitude #12

2011-11-12T07:53:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for rain.

It doesn't rain a lot here in southern California, but when it does I really enjoy it. I love the sound of it and the smell of it. It doesn't bother me to drive the boys to their schools on rainy days. If the boys aren't sick I let them go outside in the rain and play. It's a lot of fun to do that.

I just love rain.

Gratitude #11

2011-11-11T08:27:00.001-08:00

Today most people will say they are thankful for the military service countless veterans have provided for our country. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for their service. The only thing is that today is also my parents anniversary.

So today's gratitude post is about my parents marriage. They have been married for 37 years today. They met in Mexico City and were married in 1974. Two years later they were parents to two daughters born almost one year apart. I don't know how they did it, but they did.

We moved a lot when I was little eventually settling near the area I currently live. They have had their share of hardships, but they were and are able to work through them. They work hard at their relationship and it's an example to me.

I'm grateful for parents who love and respect each other.

Fun Photo Friday & Gratitude #11

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for Silly who knows how to have fun.

Gratitude #10

2011-11-10T08:10:00.001-08:00

Today I am grateful for my mom.

Today is her birthday and I am so blessed to be her daughter. She is a wonderful mother and gradmother. My boys love her. Pablo loves her cooking and my mom goes out of her way to make his favorite dishes whenever we visit.

My mom and I did not always get along when I lived at home. That changed when I got married and moved out. We have a good relationship and we talk at least twice a week. I enjoy spending time with her and talking to her.

She works hard. She was the main breadwinner when my dad lost his job. My mom has never been the kind of woman who could stay home and it doesn't bother me that she wasn't a stay at home mom. Because of her hard work our family was able to overcome financial hardships.

She has done so much for me and I love her. So gratefule she is my mom.

Gratitude #9

2011-11-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Today I'm grateful for my sister.

We have a good relationship. When we were younger we had our share of arguments and fights, but now we have learned to not pursue those disagreements and we get along. I like that she lives close to me and that we do get to spend together.

I find it interesting how different we are, even with our families. She has four girls and I have four boys. She has lived in many places because her husband is in the military and I have lived in two places within the same city since I've been married. She is very outgoing and I tend to be quiet until you get to know me. She loves to do things spontaneously, where I tend to be a planner. I love that these differences do help us get along.

I love her and am so thankful she is my sister.

Gratitude #8

2011-11-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

Today my heart is full of gratitude for my dad. I really love him.

He's an amazing man. I remember him being home more than my mom. Mostly because of his work schedule. I believe he lost his job when I was either 8 or 9 years old; so he was the one who did the cleaning, cooking, and brushing our hair when my mom was working. It was interesting having him brush our hair, but you know at least he tried. He then got a job that was a rotating shift, so I would see him quite a bit in the morning or in the afternoon depending on his schedule.

My dad has always been supportive of me. I started playing softball when I was 8 years old. I wasn't very good at it, but I got the opportunity to pitch on our last game. After I pitched my first inning I was hooked. My dad was surprised about it, but he encouraged me and paid for pitching lessons. Once my dad had figured out everything he could from my pitching coach he took over as my coach. We would spend about one hour a day practicing in our yard. I even broke his nose one time. Still he encouraged me. He still encourages me. When I told him that I was homeschooling Serious Man, then Silly, he didn't try to talk me out of it. He just asked me why and he listened to my reasons. Once he listened he told me to go ahead and do what I felt was best for my boys. He's one of the few people who did this.

I love talking to my dad. I feel I'm missing something when I haven't spoken to my dad in a week. Even when I don't have much to say I enjoy hearing his voice. I'm so grateful for him being my dad.

Normal?

2011-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Conversation between three boys; Little Man, Happy, and Silly.
Little Man - "You ran into my arm and I almost fell over!"
Happy - "I'm sorry."
Little Man - "Well, you should say excuse me like normal people!"
Silly - "You know Little Man, if that's true then you and I are not normal."

Gratitude #7

2011-11-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Today I am full of gratitude for my oldest son, Serious Man.

He was born 14 years ago today. I remember how excited I was to be having a baby boy. He was born on a Friday evening with ease. He has been such a blessing in my life. He's an awesome older brother. Serious Man also does a lot around our house. He usually does not complain when told or asked to do things.

It amazes me how much he has grown, not just physically. He's now close to 5'10" tall. He may be this giant of a boy, but he's still my baby. I love this boy so much!


The above photo was not taken by me, but by this talented lady.

Gratitude #6

2011-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm full of gratitude today for my belief in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I'm so blessed by the knowledge I have about my faith. I'm in constant amazement by the love both my Heavenly Father and Jesus have for me. There are two songs in the Children's Songbook that do a good job of describing I feel. The first one:

I Feel My Savior’s Love

1. I feel my Savior’s love In all the world around me.
His Spirit warms my soul Through ev’rything I see.

Chorus
He knows I will follow him, Give all my life to him.
I feel my Savior’s love, The love he freely gives me.

2. I feel my Savior’s love; Its gentleness enfolds me,
And when I kneel to pray, My heart is filled with peace.

3. I feel my Savior’s love And know that he will bless me.
I offer him my heart; My shepherd he will be.

4. I’ll share my Savior’s love By serving others freely.
In serving I am blessed. In giving I receive.

The second one:

I Know My Father Lives

1. I know my Father lives and loves me too. The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true,
And tells me it is true.

2. He sent me here to earth, by faith to live his plan. The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me that I can,
And tells me that I can.

These sweet songs do such a wonderful job of strengthening my faith.

Gratitude #5

2011-11-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Today I am full of gratitude for our home.

We live in the house built by Pablo's grandfather back in 1949. It's a three bedroom, two bathroom home. It's not a huge house, some may say it's a very small house, but it's ours. The best part of this house is the yard.

As you can see it is huge. We share our yard with my in-laws who live next door, who do have a bigger house than we do. We have a very big tree off to the side that have two swings hanging from it. In front of our house a two more trees. All of these trees provide great shade and help with cooling costs.

I'm so glad we were able to buy this house. It's on a wonderful, hidden cul-de-sac, we hardly get any traffic, we're able to have lots of family spend time in the yard without bothering the neighbors, and there's a great place for the boys to play.

Gratitude #4

2011-11-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for knowing a second language.

My parents are both from Mexico. My mom is from Baja California North and my father is from Veracruz. My mom had lived in California since she was about 12 years old and went to Mexico City to go to accounting and that's where she met my dad who was in school at one of the universities in the city. They moved back to California before I was born.

My mom was fluent in both English and Spanish, my dad only spoke Spanish. So at home we spoke Spanish when I was little. I actually loved it. We would speak English at school and with friends, but when we would be at home we were only allowed to speak Spanish. Because we didn't have a lot of friends who spoke Spanish, my sister and I did not learn a lot of slang. My dad finally changed his mind about the Spanish only in our home when he started taking English classes and would ask us to help him with his pronunciation. So now when we get together we speak a mixture of English and Spanish, especially if we forget how to say a word in one language.

Speaking Spanish has been a blessing in the jobs I have had. I started working in a school district while in college as a bilingual instructional aide. Had to pass a Spanish test and was glad my parents taught me how to read in Spanish. I then worked as a pharmacy technician and Spanish helped a lot. I was able to translate for the pharmacists and for patients. I remember one time an elderly lady asked me where I learned to speak Spanish. I told her my parents taught me. She was quite impressed because she said the Spanish I spoke was not the everyday Spanish she was used to hearing in Santa Ana, CA. She said it was nice to hear someone speak with correct terms and not use Spanglish or slang.

Unfortunately speaking Spanish is not something I have taught my boys. It's something that I am changing at the moment. I have been speaking in Spanish to these boys for about one hour a day. It's interesting the words they pick up and have learned. I just hope they learn Spanish and then be able to carry a conversation with me completely in that language.

(My next Friday posts will be showing what I'm grateful for with a photo or two.)

Fun Photo Friday

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gratitude #3

2011-11-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for my in-laws. Pablo's family is an amazing family. He has an older sister, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. I have been a part of this wonderful family for almost 17 years.

I remember the first time I met them. Pablo's mom made me feel so welcomed and loved. His dad made me laugh, just like Pablo. His brothers were so nice and his youngest sister was just a sweetheart. I did not meet his older sister until a few weeks later and boy did she leave an impression with me. She was being silly and I immediately liked her.

I love spending time with his siblings and have seen some of them get married and have children.I can talk to them and share so much with them and their spouses. They are wonderful siblings to my husband and they are also great aunts and uncles to my boys. I love all of my nephews and nieces and the wonderful relationships my boys have with their cousins.

I've seen my parent-in-laws go on two missions for our church. They work hard serving the Lord. They have given me such a wonderful example of how loving a couple can be. They are a strength to me. I enjoy spending time with them talking or just being with them. They treat me as a daughter and I know I can talk to them without being judged. I love how they treat my boys. They know how individual each of them is. They send them notes and not just on special occasions. When they call they make sure to talk to each of them because they are very interested in their likes and dislikes. I look forward to seeing my parent-in-laws soon. As they are on their second mission at the moment, I sure miss walking next door and seeing them. I know they are serving the Lord and am grateful for their example of service and love.

I really am blessed to have them in my life and look forward to spending more time with them all.

Gratitude #2

2011-11-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

He does so much for our family. He has worked so hard to allow me to stay home with our boys. He treats me with so much love and respect. Pablo is very patient, which is a great contrast to me. Even with my control issues he still listens to me when I complain. He helps a lot around the house.

He is a wonderful father to these four boys. He's a great example unto them. He spends quantity and quality time with each of the boys and the boys adore and love him back.

There is so much that I can say about Pablo. I'm so full of gratitude for having married him almost 17 years ago. Blessed to have him in my life.

Love you lots Pablo!

Gratitude #1

2011-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

I did this a few years ago for the month of November and I decided to do it again this year. I really loved posting daily what I was grateful for one month. So here's the first post of November for this year.

Today I am grateful for the opportunity I have to have Silly and Happy at home with me. I love teaching them at home. A few of the benefits are: I don't have to wake them up before 8 in the morning and they get to sleep in and then they aren't so grumpy throughout the day; if we want to go outside we can; if I find that a subject is too hard we can take our time with it or if it's easy then we get through it much faster; and so many more; and I also new things from them about how beautiful and interesting the world around us really is.

I really am grateful for this today.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

A toddler, a preschooler, a fun aunt, and an old mattress.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Guess if the leaves won't go to the rake, might as well bring the leaves to the rake.

Kid History

2011-10-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

My sister in law introduced us to these videos. Pablo, the boys, and I had a great laugh over all of the other video clips. Here's their link for more episodes. Kid history.

This video is hilarious! Only watch if you have time because it is about 6 minutes long.

Bedtime

2011-10-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Bedtime is not what it used to be around here. I sure miss those long gone days when it was just Pablo and I alone after 8 PM. With a 13 year old, 11 year old, 9 year old, and a 4 year old; bedtime hours vary. When the boys were younger before our youngest came along, the boys were put to bed at 7:30 PM. Yea, I know, pretty early. Now they go to bed at 9:30, 9, and 8:30. A whole hour is spent getting boys prepared for bed trying to encourage them to brush teeth, get in the shower or wash their faces, and getting clothes ready for the next day. Too much work! Much easier when they were younger and argued less about bedtimes.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Serious Man and Silly

Shadows

2011-10-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was out running errands with Happy today. We were walking to Michaels and the sun was behind us. Happy was busily talking away about shadows and how your shadow disappears when you hide behind or in front of something or someone who is bigger than you. So here's the conversation.

Happy: "Look Mom! I'm stepping on my shadow!"

Me: "Yes you are."

Happy: "Mom, you're also stepping on your shadow."

Me: "You're right. I am stepping on my shadow."

He proceeds to walk to my shadow.

Happy: "Mom, now I'm stepping on your shadow. My shadow is hiding in yours.

I decide to ask him a question so I can explain to him how the sun works in giving us shadows.

Me: "Why do we have shadows?"

Instead I get this answer after a thoughtful moment from him.

Happy: "We have shadows because we have spirits."

Just melted my heart when he said that. Here I thought I was going to teach him something technical about the sun, light, and blocking the sun. Instead my son taught me about how amazing Heavenly Father is in that simple phrase.

Early, Early Morning

2011-10-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

Pablo and I have been waking up at 5:30 in the morning. If you knew Pablo then you would know that it is really early for him. Pablo loves to sleep in. Probably because he doesn't sleep well at night, but he's been waking up. Not only have we been waking up early, but we've been walking. Depending on how early he needs to be at work we will for walk for 30 or 45 minutes. I guess we're preparing for seminary next year. (Seminary, for us members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a scripture study class in the morning for high school students. They attend for four years during the school year and it starts at about 5:45.)

It feels good to wake up and get moving. I also like that I'm doing this with Pablo. We get to walk and talk. It is amazing how much we miss talking to each other. There is not a quiet moment as we walk. The reason I've been enjoying our walks is that I'm reconnecting with my husband. We've been married for over 16 years and we've gotten in a rut. Waking up early and spending time with each other has made us get out of this routine. Who knows, maybe we'll lose weight during this early morning routine.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's an old photo of Silly I found. Yes, he's in the tub after he was already bathed and ready for bed. And yes, Serious Man was in the tub too.

Random Thought

2011-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that this school year I am spending less money on gasoline. I used to need to fill up my car every 7 to 10 days. Now I fill up the car closer to every two weeks.

Why the change?

I got tired of driving the boys to and from school. This year I decided not to seek involvement with a carpool so I wouldn't have to drive. Pablo and I bought or fixed the boys' bikes. Now Serious Man and Little Man ride their bikes to school.

You know the biggest thing for me is that I don't need to leave the house so early in the morning. Well only when it doesn't rain.

Soccer Fall Season 2011

2011-10-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

So soccer season has begun. I finally got good photos of Serious Man and Little Man this last Saturday.

It amazes me how fast Serious Man can run when he plays. He's also one of the taller players and has got some meat on his bones so he can out muscle quite a few of the other players. It's a good thing for him because most of those other players don't push him around too much.

Little Man has moved up a division. He's now in the U10 division. They have off sides and penalties. There is a lot more shoving. I'm glad that he doesn't mind the shoving because he does some of that himself.

I hope that both of these boys learn more and improve this soccer season. I'm not too concerned about them losing. Just as long as it's only by a goal or two and not by four or more goals.

Fun Photo Friday

2011-09-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is for you sis!

No Talking

2011-09-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have lost my voice. I hadn't realized how much I actually talk until yesterday and today. It has been very quiet here at home. Even my two parrots haven't said much today.

At least with Happy it's because he can't read, so my notes don't help the conversation. Silly gets tired of waiting for me to write my answers on my notepad, which has made teaching him today quite interesting. Glad we have other things to do that don't require me to talk. Pablo will come home tonight so at least there's another adult the boys can ask for help.

Oh, today I stumbled on this if anyone is interested. It's been a while since I've crocheted and would like to learn new techniques.

Photo Mess Up

2011-09-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

I thought I took great photos of the boys during their soccer game this last Saturday. That was until I uploaded them to my computer. They were horrible! So blurry! Knucklehead me forgot to change the settings from the previous photo shoot session I had. Not one photo was salvageable. At least there's next Saturday.

My Other Family

2011-09-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

Happy's new thing to tell me is that he has another family.

It's interesting how detailed he is about his "other family". The background is that they live in Mexico and they had lots of money. He had one sister and one brother. He also proceeds to let me know that he had anything he wanted. His brothers have told him that if he had everything he wanted why didn't he just stay with his "other family". This is when he let them know that his "other family" didn't love him or want him and that is why he is with our family.

He sure has an imagination for a four year old. Let's see how long he will continue to refer to this "other family"

Random Thoughts

2011-09-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

So you are ugly on the outside.

When I drive Serious Man to soccer practice I see a house with a sign like the one above. I start thinking that the realtor and owner think the house is ugly on the outside. That only the inside is gorgeous.

I mentioned to Pablo what I thought and he laughed at me. He says that only I would think of this when I see this sign.

School

2011-09-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

So here are my boys on their first day of school. Silly and Happy are homeschooled. Silly loves it, but just has some adjustments to make. Happy also loves it. His favorite part is coloring. Using scissors is hard for him and teaching him to hold a pencil has been interesting, but we're both learning.

Silly and Happy started school two weeks ago.

Serious Man and Little Man started school last Wednesday. I wasn't too excited to have Serious Man go back to public school, but he really wanted to. We did a make a deal with him. We told him that if he started missing assignments and his grades were slipping that we were going to take him out of public school. So far it has worked because the first day of school he had an essay to write that wasn't due until September 23. Instead of waiting until the night before to write it he came home, wrote it, and finished it. He then told us he was the only one in his class to have turned it in the next day. Good for him!

Little Man is excited to be an "upper grader". He's in the fourth grade and for the first time does not have any brothers at the same school. He loves his teacher. She is the same teacher Silly had for the fourth grade and I think she is great. He rides his bike to school in the mornings and go along with him. It's been good for me. So far I've lost two pounds since we started.

So two are at home and two are in public school. I sure miss the two who are gone during the day.

Still Here

2011-09-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. I've been MIA because I got busy.

I homeschool Silly and Happy. We started last week and I got busy with them. Then Serious Man's Club is hosting a soccer tournament this weekend and I'm responsible for the snack bar. (That is going to be interesting since they know our family will be unable to help on Sunday.) So I've been busy coming up with items to sell, buying, and today I need to finish up the price list.

I did take pictures of Silly and Happy doing some work. Unfortunately I haven't uploaded the photos off of my camera. I'll upload them next week along with photos of Serious Man and Little Man's first day of school.

Oh, and I've discovered Pinterest. Love the website! It bookmarks or pins things and ideas that I like. I love that I can categorize them and I no longer have this long bookmark list, it's now on Pinterest. I also love to see what others find of interest.

It's Juicy, Not Runny

2011-08-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today I took Happy to Costco. He loves that place!

So as I'm waiting at the pharmacy to get some medicine Happy and I are having a great conversation that went a little like this.

Me: "I noticed that you are sniffling."

Happy: "Yea Mom. My nose juices keep coming out."

Me: "Nose juices?"

Happy: "Mo'om! That's what the stuff coming out of your nose is called."

Me: "Oh, you mean you have a runny nose."

Happy: "No mom. My nose is not running, it's juicy. The juices just keep coming out of my nose."

Better to just listen and agree instead of arguing.

Weight & Growth Adventures

2011-08-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

About a year ago this August our family started an adventure with Silly. This adventure was a visit to a pediatric endocrinologist.

How did this adventure begin? It began when we went to see his regular doctor and his doctor was concerned with how short and how little he weighed. He had just turned 10 years old, weighed barely 39 pounds and was barely 4 feet tall. He wasn't even on the charts! The decision was made to go see a pediatric endocrinologist. This was in June.

In August we had our appointment with the specialist. Silly and I were not sure what to expect at this appointment. Boy, were in for a surprise! The doctor asked lots of questions about his diet, play habits, sleep habits, bathroom habits, and family history. I'm glad I was up to date on the family health history for both sides. Oh, and he also measured Silly from head to toe. I'm serious about measuring him from toe. There was a very funny moment when the doctor was measuring him. It was when the doctor had to measure his, um, well his private areas.

Once all the measuring was done the specialist decided to have lots of blood work done. He wanted to rule out diabetes, Crohn's disease, and other such problems. We did a lot of blood work for three months. We went back to see him in November of 2010. The blood work came back negative for any problems. We were glad to hear this, but we were frustrated because we still didn't know why he wasn't gaining weight or growing. The doctor decided to see us again in March of this year before he did any more tests.

We go back in April and Silly gained 4 pounds. So now he weighed about 50 pounds. He also grew 1 and 1/4 inches. So now he was 4 feet 3 1/4 inches tall. Great progress from our previous visit. We made another appointment for August.

Today we saw the specialist and we had awesome news. He now weighs 60 pounds! He gained almost 10 pounds. He grew 2 inches! He is now 4 feet 5 1/2 inches tall. The specialist was very impressed with the progress and doesn't want to see Silly for another 6 months.

This is what he looked like when our adventure started.

Now this is what he looks like today. What a difference! Oh, and he's now on the charts. He is in the lower 3% for his weight and in the lower 10% for his height.

No Computer or Video Game Day

2011-08-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today as I was reading all of the blogs I follow, catching up on Facebook, and Twitter; I noticed that a lot of my friends and family post on Sundays.

Now I'm not judging anyone here, but our family has a no internet or video game playing on Sundays. Pablo and I used to go on the internet a lot on Sundays and the boys would play video games. One of the things we noticed what that we were not spending time together on Sundays and there was much arguing. So we made a decision that the computer and video games were to stay turned off on Sundays. The only time we turn on the computer is to print things out for lessons that we may have forgotten to do the night before, but that doesn't happen too often, and if Pablo has to work. Pablo being an IT guy sometimes does need to work on Sundays, but again that doesn't happen too often.

We also try not to be attached to our cell phones on Sundays. I do bring mine to church, but that is because my calendar is on it and so are my scriptures and I keep it on vibrate the whole day. (Sorry to my family members when they try and call on Sundays and I don't answer my phone, now you know why.) Pablo really dislikes his phone because he gets his work e-mail on it. So he keeps it with him because of that reason and on vibrate.

Again this is just an observation and I'm not judging anyone.

Scout Camp

2011-08-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

So Pablo, Serious Man, and Silly left for Scout camp this morning. They are gone until next Saturday. It cracks me up how Silly's pack is so big on him!

I have no idea what I'm going to do without them, especially Serious Man and Silly. Both being the oldest they really help out a lot around here and more so with Happy. The fact is that Little Man is lazy. Don't get me wrong he does do things around the house, but he complains the most. When all four of them shared a room he was the one that did not clean it. Every once in a while he will take it upon himself to clean up, but that's only after he has heard me complain that no one has anything. Hopefully this week he will learn how important it is for him to also help around the house now that he's the oldest in the house.

I'm Back!

2011-08-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

I needed to take a much needed break from blogging. I realized that I spent too much time on it and felt it was more work than fun. I don't feel like that anymore and I'm looking forward to continue blogging.

So much has happened since January. We celebrated three birthdays; Happy's 4th, Silly's 11th, and my 36th. (Yes, I'm 36, but I don't feel it yet.) We did spring soccer with Little Man and Serious Man. Silly has gone back to piano lessons. He has also gained 9 pounds this summer and is close to weighing 60 pounds!

So much to look forward to. We will celebrate two birthdays in the next two weeks; Pablo on the 14th and Little Man's the next day. Silly has ended his public school career as he is now will be home schooled, Little Man is going into his last year of public school and will then join us at home after the 4th grade, Serious Man is returning to public school (he REALLY, REALLY improved), and Happy will be starting a home school preschool program with me.

Glad to have you back reading the our family adventures!

Taking a Break

2011-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry to all of you who read this blog. Things have been very busy around here and this blog is one of the things that I need to neglect. I have too much on my plate at the moment so I won't be posting for about a month or so.

Once things settle down I may continue to blog or not. I'll make that decision later on.

Thanks to all who read.

Fun Photo Fridays

2010-12-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

As I'm doing presents for grandparents and for Pablo I found this photo on one of my cd's.

I'll Just Do It Myself

2010-12-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

This morning Little Man woke up and came to see me. I noticed that his hair was sticking up quite a bit on top and I told him to go to the bathroom and brush his hair. No big deal, or so I thought.

I kept waiting for him to come and eat his breakfast and he's just taking forever to brush his hair. I finally go into the bathroom and what do I see? I see scissors on the counter and hair all over the floor. No he didn't, yes he just did. He cut his hair that was sticking up. He said it wouldn't go down when he was brushing it so he decided to just cut the hair off. I'm kind of surprised that he being 8 years old is starting to get into so much mischief.

I look at him and tell him he could of just gotten his hair wet and then brushed it. To which he replies, "Ohh! I didn't think of that?"

Of course he didn't think of that because that would have been the easy solution. It's a good thing that he does have lots of hair and I was able to hide his "haircut". Now that just means that I'm going to need to take the time today or tomorrow to give him a more adequate haircut.

Monday
December 13, 2010

Fun Photo Fridays

2010-12-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, Happy is asleep under his toy.

Friday

December 10, 2010

Fun Photo Fridays

2010-12-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Friday
December 3, 2010

What We've Done - #2

2010-11-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

Here are more things that we did in November. Just so you know, all of these things were done in the last week of the month.

We had Little Man's baptism a week ago Sunday. My parents were able to drive from Houston for this wonderful event in his life. It was great to have so many family members and friends be there for his baptism.

Then we did have Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. There were so many people, 31 people to be exact, and lots of food! It was awesome to have so much family there. I did miss my brother George. He is in college and couldn't miss his classes to come and visit.

Here's my niece Fina eating our wonderful dinner that all the women in the family help prepare.

Here Serious Man with his plate of food next to his cousin, The Boy.

Here's a photo of all the food we had. The best part for my mother-in-law was that there were no left overs.

Here's Silly doing what he's been doing at all our family gatherings.

My mil made this cornucopia out of bread. As far as I know the cornucopia is making its round through the dinner parties some of my family members are having.

Here's the main kiddie table. It's interesting for me to see that Serious Man still ends up at that table.

Serious Man did have a soccer tournament this last weekend. It was freezing!

We did see this bird in the yard. I still don't know what kind it is. If you do know please let us know because we are all very curious about it.

This was Happy Saturday night. This is how we all feel like now that this month has come to a close.

Yesterday we did a science experiment and did blood typing. The only person who did not cooperate was Little Man. That surprised me because he's the one who does not cry when he gets shots! Silly did the best. He did not complain about the needle pricking his finger. So we know everyone's blood type except for Little Man. Hopefully the doctor's office knows or we shall see how they can get him to do this test without taking any blood.

Tuesday
November 30, 2010

What We've Done - #1

2010-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

So Pablo and I took a drive to Cambria earlier in November. It is so beautiful there! We tasted the best Chinese food ever! It's called the Dragon Bistro and Pablo and I were very satisfied with the food. We also had a great breakfast at Linn's. We also loved olallieberry pie and preserves. They also make a very yummy lemon curd!

We then took a drive up PCH to Hearst Castle. We took tour 1 and spent almost 2 hours on the tour and another 30 minutes at the visitor center. I love the architecture of the place. Most of the inside of the buildings are decorated a bit too much for me, but I guess that's what you do when you build such a huge place!

This is the pool at the castle. Pablo couldn't believe how huge it is!

This is the main house. I love the copulas.

This is the ceiling of the main house. I just loved to see the intricate carvings.

This is the indoor pool. It is so beautiful how it reflects it all!

The other neat thing about this pool is how there is actual gold in the tile work and the awesome diving platform in the middle of the pool.

After lunch Pablo and I went for a walk along the beach. We loved to see how the sand was mostly small pebbles.

This is a big rock that the waves keep hitting when it gets to be high tide.

There is more to come about the busy month November has been for our family!

Tuesday

November 30, 2010