Sweet Memories

Some time back I mentioned more pictures from my mom and sister´s visit here this last summer. Time has FLOWN! Its hard to believe that our time together is already about 5 1/2 months behind us. A lot has happened since then, making those memories all the more precious, more about that later. But in the mean time would you like to come down memory lane with me?

Grilling mexican style. It was all delicious.

The crowning treat, zuccini blossom quesadillas with jalapeño spiked cheese. um, um, ummm!!!

Of course it wouldn't be family time without table games!
Concentration

Multitasking

We took a road trip to Hidalgo.

It was a bit longer than we expected, but very picturesque.

Field boundries were marked with piled rock walls,

the picture really can't do justice, it was amazing.

We stoped in a little village to eat our tortas for lunch.

Turns out they were having a festival, the whole town and especially the cathedral was decorated and there was live music in the town square while we ate.

And this was the destination of our road trip.

Natural mineral hot springs.In a beautiful setting, way out in the middle of nowhere.

A hidden paradise. ...with the exception of the high population of bees,

and very warm stuffy night, it was nearly perfect.

There were lots of little private pools and creative nooks up in the hill.

We purposly went during the week and really hardly even had to share the pools.

And of course what is time with Auntie and Grandma,

without a visit to the park before they leave!?

We took a picnic lunch, but were to busy eating and

attending to kiddos to get any pictures of that : )

The youngest...

...and eldest needed a little cat nap.

And lastly,

in the airport. Goodbye is never easy.

I'm so grateful for every moment we were able to share.

Happy Thanksgiving

From my little turkeys and I.

We have much to be thankful for always, in all things. Hope you were able to make time to count your blessings this week too. Its never to late to be thankful! : )

A fun craft

Another homeschool Mom passed me the idea for these easy peasy little flower fairies. The online tutorial is here http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/flower-friends-667264/ (sigh, now why can't I make that link hide under the word"here" so that you just click on the word like other times!? Me and technology...but I digress...)
One of the really neat things about this craft is that it is super adaptable, to anything you want to make and whatever materials you have avaliable. I had a link to a blog with a bunch of fotos of different versions which, of course, I lost. And have wasted the last half hour trying to find, to no avail...but anyho, she had winter angles with feather wings, babies, starwars characters, black spiderman, princesses, acorn boys,...all kinds of stuff just based on this general idea.
I had all the materials on hand for our little people except something for the head, none of the stores with in walking distance had any wooden beads, so I got a couple small styrafoam balls for about five cents a piece and pierced them with an awl. They worked great!

And best of all, my kids enjoyed helping make them and now are having a blast playing with them. Making something inexpensive, cute, usable and fun makes me all shades of happy! ;o)

Hurricane DJ

What? Haven't heard about that storm on the news? Well I have the exclusive.
She may not be walking yet, but that has far more to do with her liking the extra privilges that come with being carried than with lack of motor skills. She is almost a year now and what a kiddo! Her whole being vibrates with life, joy and vitality. Current favorite activites include, eating, CLIMBING (Yikers! Yes, that hippo rolls!), torturing sibblings, eating, snacking between meals on blue tissue paper, potted plant soil, crumbs under the table, small pebbles and anything else mom didn't get to on time, getting into cupboards, getting into the bathroom waste can, getting into the bathroom in general, trying for the toilet (but so far, mom is faster), eating, immitating words she hears, trying to copy everything she sees her sibblings do, tasting or tearing anything she can get her hands on, clapping, dancing and MOVING, screeching...and did I mention that this girl LOVES her food?!

DJ, you fill our life with a lot of fun and you always keep us on our toes. I can't imagine my life without you. I am so glad that you are a part of our family!!!

Some of This Evenings Tidbits

• Mic has been losing weight instead of gaining. Before that she was not gaining but holding steady. This has been happening in tiny increments over many months, but has finally escalated to a point where I can't ignore it or hope it will go away on its own anymore. So I am working on her diet and trying to sneak in more calories and yet keep it tolerable for her and also not let up on oral work. For some reason, all this has been affecting me emotionally this week a little more than usual.
• Last week we had the joy of recieving my aunt and cousin to spend a week with us! It went by so fast and we all enjoyed the visit immensly!
• This morning in the car we sang sunday school songs to pass the time on the way to Bible study. On the way home my son started singing some of those same songs on his own. I heard him sing "Jesus loves me" by himself for the first time and it melted my heart. Then he broke out in his own rendition of "Building up the temple". It went somethign like this... "Theres one in the temple, Theres one in the temple, Theres one in the temple of the Lord, Mamas in the temple, Papas in the temple, Brothers in the temple, one in the temple of the Lord!" He really made me grin : )
• And no, I havn´t forgotten about the rest of the pictures from our summer adventures with my mom and sister, I have some especially fun ones that I really want to post. I'm hoping I might get at it sometime this weekend.

Thinking Outloud

I usually process things best by saying them. If I talk long enough eventually I figure out what I really wanted to say. Difficult for the listener, but good for me!
So...there is something that has been spining around in my brain. Its about my eldest daughter and the miracles God has allowed us to see in her life. I love to share testimony of what has happened in her life and how the Lord has healed her in so many ways. But sometimes, I think that in the sharing I don't actually always say exactly what I mean. A classic example is when without missing a beat I end the story by saying, "God has been so good to us".
HE HAS! ...BUT...
What about the dear children who weren't "healed", as we understand healing to be? These precious angles in our world with labels like CP, Downs, Autisim or an endless line of other such diagnosis. And what about the dear little ones that instead of staying here on earth with us, ran into Jesus waiting arms?
I guess what I am saying is that, on that day so long ago, when the doctor said, "be ready for the worst, there's a good chance she won't survive birth". We cried, we hurt and we truly placed her in Jesus hands. And I am so, so, SO thankful that He allowed her to live, that he saw fit to loan her to us for a longer time. That He healed her brain and cromosomes.
But even if He hadn't. Even if He had given her life a different course. God IS GOOD. Not only for what He does and doesn't do, but first and foremost, for WHO HE IS. His goodness, mercy, grace and all other attributes do not hinge on the the blessings I do or do not recieve or percieve in my life. He is Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, All-Powerful Lord. He is GOOD.

The Good, The Bad

I am finally putting something on my poor abandoned blog! ~Thats Good!
My absence has been due to weeks and weeks of illness. ~Thats Bad!
So since resizing pictures has turned into one of the impossible tasks in my life, I will share one adventure at a time from my mom and sister's visit. Maybe I'll do better in bite sized chunks. : )
First stop: The pyramids!!!

We had gorgeous weather for our climb! Look at that sky!!!

Fueling up before we start...
Our newly purchased "shade". Worth every peso!!!
(I think Mom's is especially adorable on her)

From the top of one looking out toward the other, smaller pyramid.

The kids did pretty good going up, but my

little Mr. hitched a ride down with auntie.

We got a little lost on the way home and stuck in a real traffic jam.

See that black back end of a rig?

Thats us.

See that big red truck?

He came flying at us and stoped just inches away.

Yes, a shreik came from the front seat!

(to protect privacy I'll let you guess who was in the front) ; )

So there you have it. If your curious to see more of what we did, leave me a comment, maybe it will motivate me to get the next one up quicker! ; )

Tiny, Spunky...

...and not slowin' down for anyone!
My little 8 month mite pulled to stand today. Ever since then when I put her down on the floor to play she lands on her feet, not her bottom. An early walker would be a big switch for this mamma who is used to late bloomers!

Worth Gold

Enterance fee to visit the pyramids: $5
Flute suvenier: $1
My son and nephew blowing their matching flutes back and forth at each other over skype:
PRICELESS!!!

Just another sweet little memory to tuck away and savor! We had a lot of savorable moments over the last week during my mom and sister's visit. ...Stay tuned for pictures! : )

A little kindness goes a long way!

You may recall a couple posts I wrote last October about an expansor plaque related to Mic's orthadontic needs? Well I finally have an update! After breaking the first one twice, the doc decided we should give it a break for a few months and just go back to palate stimulation by hand in the meantime. The end of May we got back in to the office to map out the next plan of attack and take a mold. I was very impressed with the student doctor that worked with us that day...which, I might add, is a first in that department. I typically try to avoid the students at all cost based on past negative experiences that aren't worth going into. Anyway, this gal did an awesome job at all aspects of what she did and managed the most agile, pain free mouth mold of anyone yet. After that unpleasantness was out of the way she asked Mic what color she wanted her plaque to be. Mic asked for pink, of course! I added that glittery would be great as we call it her "princess plaque" (it helps with acceptance). This week we went in to fit the plaque and bring it home. Imagine our surprise when we were given this!
Yep! Thats a princess. In the plaque!!! OH my word! They made my daughter's day!!! You know, we go to a government hospital and sometimes you can really tell it...but then every once in a while someone comes along and completly randomly and unexpectadly goes far beyond the call of duty just to make things a little bit easier on my kiddo. ...and it makes me kinda tear up and feel a bunch of emotions that are hard to put in words. And its a good thing...real good.

Along with the princess I am greatful for a couple other things about this plaque. Firstly, they shaped it a bit differently and it stays in waaaaayyyyy better than the other one. So much so that we can actually use it without the denture paste during that day and that is a huge blessing. And secondly, it seems that those extra five or six months that passed since we tried to use that last one really made a difference in Mic. She has done really great at accepting this and keeping it in. I am so proud of her. She has thrown up twice becasue of the thing, but that hasn't traumatized her. Its a process and it is hard work, but she is really taking it on like a trooper.

Its late and thats my excuse for my type-os. But before I go, rather than pull out my dicctionary and proof read, let me paste a couple more pictures just for fun.

My little joy, loving her bannana in a bag : )

My kids with some of their friends at another fun playdate recently.