Our latest family photo and why it portrays real lfe

We recently took our church directory photo. They took five pictures total. And this is what the communications coordinator sent me last week:



She thought it was funny. I think this is our life right now. And I am okay with it. Memories.....

Our Second "Vacation"

So we braved another "vacation". This time we ventured out to Port Aransas, TX with three other families from church to the diocese retreat center. They call it "Family Camp". Joe was not able to join us until Friday night (late) due to a conference in Louisiana so my niece Catherine came to help me and oh how I needed the help. Between packing and preparing four little ones for the beach, she was a God-send!!

Our journey began on Thursday afternoon after the girls Spanish lessons. We picked up my friend, Lori, and were on our way. We arrived in record time with no potty breaks!! After receiving the keys to our room, Audrey immediately climbed on the bed and fell off onto her head and threw up. So Catherine called her dad/my brother (he is a PA) and asked him if we should take her to the ER. He suggested we wait and see. She was fine but it was quite an introduction to the weekend.

Thursday through Saturday morning was a blur of crying (me and the kids) and fun but we survived until Joe got to Port A. We did have a fun time and the girls could live at the beach forever. I don't think that they came out of the water. Cuatro and Audrey could take it or leave it but I hope that changes by next year. Us adults put the kids to bed every night and then gathered on the deck outside to visit and have a cocktail. I laughed most nights until I cried.

The food at the retreat center was AMAZING!! I still think about it. I hope this becomes a family tradition and that the same families go with us every year.

Side note: Here is a funny story I don't want to forget---The first night we went to the beach, we were coming back and there is an outdoor shower on the boardwalk complete with shampoo and soap. Cuatro saw this and in front of EVERYONE and before I could get to him, he stripped completely and was running around under the shower. Thank goodness we knew all but one family. Oh my goodness, I was embarrassed.

What to do when people are just mean.....

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart," says Leviticus 19:17-18. "… Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Trying to remember this......

Caleb, 26 -San Antonio,TX

Kelly's Korner (www.kellyskornerblog.com) is doing a "Show us your Singles" edition and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to showcase my baby brother. Caleb is the youngest of six children and is the uncle of 17 nieces and nephews. He has a good job and more importantly, a big heart for the Lord and for others. Caleb has often dropped everything to come help one of his siblings. Most recently, he took a week off of work to be the fifth and sixth grade VBS teacher at his local church. He enjoys singing and playing his guitar and loves Texas music. Caleb is looking for a woman who puts God before anything. His sisters want him to find someone who loves their brother unconditionally and who thinks he is as special as they know he is!! Here is a picture of him:



If you are interested in Caleb, please comment and leave your age, city, and contact information

Our first "Vacation" (and I use that term loosely) of the summer

Well, I guess we thought we would be brave this Memorial Day and drive almost 4 hours (it's more like 5.5 with four small children) to Clearlake, TX. We were invited by some very sweet freinds to spend the holiday at their house with them and the kids were so excited to see where "Ms. Michael Ann" lives. Michael Ann was Uncle Bob's (Joe's uncle who was more like a grandpa to our kids than a distant great uncle-he passed away about a year and a half ago) best friend and her family (husband, daughter, and son) was very close to Bob. We have come to love them and have successfully kept in touch. So on Friday before Memorial Day, we picked the girls up from school (they got out early that day) and set out at noon with a packed car and packed lunches for a long drive to Clearlake. We had to make a quick stop at Best Buy in San Antonio and were on our way!! The trip was painful, I won't lie. It's like time stood still on I-10 and we were NEVER going to get there. The kids would not nap and were restless. At one point I looked at Joe and told him to stop at the next rest stop. He did and I instructed the children to run around on the big grassy field just to get rid of some energy!! We finally arrived at our destination at 5:30 just in time for dinner. Michael, as always, outdid herself with all of the yummy meals, presents, and activities. In the next two days, we had a wonderful time going to the neighborhood pool and the Kemah boardwalk. We also played around the house with the two dogs. This part of our trip was indeed pleasurable. It was the nights that were horrible. Audrey DID NOT want to sleep in her pack n play for more than two hours so that meant lots of hours sleeping next to me. Audrey is not a peaceful sleeper. She moves, kicks, and makes so many noises. Cuatro was so wired every night so it took a few hours to calm him down to actually fall asleep. By the second night, we were done. Joe and I decided to stay all the way until after dinner and then get on the road. This turned out to be a great plan. The kids slept almost the entire way home and even though we arrived at midnight, we were relieved to be home. So, this might not be the year of the VACATION but at least we are making memories.

A Bridal Shower

Grace's Kindergarten teacher became engaged over Christmas with a wedding planned for June so some of the mom's in her class decided to throw her a surprise shower before the school year ends. She is one of the sweetest people and it was a pleasure to do something fun for her. The kids played games like a ring relay race and ringbearer race. Of course no shower is complete without a cake and punch!! I asked the girls later why they thought we had a party for Ms. Suarez since some of the boys in their class thought it was for her birthday (the concept of a wedding was over their heads). Their response was a dull, "because she is getting married." I asked if they were going to get married someday and they said, "No, that's gross." We'll see how long that theory lasts!

Just so I don't forget

The latest funny sayings of Cuatro:

--"Oh, Katie, your shirt is so beautiful!!"

--When he and his daddy were at the ranch a few weeks ago, they discovered the hunting jeep has been stolen so Joe called the sheriff and told Cuatro that the police were coming. Cuatro started crying and said he didn't want to go to jail. Joe told him that the police were heroes and were coming to help. Joe turned back around to drive and heard a little voice behind him say very quietly, "Daddies can be heroes too."

--While waiting for the police to come, Joe heard something in one of the hunting trailers and thought someone was in their illegally. He went into Marine Corps mode and admitted that he forgot Cuatro was there. So he grabbed his gun and got in his "clearing mode" and right before he was about to barge into the front door, he heard the familiar little voice whisper loudly, "Daddy, you gonna shoot somebody?"
(I was not happy about this story at first and Joe has promised to wait for the police the next time he decides to "clear" a building with one of our children present)

--This might be too much for some people but I want to remember what he says: He asked if it hurt to have a baby come out and I said yes. He thought about this for a little bit and then asked, "Does it hurt for the baby to go in?" (Joe and I both had a hard time stifling that laugh)

--When we asked what he did in preschool yesterday, he said, "Well, I did some time-out.....