Life

I meant for these pictures to be at the bottom of the post, but haven't the energy to fix and place correctly. I am going to miss this special woman. These were our last moments with her... I can just see her laughing, rolling her eyes, cracking a joke about her appearance in these photos now, and it makes me smile through the tears.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

Life. So fragile, often taken for granted, and is truly for just "a little time", "a vapor".

27 years ago today, a precious life began, a baby boy drew his first breath... my Nate entered the world, bald (compared to our babies that is), blue (took him a while to take his first breath), and beautiful. Happy Birthday Baby! After today's events, I cherish every moment with you all the more!

Life. We try to control it. Forget to thank the One who gives it. Do we cherish it?

Earlier today, my grandma, mi Abuela, drew her last breath. My Quita was amazing. Tears run down my face as I recall all the memories... her smile, her laugh, her sense of humor, her jokes, her energy, her spunky nature, her love. I remember her drilling spanish words into me, "Chicla" she would have me repeat before giving me gum. I remember all the dress-up clothes she made for us. She loved to watch us dance, twirl, and called me her "precious". I can still taste her chicken tacos, her soupita, and the little animal cookies she always had stored away for us. I know it was her prayers to the Father that carried me through some challenging times these last couple months. She prayed for us daily. I remember her warm embrace, gentle kisses, and the sparkle in her eyes when she laughed, cracked a joke. She never let the language barrier keep her from telling us how much she loved us. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful grandma. To me, she was my only grandma and I will miss her more than words could ever express. The night before heading out of S.A., I was exhausted physically and emotionally, but I felt like I needed to see my grandparents one last time. It was late and although I needed rest for the long drive ahead, I could not push aside the heavy prompting to go see them. I know it was the Lord who placed that intense need to see them "one last time". I had no idea it truly would be the last time I would see her. She was happy, talkative, and of course, spunky. Since the visit was last minute, she had no time to put on her make-up or fix her hair and was a little embarrassed to be seen in such a disheveled state. =) She will not have to worry about that now. She is in the presence of the Lord! She is no longer struggling with pain, burdened with earthly worries and trials. She is standing before the Father!

Please say a prayer for my family as we struggle with grief and for wisdom during these difficult hours.

New house!

I'm pretty excited... our offer on a house was accepted! Nate and I are so ready to be out of our apartment and ready to have our room back, our space, a backyard... sigh...

I've been getting ideas for decorating online and just thought I'd share my faves:
www.dominomag.com and www.countryliving.com I thought we would end up buying a house that would need some fixing up, but Lord willing, if all continues to go through as planned we won't have too much fixin' up to do. However, I look forward to painting =) and decorating! And that's the latest on our house-hunting.

ABC 123 ... pre-school days

Mya is my little helper, has the initiative to teach herself things. For example, she potty-trained herself shortly after Audrey was born, she asked me to teach her how to write letters when she turned 3 years old, taught herself to count to a very high number when 2 years old, and will take the time to find and fetch diapers ( I have a bad habit of storing diapers in different and random places). She is quite the little helper. I greatly appreciate her servant's heart and joyful attitude when she's helping me or her siblings. Because it is freezing cold here, we spend many days indoors. We have had lots of time to work on letters, numbers,...

I am thankful for her studious, diligent, servant's heart and her friendship. She has been patient with me and loved me despite my imperfections. All my children are different, with different strengths. Today, I rejoice in my dear Mya's God-given abilities/ character. May the Lord take and multiply for His glory!

Luscious lips

So, Mya comes running over to me yelling, "Mama! Audrey has your lipstick!" Audrey came over to me with her head down. I lifted her face to see the result and did my best not to laugh. Audrey has a very sensitive spirit and I could tell she was feeling self-conscious. She has never gotten into my make-up and I have put make-up on the girlies before when playing dress-up. I had no reason to be upset. I only prayed I wouldn't walk into their room and find lipstick smudged everywhere. I smiled at her, told her she was beautiful, but instructed her never to get into my makeup without asking.

I'm thankful nothing was damaged... except for my stick of favorite lipstick, who suffered the fate of so many other lipsticks discovered by the hand of a 2 year old.

Slaeter - 8 months old

This past week has been a rough one for this little one. He experienced his first cold and man was it a nasty one. I felt so sorry for my little man! However, we survived and he's back to his normal active self. Some of the more enjoyable "1sts"... pulling up on everything,

really developing a sense of humor,

(I wonder where he gets it from?)

playing chase,

eating baby food, (however, he seems very uninterested in baby food and seems to prefer the more heart healthy fiberous stuff.) and of course, putting everything in his mouth. =)

I heart, kiss, love, hug him, as my dear Mya would say.

And below: Our first video upload! Yay! Thanks Wendy! A 7 sec. video of Slaeter crawling.

slaeter crawling

L-O-V-E

This is my beloved, and this is my friend. ~Song of Solomon 5:16


Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1Corinthians 13:4-7


Valentine's Day is just around the corner, "love is in the air". However, the "verse of the day" on www.BibleGateway.com reminds me to love at all times - ALWAYS!

And speaking of love... we are lovin' the weather right now. Absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get outside all that much. Slaeter came down with a nasty little cold. Each month of his life seems to bring about new "firsts" and this is one of the not so pleasant ones. That's right, this is the first time he has felt sick -EVER! I must say, we have been extremely blessed with good health this past fall/winter. Praise Jesus!

Note to Grandmas: Pictures of Slaeter are on the way... of more pleasant 1sts! =)


My little Valentines