Courtesy of Grannie

Thanks to Grannie, I looked like this on my first day of work.  Last Saturday, Grannie decided to take me out shopping.  I mean SHOPPING!  We started at Dillard's where they gave me a facial and applied my make up.  And of course, Grannie bought me all that facial cleaning stuff plus all the make up to go with it.  Then we went to Express and got this outfit you see in this picture plus some other blouses.  Finally we went back to Dillard's and Grannie bought me this purse, which I just love.  --Thank you Grannie! 

Natalia's 1st day of school at Arnold Elementary

As you can imagine, it was a little difficult to get Natalia out of bed today.  She just didn't want to go to school.  I felt so bad for her.  Finally we left the house.  She said good bye to everyone and I thought everything was going to be fine.  A block away from home, Natalia just lost it.  I kept trying to comfort her, but no words were good enough.  We prayed before we got out of the car and went to the front office to sign her in.  She cried some more, we talk and everything was fine.  After I had filled out a bunch of forms, we walked down the hallway, of her new school, to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Ramiro, and all of Natalia's new classmates. When we opened the door to her new classroom, she started to cry again.  I didn't think I was going to make it, but thank God, she stopped crying before I left.  It has been one of the hardest things I've had to do.  When I got to the car, I shed some tears too.  After dropping her off, I went to Target to buy some items and found this cute little bunny.  I decided this bunny along with a yummy Strawberries and Cream Starbucks drink might help her pain.  So, I bought it.  I met Natalia for lunch and to my surprise, she had a great big smile on her face.  That made me very happy.  Her teacher told me that she was doing great!  After eating lunch with Natalia, she gladly and willingly went back to her classroom.  When I came back to school to pick her up, I asked her if she had had a good day and with a big smile on her face, she said:  "Yeah, and I made more friends than you did."  ~~This little answer made my day.    

Natalia's Last Day of Kindergarten at Sallie Curtis

Today was a sad day, in a way. Natalia's last day of school at Sallie Curtis. We are excited about meeting new little friends and being able to live with Papi and Mami for a while, but as some of you know, change is never easy. It is sad because she had several good friends, I'm sure, she'll miss. Ms. Singleton was kind enough to take pictures of her and her little friends today. At the end of the day, Natalia's best friend Hallie asked me for Natalia's phone number, so we exchanged phone numbers. As soon as we got in the car, Natalia was ready to call Hallie! Oh boy, it's going to be fun...

Time for Carson's Medicine

Alright, so I don' think Carson likes to take his medicine.  This is what happens when I say, "Carson come here, it's time for your medicine."  - He hides under the bed.

Carson's Hospital Stay

Other than having throat pain, I think Carson had a great time at the hospital.  He got to eat pretty much whatever he wanted.  He got his favorite color balloons from Grannie.  Natalia got him candy (of course) and Luke got Carson some Star Wars stickers.  Carson's Bible Study Fellowship teachers also came by to see him.  I even got to see his tonsils ( I know, it sounds kinda gross) since one of Carson's BSF teacher's husband happened to be the pathologist that day.  Later on that day, Mr. Matt and Ms. Elizabeth came by to visit along with a little stuffed puppy.  As you can see in the pictures, Carson really enjoyed having control of the TV remote. We got to watch Pete's Dragon, Star Wars and The Magic School Bus.  He also enjoyed pushing every button on the hospital bed.  To tell you the truth, I lost count on how many times we accidentally called the nurse.  Oh well, that's their fault for making that button so accessible. Carson also received a poster from school with all of his little friend's hand prints.  

Carson's adenoids and tonsils are out, ear tubes are in!

Alright.  I feel a lot better now.  Carson is now out of surgery and recuperating.  We left the house at about 5:40 am.  You should have seen Carson's little smile.  He was so excited he was on his way to the hospital.  Everything was fun until they brought out the little red fire truck.  He refused to drive it.  Gee, I wonder why.  So, at approximately 7:30 a.m. the nurse just picked him up and he was gone.  Just like that!  As promised, thirty minutes later, Dr. Parks came out to tell us that everything went well.  Meanwhile Dave and I had Rao's coffee and a cinnamon roll.  When it was time to go into the recovery room, Dave was up and ready so he got to go in and sit with Carson.  I, on the other hand, went to run a few errands.  Now, we are just sitting in a room holding him and spoiling him as much as possible.  Thank you to all for your prayers and concern.

We need guidance from the Lord!

Alright!  We are going through a very difficult situation right now and we need for God to guide us.  It seems as if I'm leaning on my own strength and understanding and not fully trusting in God.  I need for God to speak clearly.  I am also praying for open ears and an open heart to hear what God is saying.  And once God speaks, I need the strength to obey!

The kitchen cabinets are up!

You read it right! Thanks to John, who goes to church with us, we only need to hang two more cabinets on the wall and THAT part of the project will be done (pictures pending.)
But don't you know that last Tuesday, as Brooke and I were leaving Elizabeth's house, I received a text massage from Dave. It read, "house fell-need camera-part of floor in den needs replacing." I quickly handed my cell phone to Brooke for confirmation. Luckily, we were almost at the house and I was able to personally assess the damage. One day, Matt and Dave, as they were crawling underneath the house, noticed that one beam was leaning over. So, on Tuesday they decided it was time to address the issue. Sure, why not? Not a problem...they thought. So they bravely attacked the problem. They crawled under the house to formulate a plan. While there it became obvious the problem with the sunken floor was not the leaning pier but a joist split in half. At that point it was determined that a 4'x4' square should be cut in the floor. Lovely!!! So they removed the old floor furnace and placed a pier under the split joist. They also placed 2 new piers to shore up 2 load bearing walls. I am now glad to inform you that, thank God, that's another item we can now gladly scratch off our list of "things to do." Oh by the way, this was only possible because of Matt. As you can see in the picture, it was a tight fit under the house. I doubt Dave could have done this without Matt. Especially since Dave has been working so many hours at the house, that we've been asking to see more of him. As a result, he's been eating as much as he can - No offense intended Dave!

The kids take Freund for a walk!

As all of you know, my children have been terrified of dogs. I don't know when or how it happened but little by little they've grown to like Freund.  Even to the point of asking Grannie and Papaw if they can bring Freund home.  Imagine how excited Grannie gets when she hears this!  For a few days, Carson has been wanting to take Freund for a walk.   So finally, today was the day.  At first, the kids were a little hesitant but it didn't take long before they were totally fine with Freund.  It was such a beautiful day.  We really enjoyed the walk and each other's company.

Sad Scene to be Seen!

Saying goodbye to Papi and Mami after being at their house for 11 days was not easy.  Natalia decided to call Daddy to see if he could make her feel better.  Carson normally doesn't cry when we leave San Antonio, but this time it was a little harder to leave.  Then we have Luke who decided to follow suit.  Anyhow, we made a stop at Starbucks to help us feel better.  A Venti Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, divided in three cups, for the kids and a Venti White Chocolate Frappuccino for me, eased up the pain.