Memorial Day Weekend

The kids and I were able to go to Beaumont to see Daddy! It was a short and busy weekend.

Due to the fact that Grannie and Papaw's house will also be under construction, starting this week, I had to pack everything that we still had at their house in two of the rooms. ~Oh, when will this end! Right now, we have stuff everywhere. I just keep moving it from house to house.

Sunday morning, we went to church. It was so good to see everybody. After church, we went to eat lunch and then it was time to go back to work. Elizabeth & Matt came over and took Natalia, Carson & Luke out for ice-cream. Wow, they are brave! After ice cream, Matt helped Dave and Elizabeth helped me pack. We are so greatful for all their help. Papaw took the kids to the house so that they could "help" Daddy. Papaw had to leave Carson with Daddy because Carson wasn't finished helping! The other two gladly came back to Papaw & Grannie's house. Lia claims that it was too hot and that she was very thirsty.

Susan and Alan also helped us this weekend. Alan got a few men from their church to help Dave. That was a huge blessing. And Susan also helped me pack!

On Monday, Grannie took the kids to get new shoes. They all got 2 pairs each. ~Thank you Grannie. This is such a huge help. It adds up really fast when you buy 6pairs of shoes at McDougal's. She also helped me picked out some other stuff for the house. I don't know what I would do without them!

After lunch, we headed back to San Antonio. We got to San Antonio at approximately 7:15 p.m. I had brought a bunch of clothes with me. Some of the clothes were too small for them to wear, so I just needed to do something with all that. I also brought a huge bag full of old shoes. My Mom was so kind to help me sorted all out and put it all up. ~Oh, thank you so much for all your help Mom. Unpacking after a long weekend is not my favorite thing to do. Especially right after a trip, but it's all put away now and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

It was a busy weekend, but look at how God blessed us all weekend long.

Proud Mama!

Awana Club - 2008 ~Leon Spring Baptist Church~

Okay, so it might not be a big deal for any of you, but for me....it means a lot. Not only did we have to quit Awana's in Beaumont, but then we also had to find a church in San Antonio that offered the Awana Club. It was so hard to do that. Natalia loved her teachers and her friends in Beaumont and Carson loved being able to go to Cubbies and see Mr. Matt and Ms. Elizabeth. That was the highlight of his day! But I knew that we had to continue with Awana. So, we got to San Antonio on Monday, January 28th and on Wednesday, January 30th, they were attending Awana in San Antonio. I remeber that first day, I wasn't even sure why I was doing this. They had a little bit of a hard time staying and trying to figure out what they were supposed to do. I remember calling Dave (almost crying) right after I dropped them off, telling him that I didn't know if I was going to be able to do this. But I knew that they needed to keep learning about God and they needed to keep hidding God's Word in their heart! And that is the only thing that motivated me week after week.  They had to get used to the new teachers, new kids and new way of doing things. It was truly an adjustment period. I would get off from work at 5:00, I would go over to the house to pick Natalia and Carson up. My Mom (thank you Mom) would feed them and have them all ready for me. She would keep Luke while I took the other two to Awana.  We would leave the house by 5:30 and drive about 30 minutes (with traffic) to the church. Even though it was a huge adjustment for all of us, I'm glad we did it. Natalia and Carson learned a bunch of Bible verses this "school year", and we even tried putting some of them into practice. So, let me brag a little (more :0) )...

                           

Natalia finished her handbook so she received her crown, a patch and all the red and green jewels that she could possibly receive. She also earned all the blue (?) jewels because she had perfect attendance!   In addition, she received the Sparky pin (BIG DEAL!!) because, after finishing the handbook, she finished the whole workbook.  Some weeks she would learn 3 to 6 verses per week.  Her teacher asked Natalia if she could learn Psalm 23 and say it in front of everybody for awards night.  At first, when we started to learn the Psalm, Natalia was a little hesitant to learn it because she thought that if knew it then she would have to stand in front of everyone and use the microphone to say it.  Once I told her that she didn't have to do it if she didn't want to, she learned Psalm 23 with no problem.  Well, the night of the awards, the teacher asked her if she would like to say Psalm 23 in front of everyone and Natalia said that she would do it.  So she did.  She said it with a little boy.  They were both a little shy and quiet, but they did great!  Anyway, I'm very proud of her!

Carson, was a champ.  He also learned so many verses this "school year".  He was so excited to receive his little Cubbie Bear, which will go on his vest.  He sat with his whole class and stayed with them throughout the entire ceremony.  He also had perfect attendance!  The only night he missed is when he got his tonsils taken out and his ear tubes in on a Monday. That Wednesday he wanted to go to Cubbies so bad but he had to stay home.  He  stayed crying while Natalia went to Awana's with Matt and Elizabeth.  ~I mean, talking about being committed! :0)

Carson showing off his little Cubbie Bear and his certificate.

Anyway, sorry if I bored you with all this information, but I just don't want to forget how young they were when they started learning scripture!  And how much they enjoyed it while doing it!

I'm glad today is over...

Wow, what happened today?  I'm not sure but I thank the Lord that today is over and that everybody is okay.  Morning hours were great.  Got a lot accomplished and things were running smoothly.  Met people from work for lunch at Red Lobster.  So far so good.  Then this is what happened next:

1.  Found out about a small problem at the Aztec Office and Retail Building.  After an hour or so of talking on the phone, I finally figured out how to handle it.

2.  Air condition stopped working at the building I office at.  NOT GOOD!   Recently, we've lost a few compressors and the tenants are really not enjoying this.  

3.  I forgot that I had to go and pick up Natalia at school by 2:50.  At 3:05 p.m., I looked at the clock and all of a sudden remembered that my precious little daughter was still at school. Talking about feeling small.  When I went to pick her up, she had the biggest smile on her face and asked me:  "Mama, what took you so long?"  Hopefully she won't ever find out what truly happened.  

4.  As soon as I got back to the office, I fond out that we had NO water in the building.  At this point, I wasn't too sure of what was happening.  For the past week or so, we've been experiencing low water pressure from the city.  We also found out that we have a bad pump and parts to the pump are hard to find.  The upper floor tenants are not happy about this.  You know, now they have to flush 3 times instead of one.  

So, to make a long story short, my day was not going the way I had planned it to go.  There I go again, making plans. 

Things started to get better.  I got off from work and drove by my favorite place, Chick Fil A, to pick up dinner for tonight.  I got home, we ate and then we took my aunts and my mom to the mall.  While they were shopping, the kids and I spent some time at the park.  While at the park, Carson told me what had happened to Luke today.  I thought he was exaggerating, but he was telling the truth.  As soon as my mom got in the car from shopping, she started telling me the story. 

Okay, this is what happened!  My mom gave Luke a Lifesaver (you know - candy).  Nobody thought anything of it.  As a matter of fact, he eats those all the time.  My mom goes outside, while Luke stays inside with tia Lety y tia Naty.  All of a sudden,  (they tell me) Luke puts his little hands on his ears and doesn't make any noise.  He goes to my aunts searching for help. He can't breath, he is chocking.  As you can imagine, my aunts are freaking out by now.  Tia Lety goes to find my mom, while Tia Naty performs the Heimlich Maneuver.  Finally he stars crying and then he throws up all over my mom.    

Now, you understand why I'm so glad today is over.  I just thank the Lord for protecting us and for always being with us. 

You know what's interesting?  On Wednesday, Natalia's Awana's teacher asked her to memorized Psalm 23.  Well, in order for Natalia to be able to memorize Psalm 23, I have to quote it over and over again.  Wow, how appropriate this Psalm is for what I went through today!

It's all in God's hands...

Okay, so Monday, April 14th, the kids and I left Beaumont at approximately 1:45 p.m. About half an hour later Daved called me to see where we were. That's when I first heard about the accident that had just happened on I-10 near Ford Park. You can read all about it here. I can't help to think that it could have, very well, been us. We had just passed the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. 15 minutes before the accident happend. Then, I have to remind myself that God is in total control. Our days are numbered and that when He wants us home, He will take us home!

Please, keep our family in your prayers, as we travel back-and-forth.

Natalia is safe!

This morning, while the kids were watching TV, sweet little innocent Natalia was messing with the TV and the TV fell onto the floor. Thank the Lord that everybody is fine! (Hopefully Grannie was not too upset and took some pictures so I can post them later :0))

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! 

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!

Praise the Lord!

As previously mentioned, aunt Viki had surgery today at 6:00 a.m. The doctor said everything is looking good and she might not even need chemotherapy. It will all depend on the lab results.

Got some bad news today...

So I got a called from my mom to let me know that my aunt Viki, who lives in Guatemala, has cancer. I think I'm still in shock. I almost cannot believe it. She will have surgery tomorrow at 6:00 am. Wow, I don't even know what to think. I pray for God's will and for God to show Himself to everyone who is being affected by this. My prayer is that we will recognize His mighty hand. May the glory and honor be given to Him who deserves it all!

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all who are wary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Thanksgiving

It's amazing to know that God cares even for the smallest desires! I've been wanting a piano for a very long time. Every time I mention it to Dave, he reminds me that we cannot afford one right now. Well, I finally decided to give it to the Lord. And you are not going to believe what happened. God gave me a piano!

For thanksgiving this year, we went to Dave's aunt's house. As soon as I got there, I saw this piano sitting in the garage. So I just had to ask. Well, uncle Byron quickly said: "Why, do you want it? If you want it, you can have it!" I couldn't believe it.

I have a piano!!! Thank You Lord for answered prayers!

My prayer request now is to find a way to get the piano home!!!!!