Celebration Dinner

Last Monday evening, we stopping into Pappasito's for a special dinner, a celebration dinner. We were in the Medical Center for a special doctor appointment. A confirmation of birth doctor appointment. Yes, I am pregnant!! 9 weeks today to be exact. After recently miscarrying a few months ago, this doctor appointment was such a blessing. To see the little baby's heart beating was such a great feeling and a sigh of relief if I can be completely honest. And while I am still in a tender stage of pregnancy, I am trusting God will see me through this, regardless of the outcome. I want to glorify The Lord with my life.

The night before the doctor appointment, we told the kids I was expecting. Ally and Jase both were super excited. Allyson immediately responded with "what's HER name?" It was super cute. And even tonight as we were talking and praying, she prayed for her baby sister, Aurora {which she has named}. I tried to explain to her that if it is a girl, we will be happy and if it is a boy, we will be happy. You can tell she really wants it to be a girl.

A few pictures we took 3 weeks ago. I thought the one of Finn in the picture was just great. Why yes Finn, we prayed for you too!

So the plan was to keep this to just Shawn and myself until I was 10-12 weeks and then if all was well to begin to let people know. Well, that little trip to the ER with Finn, where he had to have X-rays and I couldn't be in the room...that was the spoiler. Both my mother and mother-in-law were there and the cat was immediately out of the bag when I had to step out. Since then we have told our siblings and a few close friends, and now that our kids have known for a week I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before everyone else knows. LOL! When I picked Ally up from school last Tuesday, the teacher opened my car door and said "well, is it true??" Yes, Ally had told them that I was pregnant with her baby sister!!

The doctor's visit. I always love for my little family to come to the first confirmation visit and be a part of it from the beginning. That idea always sounds great when I'm thinking about it at home. In the doctor's office...another story. Below is a screen shot of my camera roll that basically sums it up. I think my favorite is Shawn taking a picture of a picture... And the 23 second video of Ally was pretty funny; she thought she was taking a picture of herself and she was totally primping for the camera. I can laugh now, but I was definitely a little uptight in the room with all of them in there. Finn's huge stroller took up half the room, the kiddos were super loud and then someone tooted and it stunk. Awesome...I could not wait for the doctor to join us with the lovely smell in the room! Just being completely honest!

Here is our little bundle of joy. The baby measured right on at 8 weeks, which was a blessing. One thing about going to the doctor's office at 8 weeks instead of 6, was that I could see the baby's heart beating. Such a wonderful sight. And good Lord willing, my next visit at 12 weeks I should be able to hear the heartbeat. My due date is 11/2/2014. So, we are looking at an October or November baby, depending upon when he or she is ready. We are super excited and are continuing to pray for this little one.

Weekend Fun

We started our weekend a little early this past week and headed out to the Houston Food Bank. Such a blessing to give back some time that God has given us. I found out that Jase was old enough to serve with us this time, so it was great to have him join us. At one point he met me in the bathroom and told me that he was a little nervous because he was not a fast scanner (we were scanning in food items). I told him that didn't matter at all, it just mattered that he was here trying to help. I'm not sure if it was his nerves or the 3 cups of hot chocolate he had, but he made frequent trips to the restroom. 

Saturday morning, we woke up early for my baby girl's 1st t-ball game! She was so giddy to play and so excited that so many family members and friends showed up to watch her play. She is definitely loved and her crowd of 20 was a testament!! 

I'll have to get the video to share {my phone was too full}, but during her first at-bat, she turned around and waived to everyone. She is a lefty so she could not see us from the tee. It was precious, just like her! And she got a hit her first at-bat! She was just so excited to be out there! I'm hoping the weather warms up from here on out.

Saturday evening we headed out to Minute Park for an exhibition game. We really enjoy watching baseball at the ballpark. Hopefully the Astros have a better season than last year!

And Sunday afternoon, we headed back out to the local ballpark for a charity kickball tournament. All proceeds went towards a family from Jase's team. A father of one of our players passed away Friday evening from cancer. He was also on our team last spring and when I saw him at the beginning of this season, I barely recognized him due to all the weight he had lost. Please keep the Flores family in your prayers.

Time to Sow

I am wide awake at 3 am, so I am getting caught up on the blog. I'm sure this will hit me in 4-5 hours or so when it is time to get up and get ready for church! Ah, but there is always nap time after lunch! :-)

In between the parade and our game on Saturday we ran over to Lowe's and picked up some seeds and plants for the garden and some mulch and flowers for the flower beds. The plan was to pick a few weeds, put down the mulch, lay out the garden and plant some fruits and veggies. I laid Finn down for his nap and the 4 of us went out back and got to work. Usually after 5 minutes we lose Jase and Ally and they are inside watching TV, but today was different. They helped pull weeds, fill holes and dig up rocks for quite a while. It was really nice working as a family outside together.

The plan was simple, but you know how it goes, once you get started on something you have to finish it. We have these rocks {about the size of my fist} surrounding our big flower beds out back. They hide our french drain system in the back and side of the flower bed, and are decorative in the front. I wish I had a before picture, but over time of being stepped on {by us and mainly the dogs} they have sunk down quite a bit. And I'm talking several inches, making most of them under the dirt and unnoticeable at all. Queue the shovel and rake! This is what we spent most of our time on all afternoon. After it was all said and done it looks so much better. All of the weeds are out of the rocks and the dirt is now under the rocks instead of visa versa. Major props to the hubbster for using his muscles! :-)

Here is one of the sides to our finished product. I know it just looks like rocks, but it was pretty rough beforehand.

This is our orange tree we've had for 3-4 years. The first year it did not produce, then it produced fruit one year and the last year or two it has not produced and it looked like a fungus or something had gotten a hold of it because a lot of the leaves were very withered looking. We now have little white balls all over the tree, which will turn into blooms and then into fruit. Excited to harvest some once they are ready. And Shawn also planted broccoli in the front of this flower bed. I hope they take well in this flower bed and the dogs leave them alone! Oh and you can see some more of the rocks we worked on just below the broccoli. Those were mainly hidden by dirt and weeds.

We did not plant a ton this year, but we are super excited about what we did plant. The carrots and asparagus are leftover from last season. The carrots are not ready, but the asparagus have gone while lately! I love it! And I don't know if you remember, but the first year we planted, I had no idea what I was doing and planted a whole pouch of seeds in a row and we had an abundance {and overwhelming amount} of crops. You would think this would be a great thing, but it wasn't. The garden was very crowded and I read that when you have that many plants in one space that they are all pulling nutrients out of the ground and it basically waters down {or takes away} the nutrients going to all the plants. And then last year Shawn and I did not communicate and he did the same exact thing when he planted. Hopefully we will have better success with round 3!

This is our 3rd season for our peach tree and it finally has fruit growing on it. I do not eat peaches {I will be trying them and experimenting with different recipes}, but Shawn and the kids like them, so I am super excited to see how they turn out. I have enjoyed our garden these past few seasons and love eating what we harvest from it. And I really enjoy learning new things, so this has been great from that aspect as well. Plus the kids love watching them grow and the crops are a great patience teacher!

Opening Day

Saturday was opening day for Jase's baseball season. The big parade, the first game...all would take place! Shawn and Jase headed up to decorate the trailer and me the two younger kiddos took our place to catch some candy and cheer the teams on. 

 Jase and his team had a blast throwing candy to the fans. 

Later that evening we played our game. It was not pretty. 15-0...we were run ruled in the 4th. We are in coach pitch this spring {just like we were in fall ball} and our poor boys did not hit the ball well at all. And if they did get a hit, they were thrown out. Not trying to be negative, but the first three innings were 3 up, 3 down. And our first base hit did not come until the 4th inning. Meanwhile, the other team scored 5 runs each inning. We just did not hit well or field well. It made for a pretty tough game for Angels' fans {and players}. I do realize they are only 7 years old and you want them to have a good time and learn the sport, but on the other hand you've seen their potential at practice {and home} and it is hard when that doesn't shine through at the game.

After the game {and a little hitting practice} we grabbed a bite to eat before heading home. At the dinner table we talked to Jase about the game and situational plays and strategies for next time. But more importantly, Shawn shared his heart with Jase. He told him if he never hit a ball all season long or never got an out, he would love him just the same. It is not how he performs on the field that determines how much we love him or how proud we are of him. If I can share my heart with you, it reminded me of the grace that God extends to us. He doesn't love us because we are good or do good things. No. He loves us because we are His creation and we are made for His glory. This is the story of the gospel, the story of the bible.

"Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him. You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior."

Isaiah 43: 7,10-11

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Romans 5:8-9 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

These verses are so reassuring to me and I pray they are the same for you. Praise the Lord I do not have to be "good enough" to enter the kingdom of Heaven {because I would never be}. It is by grace through faith in Jesus that seals my destiny. Do you genuinely believe this?

Rodeo Time!

Tuesday evening I wrangled up the kiddos and we headed into Houston for a little rodeo fun! We met Shawn after work downtown, which worked out great and saved on time. {Plus the kids got to watch Frozen on the way there...kind of a big deal right now!}

We started our evening off in the Reliant Center. They had a really neat AGventure area set-up that was geared towards educating children and adults in agriculture. Some of the exhibits included: birthing center, horticulture, we're small y'all barn, poultry, milking parlor and rainwater harvesting. It was an abundance of information for farm life. You never know, we may need that one day!

The kids planted big sunflower seeds and brought them home to grow. Note to self: we should probably water them in the morning!

Next, we got a bite to eat and the food sure was yummy. Allyson was craving pizza and Jase wanted a corn dog. I might have gotten a little off the eating plan this day!! LOL!

Then we headed over to a super cool exhibit that was called "Farm to Market". This is where the kids took a seed, planted it in the garden, watered it and reaped what they sowed. They then participated in various parts on the farm, like feeding the roosters, shearing the sheep, and milking the cow. 

At each station, they picked up an item to symbolize the activities they completed. At the end of the exhibit they went to the market and sold their products for money. Each child received $2 and they were able to go to a real market to buy something for $1. In exchange for a play $1 they got to pick from several snacks: raisins, rice krispie treat, granola bar, crackers. The other dollar went to the "bank". I thought it was a great representation {on a child's level} on how the farm runs and how you make your money. Now if this would have been Dave Ramsey's example you maybe would have received $3 in order to Give, Save and Spend. Haha! 

Here's Finn taking a break from the stroller and getting a ride on Daddy!

I just love these little buckaroos! Looking at these pics just puts a smile on my face. So blessed to have them in my life. 

And believe it or not, we avoided the carnival rides. We were right in the midst of them, but did not buy a ticket one. Call us mean, frugal, party poopers, but we just didn't splurge on that this year...instead we bought dessert. Hahaha! It was worth it in my opinion.

After walking around {and up 6 stories of ramps...NOT fun} we settled into seats for a little rodeo action. Right from the get-go, Allyson lost it. She is still not a fan of fireworks no matter how much I prep her for them, she hates them. During the Star Spangled Banner a few of them went off and her tears started to flow. I think the crying made her even more tired than she originally was, but nevertheless she was out for most of the rodeo. Before the concert started up, we headed out and down the elevator I might add! It was a nice night with the family and fun was had by all!

Sling Man

Friday afternoon around 1:00 pm Finn was getting something off of the table. He was standing on a chair at the kitchen table. It is nothing for me to walk into the dining room and for him to be on top of the table eating someone else's food or coloring. He is my little monkey. Well, the chair and floor won on Friday. He ended up falling wrong and I could tell that something was not right. He also could not push himself up off the floor. And then when I was loading up the car to go to ER, he picked up his basketball to shoot and he could not lift it up...real tell tale sign that something was wrong.

After a few X-rays and tears, they figured out that he has a fractured humerus. Right below his shoulder it is fractured. No cast needed, but he will be sporting this sling for 3-4 weeks until it heals. So far he has been great with keeping it on. He has not been fussy at all and the only time his arm bothers him is when he cannot get up. He is one tough cookie.

T-ball Time

Meet the newest member of the Astros! We asked her if she wanted to play and she jumped right on it. We are playing in a co-ed league for 4-6 year olds. Daddy bought her a glove (she's a lefty) and a pink helmet (she was trying Jase's on for size below). Practice starts on Monday and her first game is on the 29th. Looking forward to watching my girl get out there and pick some flowers, I mean stop some balls!

Sweet Cousins

This past Saturday we drove out to Katy to celebrate Dylan's 4th birthday. He and Ally are exactly 6 months apart. Usually he and Ally are inseparable, but this time it was Dylan and Jase. They just went from one bounce house to the next. It was really sweet watching them bond. Happy Birthday, Dylan!

First {Official} Haircut

I waited until Jase was 18 months old to get his haircut. Jase had these bouncy curls in the back, I just loved them, but it was time. And his curls stayed for a few years as well. Finn's hair is similar to Jase in that it is curly in the back and so I have let it grow and grow and grow. Well, he is now 19 months old and it is time. Not sure if you remember, but I did a bang trim about a month ago in my bathroom...major mullet fail! So, I decided to take the boys on Wednesday to Sports Clips for a cut. I wasn't exactly sure how Finn was going to react, but I soon found out.

We gave him a sucker and after 2-3 licks he did not want it. Now of course Ally asked if she could have it...my little sugar bug! So, she finished it off!

The only way we were able to keep him still was to point at the huge football player poster right in front of him. I just kept saying "ball, football, ball" and then he noticed the baseball field on the other side and I changed to "ball, baseball, ball". Exciting stuff! 

All and all he did great and he looks completely different to me now. He looks way too big! I like it though. He looks like a little boy!

Oh and this boy got a cut too! Mighty handsome if you ask me! Oh and you might notice a cross on his forehead...he drew it on himself. Earlier that day I had explained Ash Wednesday to Jase and Ally and the next thing I knew, he had drawn a cross on his forehead. Our church does not partake in the Ash Wednesday tradition, but I think it is good to explain what it means to our children. 

And speaking of haircuts, Ally asked when she was going to get her hair cut and if I was going to take her to Girl Clips! Hahaha! I have yet to cut her hair. I mean, no trim, nothing. I think because I always had short hair growing up, that I am hanging onto her hair. But she is 4 1/2, I think it's probably about time for a cut for her too.

Houston College Classic

After the Sofia party, we changed gears {and clothes} and headed out to Minute Maid Park for a little college baseball action. The Texas Longhorns aren't in town very often, so when we saw they would be here for the Houston College Classic, we jumped on the event. It was nice outing for the family. I was impressed with how well Finn behaved. He literally just sat there and watched the game. Now Ally on the other hand...we had barely sat down and she was already asking for pizza. Jase too! They came to eat!

I love how Jase snuggled up next to Ally in this picture below. Melts my heart!

Sofia the First Party

Saturday afternoon I took Allyson to a Princess Party for her friend, Raylee. It was a Sofia the First party. If you are unfamiliar, this a show on Disney Junior about a girl who becomes a princess after her mom marries the king. It is a cute show and Ally enjoys it. She was Sofia for Halloween this past year and wanted to wear her costume to the party. Heather did a great job on all the set-up. And the cake...Michelle again! Looked phenomenal!! And tasted great...always so moist!

After the girls made a necklace and ate lunch, Sofia arrived to the party. The girls were in awe, especially Allyson. She thought she had came to the party to talk with her! She told the girls a story, she put makeup on them, and then she turned them into a princess!

Here is a clip of Sofia in action. She was definitely in character!

Allyson (below left) is being transformed into Princess Allyson! She LOVED it!!

Princess Sofia helping Princess Raylee blow out her candles. Just precious!

 Princess Sofia with Princess Allyson!

 The whole group of princesses!

While walking to the car Allyson was informing me that a princess was going to be at her birthday party too! Of course! And yes, she is already planning her birthday!