Feliz Navidad

Thanks Aunt Anna, I love being with you, but please no more ribbons ;)
So the camera died early in the day, but I did get a few cute pictures in...more to come.

New protective gear for his cool new scooter (photos to come), and new dinos!

In this economy, we feel more blessed than ever to have this handsome young man in our family. The true meaning of Christmas has touched our hearts and homes. Family is the best gift Heavenly father has given to His children.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Handsome

Even with banana stickers on his forhead....

I can't help but think that my son is soooo handsome!
Must be a mom thing....

The Ginch

So many have heard that Jesus is very much into the Grinch. He puts it into the VCR (when we have it down for him), turns his crib around (we end up helping but he always starts on his own!), and plops down to watch.

Who knows what it is he likes about the film...but he never tires of it! Our favorite part of his addiction is how he says "GinCH" with major emphasis on the ending 'ch'!

Molly Ringworm

So I'm a little behind in blogging, teaching doesn't really have the benefit of a lot of extra time for anything... So anyway a while back I went to a Murder Mystery Party themed "Murder High Reunion" Eighties high school reunion basically. I was the drama queen in high school and a successful actress about to film a Disney movie with me in the lead... so here I am.

Oh yeah, turned out that I was the murderer. It was fun and drama queen wasn't so far off...a very enjoyable role!

The Lion and the Lamb

Well, you are probably thinking I am giving my review of the film here. Well, I have decided that until some close friends have seen the movie my lips are sealed. I am a fan of the Twilight books and I am excited to read reviews. So far I have read 4 reviews from friends, all posted today. I'm comforted to not be the only one into the series, and look forward to more reviews. I will post my thoughts within the next two weeks I'm sure.

Seen Twilight? What did you think?

Boots

With winter approaching Antonio had to pull out his HUGE steel-toe below 0 deg work boots....the results can be seen above

Beautiful

Perspective

I'm borrowing this from a friends blog...I thoroughly enjoyed it and whole-heartrendingly agree.

This is a guest post by Matthew Lorenzen, a history teacher originally from Arizona. His historical perspective is particularly valuable:

Barack Obama was criticized during his campaign for being a risky prospect-untried, inexperienced, etc. I have always agreed with that statement and still do because it is still true. Mr. Obama is relatively new to the world of politics, especially compared to a life-long politician like John McCain. Additionally, he will not take office for nearly 3 months and until then we can only speculate about what the future holds. Only time will tell if America made a wise decision last night or not.

Despite that whole debate, which only time will resolve, as an American history teacher, I wonder if we understand the magnitude of what has just occurred in our country. In my opinion, it is something that every American ought to be proud of, no matter who you were supporting during this election. While peaceful transitions of power from one political party to another have occurred plenty of times in this country's history, I am not sure that a transition of this magnitude has happened in some time, if ever. Right now I am teaching my students about the election of 1800, in which John Adams and the Federalists gave up power to a rising political party and their leader: Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. John Adams and the Federalists had had a miserable 4 years in office and much of the nation looked forward to the termination of their time in office. However, Adams and the Federalists still had a considerable amount of support throughout the country. The fragile new nation was bitterly divided along party lines as Jefferson and the largely untried Democratic-Republicans took office. When Jefferson was inaugurated, he made a statement, a plea, to the divided nation. He said, "We are all Federalists, We are all Republicans." I think it ironic, though not odd, that emerging from a very similar election last night, Mr. Obama repeated a plea, a statement, that he has been making for some time now: "We are not as divided as our politics suggests."

Now is not the time to cling to dogmatic party lines (on either side). Now is not the time for the Liberals to boast, nor is it the time for the Conservatives to damn the next 4 years and resign themselves to the doom that some may believe must beset America as a result of Barack Obama's election to the presidency. Yes, there may be a considerable Democratic majority in the Congress now, but I do not believe that Mr. Obama is so irresponsible and unreasonable as to allow that to turn into a liberal free-for-all. True, there may be some fairly dramatic policy changes, but I believe we ought to give those changes the benefit of the doubt until they are proven ineffective.

Last night was also historically significant for another reason that I am sure we are all already abundantly aware of by now. While the civil rights movement climaxed some time ago, the civil rights movement is not over but also a contemporary movement and a struggle today. Unfortunately, some Americans still foster racist feelings and tendencies, however latent they may be.

However, I am proud of our country today. Prejudice and racism have not vanished, but it says something about our nation when a majority of our population votes a man of color into the pinnacle of American politics. Now, that is not by any stretch of the imagination a statement saying that McCain supporters are racists, etc. I do not believe that for a second. I only think it a small miracle that we as a nation have come as far as we have.

When John Winthrop and the Puritans came to America in 1620, Winthrop told them that their community, indeed their country, ought to be a "City Upon A Hill" shining as an example and a "Model of Christian Charity." That American myth has lasted throughout the centuries of American history, being repeated perhaps most recently by Ronald Reagan, and I think it applicable today. I am proud of America today. I believe that we are shining unto the world, at least in this moment and situation. No matter how much some Americans may or may not dislike Obama and his policies, the mere fact that he was elected ought to make us all feel good about ourselves, our country, and what we ought to stand for.

Welcome

....to a new chapter in United States history! We could not be happier!!

Little Haunts

Jesús really got the hang of trick or treating and by the end of the night he was saying "Trick or Treat" and "thank you" with out any prompting. Unfortunately now we have a ton of candy that I refuse to give him all of...nor do I want myself...so what to do?

He couldn't help but laugh after he put about 5 pieces from this bowl into his basket!

Before we left he had fun getting ready with his cousin's (who is almost 18) very first Halloween costume...a yellow M & M.

The night before, Christina's school had their Halloween carnival and Jesús was joined by his favorite friend, Marcela...or shall we say Dorthy? (Isn't she the cutest!!)

His father couldn't help but get him all decked out as a little cowboy...he has been practicing is gallop for about a month now and did not disappoint. He spent most of the night galloping through the school and cafeteria.

Yee Haw!

Home Run

To everyone: Please get out and vote...we are the VOICE of America and our Future!!
Vote for hope and change!

A friend of mine got her site up and running...check it out for some cute products for little girls!!!

Fall Time!!

So for our third year in a row we traveled south to the South Ridge Farms for a fun day out with good friends. Check out the last two years: 2006 and 2007

Thank you to the familia Balls for introducing us to this place again we love you guys!!

Jesus still loves his tractors!!

Eyes closed, wind blowing, and all I still think we look good!

Dreams and Dreams

So few of you probably know that I decided months ago that I will, in my lifetime, write a book. It has become a goal, or rather dream of mine. Not to publish, but for my own enjoyment and challenge. I also figured that my plot and characters would probably originate from one of my dreams. Seeing as I don't sleep well and every night is filled with countless dreams, I figured it's a great place to start. So I have just been waiting for another one of those dreams to spark my interest, I didn't expect it to happen so soon but it has. I now know very little about my plot, but my main characters are in place, I am beginning and will just wait and see where they take me!!

Do you have any good books to recommend? I want to do more reading for inspiration and for fun!

Intellectual absence

Over the past few weeks with presidential debates on the forefront of everyone's mind I have realized something lacking in my life. Intellectual stimulation. I could never complain about being a wife and mother, I want that to be clear. However, I have found that as I ponder over words from our Presidential hopefuls, as well as over the conversations of those around me, or online, I feel a yearning. A yearning for knowledge, the same yearning that I had entering into my first and last semesters of college. So much of my time is devoted to ABC's, and basic rote memorization of so many different things, not only at home but in my job as a teacher. So much of my time is tied up in planning and prep for school, or church or family, that I rarely get to sit and have an intellectual conversation. Again, I wouldn't trade my role as a mother or wife, but I just wish I could fit in those conversations often enough that I don't lose the vocabulary, or abstract thinking that used to challenge my drive and interests. I wish there were time, and money for me to get the six or seven different doctorate degrees that I would so love to pursue!

I suspect this is life though, at least as a teacher supporting her family. I hope and pray that some day soon my husband will be granted the opportunity to pursue the education he so badly desires. That someday I can have these conversations with him without him looking at me like I'm crazy and he has no idea what I am talking about.

For now though, I will continue to post all the fun pictures that document the growth of my handsome son and the progress of our small humility-seeking family and leave the boring babble to my very patient, understanding journal. Enjoy!

Random Photo dump

Snow Snow Snow

We awoke this morning to our first snow fall. So at 7 in the morning I got Jesus ready and strolled outside to the "frio" as referred to by the kid. (That means cold)

Such a happy kid just strolling along, tasting the snow....

He even cleaned off our car!

Then inside for some breakfast cocoa, good for us...bad for him!

I don't know what I will do with a child who loves the cold and snow so much...I hope he grows out of it!! (For those of you who don't know me well....I am so not a cold or snow person!!)
But still...there is something very cute in this sad, pouty face!

Sneaky

A cute kid enjoying his fruit snacks... or is he...

He stuffed them all into his mouth... at one time and managed to offer this smirk

Sugar overload? We aren't sure how he made his lips do this but it sure was funny!

Just a cute Mommy-son moment
I still can't believe how much love one can feel for a child!
What a blessing!