Times...they are a changin'

There are so many things I could blog about today. We had a wonderful weekend with our dear dear friends from WAY up North. Lacie, Trey and boys came and we partied all weekend! HA! We love having them. She even braved my kitchen and helped me reorganize everything! We had, I kid you not, 13 bags of junk that were piled in my kitchen cabinets. She needs her own show on HGTV. That girl can organize let me tell you. Some things she made me throw away and other things I was glad to get rid of. And only she could make me throw away my high school retainer! HA HA!! G-R-O-S-S! We laughed so hard..she has pictures. I will have to get them. I wish I would have taken before and after pictures. My cabinets look really good. Anyway we had fun laughing, shopping, playing with the kids, being with the girls, soup swapping, facials and talking till 2 in the morning. We even passed the stomach bug around a bit this weekend. But its all good! :) And I still tear up when I see her white SUV drive away.

Fun times at the Soup Swap! Look at all that soup back there!

Today, (sniff, sniff) I went to Jr. High Parent Orientation. Boy, that felt weird. I still have a hard time believing that my son, my baby boy, will be in 6th grade next year. He will do great. I just know it. Just please pray for Gods guidance over him. I remember Jr. High being such a weird time in my life. I hope he will continue to blossom into the man that God has planned. And that I can be the Mom that God wants me to be. There are more days than not when I feel like I fail terribly at it. Being a parent is one tough job. I could go on and pour my heart out but then I would feel like Debbie Downer. So, just remember us in your prayers as we start this new journey called the teenage years....YIKES! Ok, now I need a tissue....for real.

You, therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:1

Yeah for Saturday

Happy Saturday! Isn't it great....I love the weekend. We have had a great Saturday full of basketball. Reid had 2 games today and ROCKED! He scored 20 points in the first game and 18 in the second. He really did well. I love watching him play. He even lets me yell! ha! I'm sure the older he gets the more he will want me to shut my trap. hee hee I just can't believe how much he has grown lately. I still see my baby when I look at him. It makes my heart hurt. I am so proud of him and whether I like it or not he is growing up and I am excited to see what his life has in store. I will try to post pictures of him in action. I forgot my camera today but we have many more games to go. This was only the first real game.

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Here is a little survey that my Mom sent. I thought it was fun. Short and sweet.


Two names you go by:
1. Mommy
2. Hez

Two things you are wearing right now
1. Pink Robe
2. towel on my head

Two of your favorite things to do
1 . Be with my family
2. Run

Two things you want very badly at the moment
1. For my house to just be clean without me having to do it (laundry included)
2. To go on a romantic trip with my husband

Two favorite pets you have/had
1. Ben the best black lab ever!
2. Honey...the hairiest dog ever!

Two people who will fill this out
1. Lacie
2. Holly

Two things you ate today
1. A cheeseburger from Tookies....YUMMY!
2. yummy chocolate brownie

Two people you last talked to
1. Baby Reid
2. Ashley

Two things you're doing tomorrow
1. Praising the Lord
2. Going on a 20 mile bike ride....yes, I''m serious....yes, I'm crazy!

Two longest car rides
1. Red River, New Mexico to go skiing
2. Fort Collins, Colorado

Two favorite holidays
1. Christmas....hands down!
2. my birthday

Two favorite beverages
1. unsweet Tea with Splenda
2. Crystal light peach tea

Two favorite TV shows
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Biggest Loser

Have a great weekend!

Houston Half 2008

I guess since it has been 5 days I better post about my half marathon. I am finally back to myself. No more limping. No more holding on the the rails as I go down (or up) stairs. No more Biofreeze on my knee. No more begging for leg massages. I am back! And let me tell you...I feel good.

Here is the start line. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it. :) What fun!! The Hilton behind the start line is where we all stayed. We had so much fun and being so close to the action was great. Last year I had to get up at 4 AM to get downtown. This year I was up at 6 and out the door by 6:30am to meet the girls for stretcting and lining up. It was exciting. And to make it better, Troy and the kids didn't have to get up so early either. They were snug as bugs when I left the room. I was jealous. :)

This is Maria, Me and Holly. These girls are AWESOME!
They both ran 26.2 miles! This picture was taken at the Blessing

of the Feet dinner that our running club puts on.

It is a fun time of food and prayers for our aching feet.

Here are my babies cheering me on! It was a welcome sight
when I saw them at mile 9. Their smiles kept me going! They both wanted to run the rest of the way with me.

A litte action shot! This is me and Cathy. She is a friend from Bay Area Fit. She is great and really kept me moving out there.

We sure missed Robin...she is out with a hurt leg. I have been running with her for almost 2 years. It was weird not having her out there. GET BETTER ROBIN!

Here we are after the race. Don't I look lovely! yuck!
I did just run 13.1 miles...can you see my medal? ha!

It was a great run. The weather was great and the crowd out there was even better. I don't know how I really got started in this running thing but I am so glad I did. It has changed my life forever. I finished 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 42 minutes. It was a personal record for me. I was really excited! Now I am ready for the next half....in April.....anyone wanna to join me??

Go Rockets and a Half

My picture from Wordless Wednesday cracks me up. It was from New Years Eve when Hollie and Justin invited us to a Houston Rockets game. We had so much fun. The kids loved every minute of it and so did I . Hollie and I sat right behind Yao Ming's parents....how cool is that? I think the kids kicked the back of their chairs just a few times. HA Reid and Justin sat two or three rows from the court. And let me tell you Reid was in heaven! Hollie and I had the girls and they sat in our laps. We had a fun bonding time with our daughters....ha ha!

They were so excited about going to the big game! Don't they look cute.

Reid, Justin and Brooks watching the game with their rally hats on. ha! Can you see Brooks hiding behind the red fuzzy hat? Reid is holding him. Brooks and Reid are buds.

And of course, there are no pictures of me and Hollie. We were too busy wrestling children. Moms never get their pictures taken! HA HA! Anyway, after the game we went back to their house to ring in the New Year. Um, we all kinda fell asleep but we had a BLAST! Thank you guys so much for a wonderful time!

On a different note.....tomorrow is my big day. It is my 2nd half-marathon. I am excited but nervous. I have been drinking water until I feel like a fish. I am hydrated, got my clothes ready, my backpack, my bib number, my GU, my Gatorade and fuel belt, my socks....you get the idea. Troy has signed up for text messages from the Marathon to see where I am along the way. He will bring the kids out to mile 9, I think. I will be so ready to see them. That is about the time that I am all pooped out. It brightens my run to see my family cheering me on. I will have to post pictures next week.

Last year, being my first race, I didn't realize you could run for a cause. So, I thought to myself that next year I would. I knew what, and who I wanted to run for so I had that planned all year. Well this year snuck up on me and I didn't get to register for my cause. Go figure. Those who know me know that I am a little bit of a procrastinator. So, when I found out I missed the deadline for running for a cause I decided to do it on my own. So, this race, my 2nd half, is dedicated to my sweet nephews, Brock and Brody. I will be running for the March of Dimes in their honor. Remembering them along my way will keep me running.

Wordless Wednesday

Fun and crazy times

I don't know about you guys but I am exhausted. I need a holiday from my holiday. Now, don't get me wrong. We had a blast at Christmas. We stayed with Mom and Dad for a whole week. And while we had fun I'm sure they were ready to get rid of us! HA! We love being home in the 'ville and having the kids get to run outside without me having to be there the whole time. Macy always says, "Mom, I'm going outside....I can because we are at Neena's." Its sad that even a 5 year old knows that she can't play outside by herself in the big city. We had so much fun with Avery and Jaxon on their first Christmas. It was fun to watch them and their Santa stuff. It is so much fun to have cousins.

We also had Chrismas at my sweet sister-in-laws house. She lives way out in the country. I mean she has acres and acres. So of course they have fun things like 4 wheelers that my kids think are the best thing EVER! And yes, they are fun. I have to pray while they are gone though. Those things make me nervous. But I know how much fun they have on them. Macy went out with Mindy and rode around in the freezing cold. Thy don't care if its cold they just like being outside. We had fun eating, laughing, eating, playing games, and opening white elephant presents. That's always a riot!

We finally took down all our Christmas stuff. Even with our tree down we are still watching The Grinch. Its one of Macy's favorite. I do love my tree. I am a little sad its gone. I love my Christmas decorations. I'm sad they are gone. I love my Chrismas dishes....didn't even get them out this year. I was really sad about that. So, now that all is down and there is no sign of Christmas we are "winter cleaning" and it feels good. We have thrown out stuff like you wouldn't believe. We even threw out some Reid's old toys. I am REALLY sad about that.

I know it has been a while since I have last posted. Of course, one of my goals this year was to be better about blogging so that when I am old and gray I will remember things. HA! Wait...I am already starting to forget things. yikes... Anyway, just wanted you to know I am still here, still blogging and still trying to catch up after all the holiday rush. Here's to 2008!

Wilbur, Ashley and Wedding Bliss

Mother/Daughter time....so sweet.

photo by Reid :)

Macy and I have been reading Charlotte's Web for the last few weeks. We read about a chapter a night. She is really enjoying it. It is so much fun when you can start reading them chapter books and they actually get it. They remember what you read the night before. Last night I asked her what she remembered from last night and she told me she learned that manure means cow poop. Well, I thought she was listening! HA! Anyway, we will continue on with our story and hopefully years down the road she will remember our special times together reading about manure.

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Now, this part of my blog is dedicated to my sweet and special sister. She is special in so many ways. She is one that always has your back, no matter what. I am so glad that God gave her to me to have as a sister and a friend. She is not afraid of anything. She loves God and wants Avery to know how much God loves her. She is so brave and I wish I could be more like her. She takes the most awesome pictures you've ever seen. Her talent is way beyond her years. You know, she is only 30. Such a young pup. I look up to her in so many ways. She gives great hugs...you know...the ones that linger....like she really wants to hug you/me. She takes life one day at a time. She is an awesome mommy and makes it look so easy. She has waited on God's answer for a child and now Avery in one sweet little miracle. She loves her family. She likes Red Diamond sweet tea. She cries easily and has big sweet tears. She is beautiful. Her big brown eyes could stop traffic. She loves Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton. ha! I'm glad I have her to talk to and we talk on the phone quite a bit. :) She is honest and trustworthy. She tells in like it is and that is a good quality to have. I could go on and on. And although her birthday was in August, I didn't properly give her the credit she deserved...right, sis? :) Um, I guess August was crazy and I had a brain lapse. Who knows, but I do know this, I love her with all my heart and I'm glad she is my sister and I'm glad she's my friend. So, Ash, Happy 30th birthday. I hope your year is one that you will never forget. And just wait 31 is even better. HA!

Ash and Avery

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And one more thing.....yesterday was our 13 wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday that I wore that beautiful puffy sleeved, beaded, tiny bow in the back, tulle filled dress...that cost hundreds of dollars. Troy was looking smashing in his black tux...that cost 50.00. How fair is that? Well, I remember that day being one of the best days of my life. It was a beautiful wedding full of pink, pink and more pink. Just ask my sister who said she looked like a big bottle of pepto bismol. And I guess, looking back at my pictures all these years later, she did. But hey, in 1994 that was the thing. Puffy sleeves was what it was all about. So, in honor of our big day, we wanted to escape to Hawaii or go on a cruise or something but that won't be happening anytime soon. So, we went out for lunch to the Aquarium and afterwards fed the stingrays. I got a good laugh out of Troy freaking out that they would kill him like they did the Crocodile Hunter. He cracks me up. It was a fun day, thinking back and being thankful that we have one another. Who would have thought that all those years ago of meeting in the halls of Smithville High School that we would be married, have 2 kids, a mortgage, a car payment and all the love we have for each other. Sappy, I know. So, Happy Anniversary to us....maybe we can go on that cruise on our 15th????????

Happy Birthday Lace!

On November 24, one of my dearest and sweetest friends turned 30! This girl is one that once you are friends with her she will change your life forever. She is kind, she is honest and she loves her family more than words. Her boys are her world. She is such a humble servant for God. As per my sis, she is so going to Heaven, Magna Cum Laude. :) She has taught me so much about how our Heavenly Father loves us. How much we mean to Him, no matter what and I am so thankful for that. She has taught me so much through her actions. She is an awesome example. She always puts others first. Her favorite scripture is Deuteronomy 33:12. Look it up...it is awesome. Her laugh is contagious and her smile is even more so. She can brighten up a room in a minute. She is an awesome cook and loves to wear aprons....which as rubbed off on me. She holds her home together with love. She is so well organized that when I visit her house I want her to come home with me and whip me into shape. She has moved to the country (sniff sniff) and has planted a garden and grown pumpkins. Where does she find the time? :) She is beautiful inside and out. We have the color pink in common! :) She has a sweet and tender heart. She LOVES coffee and all kinds of creamers. And if my memory serves me correctly Pralines and Pecans is her favorite. She is one fantastic OT. And although she now lives far away, she will always be a part of my life. So, here's to you Lacie! I hope your 30's are as rockin' as you are! I'm so thankful for you and for our friendship.

Oh, did I mention that she LOVES s'mores?

Happy Birthday, girl!!!

Princess Macy

For the past week, my baby has grown...a little. She has now started bathing herself. I run the water, she washes her hair, with conditioner and bathes! I know it sounds silly, but it really makes me sad. I mean I am glad she is so independent but I miss that baby stage. She is growing up so quickly. I just love her! She is so much fun to be around!

Last week, on the first night she bathed herself , she wanted to dress herself in her pj's. So, she had me go downstairs to wait for her. This is what came down the stairs. She never stops wanting to be Mommy's little princess! Wet hair and all! Did I mention she picked out her pj's too? ha! She slept in that tutu all night long.

I just spent who knows how long trying to post some pictures below. Anyone else get frustrated with blogger and can't get their pics and words centered? It is really frustrating. Maybe its just me....is there a secret? Anyway, enjoy the pics even though they aren't centered. I don't have time to fix them anymore! HA!

I never got around to posting about my sweet grandparents. We celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and my Poppi's birthday all in one weekend. It was back in August but still blog worthy! I have been so bad about posting things and I guess since its almost 2008 that can be my resolution! HA I think that is my resolution every year.

Words cannot even express how much these two mean to us. They are the rock of our family and every single one of us want to be like them when we grow up! They are a constant reminder of how good God is. We are so lucky to have them in our lives.

Here are the best cousins in the world! We missed Jordan and Matt-Matt so much. We thought about holding their picture up in their honor! HA We love being together and have so many wonderful memories with MANY more to come. Love you guys!

Here are the cousins and all their sweeties! Aren't we a cute bunch??!

Here are my Mom, Aunt Jo-Jo and Aunt Giggi with Nana and Poppi. What an example they have all been in our lives!

And, the party isn't complete without a little table dance from Riley and Macy!

Grandparents
Few can bring the warmth
We can find in their embrace,
And little more is needed to bring love
Than the smile on their face.

They've a supply of precious stories,
Yet they've time to wipe a tear,
Or give us reasons to make us laugh,
They grow more precious through the years.

I believe that God sent us Grandparents
As our legacy from above,
To share the moments of our life,
As extra measures of His love.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Fall Yall!

Birthday or Bust

This past weekend a bunch of us girls drove 6 hours to surprise one of our best and dearest friends. She will turn 30 at the end of the month so we thought if we went up there the first weekend in November, she would never suspect us coming. We left on Friday at lunch to make the 6 hour drive. After MUCH traffic in the big city we made it. So excited to see our friend. We miss her terribly! We thought we were going to be late because of the traffic but actually made it in plenty of time to "pink it up" in her living room. Life isn't comlete with out a little pink, right? ha! Well, we did, for a fact, surprise her. Of course, with the help of her sweet husband. And it was the best ever! I think I was just as excited as she was. I was so happy to see her. I read her blog this morning, through tears, remembering the fun time we had, the laughs, coffee, food, country breakfast, more laughs, singing (yes, we sang in the car...to the group Chord of Three...ever heard of them??) driving 6 more hours, and just plain having fun being together. It was a fabulous weekend. I want to go back. If you want to hear about the story through her eyes and see more pictures, go to Lacie's blog....her link is on my sidebar.

Happy Halloween

Tom Cruise, look out!

Mirror, mirror on the wall.....

Sweet Snow White

Cousin Mindy came to Trick or Treat with us. It was so fun!!

I had to post a few pics for my mom. I do have a few more pics that I'll have to download later. Just in case my other 3 readers want to see my kids and Mindy! Oh, Mindy went as Grandma Salas...that's what Macy said! HA HA.....Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!!

Ok...I clicked on my cousins website and her site got a new look! Its PRECIOUS! And Reese...just beautiful! You need to go take a look. You can click on Jenna's site by clicking on her link on the side of my page. She won the new layout through a contest....well....I love contests, so, I added my name as well. :) Go to http://fabulouskblogdesigns.blogspot.com/ and enter to win. It couldn't hurt, right?? Thanks, Jenna!

Wordless Wednesday-YEE HAW

Race for the cure

Our shirts in memory of sweet Paula.

Good Morning Houston!! It started out to be a muggy,wet morning

but ended up clearing up and being a nice day. Me, Reid, Matthew

Christian, and Holly braved the non-competitive 5K race. It was

fun to share the day with our boys. To show them that this disease

is serious and claims the lives of millions of women.

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was a packed house. :)

SURVIVORS! How awesome is that. It was rows and rows
of pink survior flags. It was so touching.

Mommy and Reid. Reid ran 3 miles without stopping. He
beat me by 20 minutes. He was waiting for me at the finish
line. And he proudly wore pink for the special day.
He rocks....let me tell you! It was a sweet, but sad day to see friends
running for those who are surviors of Breast Cancer and those
whose loved ones have lost the battle. For all the women...we
salute you and we love you. And Paula, we miss you.

Wordless Wednesday

School Days!

My first day of school sweeties! Ok ok, I know...its October already. Well, it has been a month of hustle and bustle...ok, no excuses! I just got around to posting pics. So, here are my babies. Rooster is in the 5th grade and LuLu is in Kindergarten. They are both loving it and doing great! Rooster even made all A's on his progress report and LuLu made all E's! EXCELLENT!








I couldn't resisit...they looked so cute walking to school. You can't even see the school it was so packed that morning. I had to park blocks away. I guess everyone wanted to walk their kidos in for the first day.










Aunt Ashley and Avery came to spend some time with me since I was a little teary all day. I didn't know sending my baby off to Kindergarten was going to hurt my heart so badly! And sending my son to his last year of elementary. YIKES! Where has all the time gone? So, after school we HAD to get some ice cream. Yummy!







Avery really, really wanted some ice cream. The kids loved seeing her and spending some time loving on her. I enjoyed my day with her and Ash. We had a fun lunch at Jasons Deli. Avery loved all the attention and I loved all the snuggle time without having to fight my kids to hold her! ha









Mom and her kidos! Don't you just love LuLu's blue lips. Oh, the days when you didn't care that you had a blue ice cream mustache!

Fall ball fun

Macy....say cheese! You look so cute!

The girls....we love being together

This was supposed to be a serious one!

Now, a fun one! I look really scary! My hair is really scary!

This is me and Macy bored to death while we were waiting for Reid. He had baseball practice...which usually takes hours! It does gets a little boring. So whats two fun and crazy girls to do? Luckily, I had my camera. We had fun passing the time. As you can tell!

In all the fun Macy and I had in taking pictures of ourselves, I forgot to take a picture of Reid doing his "practice" thing. I know...I'm a bad Mom. So, here he is all ready for a game. Isn't my baby the cutest? I just wanna pinch his cute little cheeks.

Grandma

As I was tucking my sweet daughter in bed tonight I was hit with a deep question. I know...she's such a deep thinker. ha! As always, she asks me about Grandma Salas. She loved her so much and remembers her so well. It amazes me. She passed away about a year ago and asks about her almost every night. Along with Leon, Papa Johns toothless neighbor. Why she asks about him is beyond me. We met him once. He left a big impression on her one night when we were over there. She asked him about his tooth and why he only had one. I was so embarrased. I can't believe she even had the guts to ask him. Shes my outspoken one! But for real, he only had one tooth. I mean come on, pull it out for petes sake. What can you possibly eat with only one tooth? Anyway, thats besides the point. She prays for Grandma (and Leon..who died of a heart attack) every night. Her prayers are so sweet. So tender. She asks God to make them better so they can come back. I think they learned about Lazarus at church. :) If only it was that easy.

Tonight she asked me again, when will Grandma come back? She asked when we go to Heaven, how long will we be there. I said forever. It will be awesome! She said she doesn't really want to go right now. She said she didn't think there would be snow, pumpkins or Halloween. That girl! When has she ever seen snow! HA I told her how wonderful Heaven is and how God is preparing a place just for us. I went on to say that others go on before us to help get it all ready and wait for us with open arms. Grandma is waiting with open arms...just for us. We all miss her and love her but know that God is taking very good care of her. And God is taking care of so many other loved ones. I told her how wonderful that it will be. She didn't seem to excited. Yet. But for me. Oh my. No pain. No worries. No sickness. No debt (ha). No tears. No busyness. No evil. Only the best our Father has to give us. What a reunion....God is SO good!

How do you answer a 5 year olds answer about Heaven? Did I say the right thing?

Wordless Wednesday