4th of July Celebration/Program

Last night we attended the 4Th of July Celebration & Program at Madera Ranchos Assembly of God.
The kids were in the choir, they did a really good job. Lilly was supposed to be in the choir, but we did not have a good experience during rehearsal with her so we decided to pull her out...maybe next year! She was supposed to sing one song with her church group "The Rainbows" and then leave the stage & come sit with us...well Lilly had a ball on stage, she totally played it up and sang and danced...then it was time to get off the stage...she refused!! She ended up falling asleep on stage with all the big kids around her singing!! It was funny, but good thing it was during rehearsal & not the real show!!

Martina and Angelica had a solo. The did really good. We're very proud!!

Jacob had a solo narration part. I could tell that he was nervous in front of so many people, but he did really good. He's a really good reader & you could understand him well when he was on the mic!
After the program they had watermelon, corn & fireworks. Lilly & Aaron were there for this part. Aaron LOVED the fireworks, he wasn't scared at all! Lilly loved the fireworks & ate SO much corn!! Jacob had fun running around & chasing snakes with the other kids & his cousin James. It was a great night!!

Today is our 4 year Anniversary!!!!

Let me start by saying that my husband left to go to work on last Wednesday & has so far worked over 100 hours since then...let me repeat that cuz it will kinda blow your mind...he's worked over 100 hours this week....so far & the week is not even done for him!!

So with that said, I don't think I could ever have imagined or dreamed of getting a better husband than Gerardo. I sometimes can't even process the thought of how hard it must be for him to work so many hours and it's all for me and the kids.

The truth is that he complains just a little & doesn't expect a lot from me...just three meals a day when he's home & I have to make sure he's got Chelada's at all times.

I can't truly express in words the true love that I feel for him. He has made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I am so blessed to have him as a husband, a best friend and the most wonderful father I could have ever asked for my children.

Thank you Gerardo, I hope we have many, many more years together. I love you so so so very much. I know you are always there for me when I need you, you're always by my side. You came into my life right when I needed you and you've been there ever since. You make me feel complete and I love you.

Tommorrow is...

Our 4 year wedding anniversary....what do I have to say about these past 4 years...hmmmm I'll have to think about it and get back to ya'!!

Should we or Shouldn't we??

My precious boy with precious curly reddish-brown locks...

And his Dad is giving me a hard time about cutting it all off!!

Oh, just the thought of it makes me want to cry,

If I trim those locks, how will he look??...He'll look like a little man, that's what he'll look like!

I want him to be my baby for as long as possible...

If he doesn't want to walk...fine, I'll carry him as long as he wants me to.

If he wants his bottle until he's 5...fine, I'll lovingly fill each bottle with milk.

Since I'm not having any more babies..he's my last one...my only one...and I want him to be a baby as long as he wants to be!

Selfish.?? Maybe...but I just want those beautiful baby curlies for at least a little while longer.

What do you think???

Don't Try This At Home:

Oh, my baby boy gets into EVERYTHING these days! He's always in some kind of trouble.

He opens the cabinets and takes out all of the pots and pans, he pulls all of the books off of the shelf, rolls all the toilet paper off the roll!! The list goes on and on and on!!

So today I wasn't surprised when I found him in the dishwasher!! And he was totally having fun too!

I had to take a picture to prove what a little trouble maker I have on my hands!

But as his Grandma would say...He's just exploring the world!!

Click here to see all the pics and get a little chuckle!

"Honest to Blog???"

This is a quote from my current favorite movie!!
Since I was forced to spend ALL day inside today w/ ten million kiddos, I rented a movie On Demand...it was funny, cute and had some of the best quotes I've heard from a movie in a long time!
Here's some more quotes:

"This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet."

" In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."

"Geez, Banana! Shut your freakin' gob!"

" So what's the prognosis, Fertile Myrtle? Minus or plus? "

That last one might give it away. Oh, I could go on all day w/ the quotes. Anyway, if you haven't seen this movie, you should, it's pretty good..IMHO!

Uh, Oh!!!

This is just a F.Y.I. Aaron update:

He started saying "Uh, Oh!"...but now he won't stop!

He pretty much says it ALL the time, for every occasion and for every little thing that happens to him, his brother or his sister!

If he falls down or drops something he'll say it. If Lilly does something he'll say it. If Jacob does something funny he'll say it. If the dog Spike runs by him too fast he'll say it too!! I can pretty much say that these are his favorite words right now!! LOL

Oh well, it's a little annoying, but I'll forgive him cuz he's the cutest!!!

Sad & Lonely, that's Me!

Here we go again, Gerardo gone for another 10 days in a row. Some days it's really hard on me to have him away. Today is one of those days.

I've been told that I'm "lucky" to have my husband away for so many days out of the month. I don't feel so lucky.

My heart feels heavy.

And since I have no adults here to converse with, it seems that my thoughts take over my head. I just start thinking about everything that's going on in our lives..good and bad. I start to analyze every little part of my life. It's not a pretty sight. With everything going on with my mom it makes this time even harder.

I would drink my worries away...but...me & Gerardo drank the rest of the Patron on Sunday during our own 2 person version of drunken Uno...hee-hee-hee, I have never laughed so hard in my whole life, Gerardo was crackin' me up!

Gerardo will be home on the day my mom has her lumpectomy & then he will be home for 5 days, so that is good cuz we will need his help. He is always there for me when I need him the most!!

Ok, enough ranting & raving, and feeling sorry for myself. I've vented & I'll be better now!LOL

Aaron's Pump It Up Party!!

We had Aaron's first birthday party at Pump It Up in Madera. It was so much fun. We love this place the parties are perfect for our crazy kiddos that have so much energy!!
It was really perfect except that Aaron was a little overwhelmed so he was a little bit fussy, then we figured out that he was just hungry so after he ate some Cheerios, he was in a better mood.
We had some Aaron trivia games and gave out McDonald's Arch Cards to the winners! I think cousin Alex won 2, so she'll be able to get a few Happy Meals with that! It was a lot of fun and I want to thank everyone that was able to make it, you made the day that much more special!!
And Thank you for all the wonderful gifts! We really appreciate everything!!

The Birthday Boy and his brother Jacob!!
Princess Lilly, she had a Blast!!
Tio Damian & Tia Mimi after coming down the slide.
**Battle of The Twins** G & B face-off!!
Silly cousins!!

See ALL the pics: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/yLiN7oHh/1416548/2136493

G's Favorite Pictures...

In honor of our Baby Boy turning 1 this month, I'm putting my hubby's favorite pictures up on the blog.
These 3 pics are G's most favorite pics in the whole world of his little baby boy! They were taken in December 2007 on one of our trips to Stockton to visit G.

Aaron was 6 mos old in these pics, he looks so little and cute.
Sometimes when we start missing daddy too much, I'll pack up the kids and go stay in Stockton for a day or two...just to spend a few extra hours with him! Me & the kids will find stuff to do during the day while G's at work & then get to spend the evening with daddy, which is so great because sometimes me and the kids really start to miss him alot, especially when he's gone for more than 10 days in a row!
We usually stay in Tracy, closer to where G works in Mountain House. This time we were at The Holiday Inn, Aaron looked so comfy & cute on the big bed!
G really loves this pic because he loves how Aaron looks in these little blue pj's. They fit him perfect at the time and he wore them so much that he wore out the toes!

G will usually try to visit us at least once at the hotel while he's on duty so the kids can see him in his uniform and play in the patrol car. Lilly and Jacob never want to get out once they start playing!

And I have an opportunity to get some great pics of the kids with their daddy the deputy that we are so proud of and miss so so much when he's gone!

The "C" word,

I don't even really know where to start. I guess I'll start by saying that I love my mom. And the thought of living my life without her is absolutely devastating to me. Since receiving the news of my mom's cancer I have just been trying to live my life normally day by day. But then I start to think of my daily activities and how they would change if my mom was not here.

How could I even go on without her? How would life go on without her? But I guess God has a plan for us so I can't question too much. It's all in His hands now so all I can do is pray and hope that my mom will still be with us for a long, long time.

It is called Ductal Carcinoma. Those words have forever changed my life. It means my mom has stage 1 cancer that is confined to one of her milk ducts. That's supposed to be good news, but to me it's not much comfort!

She has chosen to have a lumpectomy which is the removal of the lump and some of the surrounding tissue. Her surgery is already scheduled for June 27Th, the day after her birthday and the day after me & Gerardo's 4Th wedding anniversary.

After this she will have to endure 6 weeks of radiation treatment everyday. This is what will make her very tired and sick feeling. But it's supposed to cure her so we'll just have to pray and help her through it with whatever she needs.

My mom is an incredibly strong woman and is the kind of person that never asks for help herself. She will do absolutely everything for everyone else and is so unselfish, I know it's going to be so hard for her to be dependent on us.

As far as me, I'm having such a hard time with this. I have been crying at the drop of a hat, everything makes me so emotional. I don't know when, if ever, things will be better. At this time I can't help but to look at the world around me, this place we call Earth, the beauty of creation, the wonderful thing we call love and the horrible sorrow of loss. How can it all be so beautiful and so ugly all at the same time?

For now I have to keep an open mind and an open heart for my mom's sake. I love her and I know she loves me. I will be strong for her to get her through this so we can be together for many more years.

My attitude right now is that life is a gift given to us by a loving Father, He loves us and let's us live our life, and when or if the time comes that we grow weary He will call us home to rest. So I do not believe that it is that time for my mom. I believe that she will be there to watch Jacob get married, Lilly graduate from high school and Aaron get his drivers license.

Thanks for letting me vent, rant and rave. I really needed that! I need to keep up my fighting spirit!

It might be overwhelming right now, but things will hopefully only go up from here. Please keep my mom in your prayers.

"The day of Prince Aaron" is what Gerardo called it! The day our baby boy turned one year old! This year has gone by so fast and it was so fun seeing my baby boy go through all his learning and growing. I'm so glad that I could be here with him for the entire year and be part of it all and not miss any thing!! Thanks to Daddy for that!!
So the day was pretty much perfect. We started out in the morning with a visit to the Chaffee Zoo, Aaron loves looking at the animals so this was a perfect place to take him! Kimberlyn, Martina, Jacob & Lilly were all there. Gerardo took the day off of work to be with us too! It was really fun. Aaron & Lilly loved the bird show too.
After the zoo we had chili dogs for lunch & a side order of "leaves" (lettuce) for Lilly. Then we heading to Toys R Us for Aaron's bday gift. He chose a small baby pinball machine toy that makes a lot of noise when he bangs on it, he loves it.
In the evening we had some of the Flores family over for a spaghetti dinner. Thanks to Tia Sandra, Tia Yolanda, Grandpa Flores, Delphina & cousins Alexandria, Bianca, Yvette & Michelle for coming over to celebrate the "actual" day with us!!
After dinner we had a "Kung-Fu Panda" decorated cake that was white cake w/ lemon filling, it was delicious! Aaron didn't want to 'eat' any cake, he just played and smeared it around a little bit.
Overall the day was a complete success and so much fun. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON...WE LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See ALL the pics here: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/oB3iYCxH/1416548/2067870