Emma's New Look

Emma has unfortunately inheritated my bad eyesight but boy does she make these specs look cute...they have a little bling bling on the sides that you can't really see in the pictures.

They're here this year!

Well after last summer with not a blue bonnet in sight they are out this year in MASS! Here is a picture Gabe took.

JuJu is 3!

 

Note the cake had BOTH Winnie the Pooh and Scooby Doo! The pretty pink dress is from Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jerimy and Baby Bet Bet! (Double click on the collage and it will show up bigger on your screen)

The new family pet

Well as promised here are pictures of "Timmy" although I suspect "Timmy" is really "Timmietta"

Trip to VA

Julia goin to the mall playland with cousin Bet Bet


Bet Bet signing "Rabbit" once again for Aunt Lara...will she ever go HOME?





JuJu sitting on a goose "A silly goose on a silly goose"


Gotta stick your tongue out to stay on these buckin broncos

Guilt...just how far can it take you?

Some of you know that outside of cats, I am not really a pet lover. Some of you also know that I accidently...and I mean truely accidently was the cause of a certain "Chatter"'s demise...as I accidently "baked" my son's guinea pig in the Texas Heat. Against my better judgement, Gabe is getting another guinea pig. A little girl in his class is getting a horse...and her mother thinks the guinea pig will suffer intense jealousy and might fair better at our house (we can only hope) At least this time we don't have a cat that will be constantly wanting to "play" with the guinea pig. The only other pet in the house is a Japanese fighting fish (aka a Betta Fish) and I don't think it will be much of a threat. Gabe is so excited he has hardly left the house for the past two days waiting for the "birth family" to call that they are bringing over his newly adopted friend. Pictures will follow shortly.

Reading before Bed

In the summer Gabe read to Julia before bed...now during school they both have to be in bed at the same time and Gabe has to do his own reading before going to sleep.

Pictures of Emma

And here is Emma before her haircut.

Pictures of Juju

Pictures of Juju taken this summer, also before her hair cut. But her's wasn't a going back to school hair cut it was a "I got gum stuck in my hair, haircut"

Summer Hair

Every summer Gabe likes to see how long his hair will get without cutting it all summer. This is a picture I just had developed from a roll from last summer probably the day we took him to have his hair cut.

New Car

The Plymouth Grand Voyager died and this is what we are replacing it with :)

My Heritage.com Collage

Feelin kind of hyper

My nose is runny
My blog's not funny
I don't like to play gin, poker, or rummy

My hair is too frizzy
My life is too busy
I don't laugh at people who get in a tizzy

My friends move away
The world is all grey
I don't think I'll write in my blog on this day

I live for youtube
And coffee that's great
I put on a pot every morning by eight

I'm going to bed
I've got rocks in my head
I wish I could sleep but I'm rhyming instead.

Visiting the cousins over Thanksgiving in Iowa. We miss you all! 

Christmas in Mitford-I mean B- Texas

We just got back from spending Christmas in B_ Texas with Ray's folks. B_ is a very small town. Ray's parents live about a block from the local Catholic Church. Christmas Eve Day Father Andrew, the parish priest, blasted Christmas music from speakers out of the church from about 6:30am to 11:00pm or so. We could hear it clearly in Ray's parent's house all day. Emma and I went to midnight mass with most of the family and Emma sang in the childrens choir with 6 of her 8 cousins. As I sat in through Mass I looked at the people in the service and wondered what motivated each of them to come to church so late on Christmas Eve. For some they have probably done it for so many years it is just part of their tradition, some looked very serious and worshipful and some looked antsy and figity. The church was decorated very beautifully and felt cozy. I felt like I was sitting through a scene in one of the Mitford books. About 8 kids did a nativity play before the mass which was very moving. This caused mass to start late so we didn't get home till after 1:00am even though the singing and play began around 11:30pm. Emma fell asleep after singing with the choir and it was like walking with a drunk person when we finally tried to walk home after the mass. The Christmas Choir consisted of about 9 kids ranging from about 9-17. They had been taught by my niece to sing the carols in all different parts... it really was amazing. If in their hearts they were there to praise God I'm sure God was as blessed and pleased with their effort as we were to hear their sweet voices. I got to have my traditional cheese and jalapeno tamales and this year they were absolutely dreamy! I tried a dessert tamale...it wasn't my thing. There were bean and beef tamale but I love the cheese ones so much I didn't even try the others! Thank God they are a once a year tradition because I'm sure these had enough lard to take a year off my heart. I got to spend some time looking at old pictures with Ray's mom. It was fun to hear her stories about growing up in Monterrey, Mexico. Gabe, Emma and Julia had lots of fun with their cousins. I was so excited to see Ray's sisters new house. They are painting and will move in shortly I can't wait to see it all finished. All in all we had a great visit and a lovely family Christmas.

Julia in some of her new Christmas getups!  

Emma's new haircut! 

This is the picture we ended up using. Not as good of Ray and I but better of Emma. 

This was our second choice Christmas card picture. Actually it was my 1st choice, but you couldn't see Emma as well. 

I'm getting old....or bored

Today I found myself doing something I've never done before...reading the obituaries from the town I grew up in! Granted the father of my best friend from high school suddenly passed away this week and I started by reading his....but then I went through all the obituraries posted in the last year for this one funeral home to see if I recognized anyone!...Now back to www.youtube.com not so depressing and doesn't make me feel old just nostalgic....Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Guns and Roses, Poison, Chris de Burgh (Lady in Red), Air Supply, Foreigner...I'm back in high school instantly...did we really think that music was good? And the hair...OH MY

What the Hell!

Hell seems to be coming up on a regular basis on my blog...you know of my postings in the past month it has been the topic 50% of the time!....something else to make you say hmmmmm.

On Hold in Hell

I am on hold with a psychiatrists office and the song on the other end says....

"Your in Hell
Keep right on walking and you might get out before the devil even knows you are there"

Thank God I'm not paranoid or delusional!

Lyrics to my new favorite song totally catchy!

Newsboys - Breakfast

Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We’ve gathered here to sprinkle ashes
From our late friend’s cereal bowl.
Breakfast Clubbers, say the motto
That he taught us to repeat:“You will lose
it in your gym class if you wait til noon to eat”.
Back when the Chess Club, said our eggs were soft
Every Monday he’d say grace and hold our juice aloft
Oh, none of us knew his checkout time would come so soon
But before his brain stopped waving, he composed this tune:

WHEN THE TOAST IS BURNEDAND ALL THE MILK
HAS TURNED AND CAPTAIN CRUNCH IS WAVING FAREWELL
WHENTHE BIG ONE FINDS YOU MAY THIS SONG REMIND YOU
THAT THEY DON’T SERVE BREAFAST IN HELL

Breakfast clubbers, drop the hankies
Though to some our friend was odd, that day he bought those pine pyjamas
His check was good with God
Those here without the lord,
How do you cope?
For this morning we don’t mourn
Like those who have no hope
Oh rise up, Fruit Loop lovers-Sing
out sweet and low
With spoons held high
We bid our brother “Cheerio!"

WHEN THE TOAST IS BURNED AND ALL THE MILK HAS TURNED AND CAPTAIN CRUNCH IS WAVING FAREWELL
WHEN THE BIG ONE FINDS YOU MAY THIS SONG REMIND YOU
THAT THEY DON’T SERVE BREAFAST IN HELL

Just let it go!

I think our fore fathers had it wrong...we haven't been endowed with the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....it should be life, liberty and the pursuit of holiness...Big difference! I know I know...I just need to let this thing go....Tonight I'll be helping Emma make the Pharoh Hatsepshut out of a two liter bottle...I'm sure that will lend itself to a future blog. In the meantime...ONE MORE TIME let me hear you say...."We hold these truths to be self evident................." Come on you can do it!

Homework

I am stressed out to the MAX and here is just one tiny tiny reason why....Gabe and thereby I have to memorize the following...What they heck were our forefathers thinking? Why couldn't they just have said the following (see my edited version below)

We hold these truths to be self-evident:- That all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Its obvious that all people are equal, that God gave us rights like life, liberty, and persuing happiness. That to make sure we are given these rights, governments are formed by the people and for the people with these rights. And when any form of government messes with these rights, it is the right of the people to change or get rid of it, and form a new government based on and organized for their safety and happiness.


Now honestly what would you rather memorize?

ARRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

The last of my dream vacation

Still More Casa Luna

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER!

And More Casa Luna

More Casa Luna

Plannin my next vacation

I don't remember how I came across the B&B in San Miguel de Allende Mexico, but revolution or no revolution I am going to go there in the next five years. Check out these BEAUTIFUL rooms! Go to their website at www.casaluna.com and let me know how many rooms to reserve...if you want to go with me!

Our prissy princess 

Juju ready for Fall Festival 

Hallucination Movie

Just follow the instructions at the start of the movie. Full screen is better but try to get it as big as possible. Look away at the end when it says look away. This lasts 1 minute and 39 seconds...don't get bored stare for the full time...make sure you are not doing any heavy lifting or driving for at least 15 minutes afterwards!