Happy Easter!

Hoping you all had a glorious Easter. Ours couldn't have been better under the circumstances.

Both Aubrey and Shay had fevers this morning, so church didn't happen this Easter. And I think Shay is possibly coming down with an ear infection. While we are all at the tail-end of this virus, Shay is not getting any better, in fact he was a bear most of the day today and only broke his (low-grade) fever late this afternoon. I am going to play it by ear tomorrow morning and see how he feels to determine whether we're going to take a trip to the pediatrician or not.

It was a beautiful Easter day. The weather was in the low 80's and we let the kids play outside all day. We figured the fresh air would do them all some good.

Nerds for breakfast! "Now that's what I'm talkin' about, mom!" Shay was so cranky this morning that he screamed at me for taking his bib off while he was eating them. (I figured he didn't need it for the photo since he was only eating candy.) I guess he was afraid I was going to take him away from his "Precious." Shortly after that unhealthy breakfast, he had some Children's Advil to wash 'em down. He was running a temp and had no appetite for breakfast at all, he had a small appetite for Nerd's however.

He was feeling much better later in the afternoon when the kids hunted for eggs. We walked next door and had our egg hunt there where we have that green stuff they call "grass." Shay was really into it until he realized that unlike the eggs at Grandma's, these did not have candy in them.

"Wow, mom, look at all my eggs!"

"Hey mom, open this one for me. I want some candy."

"WHAT-DO-YA-MEAN... NO CANDY IN THEM!"

"Here take your dumb, empty eggs back,

I'M GOING TO GRANDMA'S!!!"

Sammy. It doesn't take much for him to look adorable!

(This was his 'hurry up and take the picture,' pose.)

"Another picture!" He refused to smile or even look this way.

The girls in their new dresses.

I keep telling them that they better stop growing up.

So far, they're not listening.

The egg-hiding mastermind. Robby hid 160 eggs.


Here is Robby scaring his mother to death!
Oh yes, he's in that pine tree. See if you can find him. He's at least 30ft up there, although you can't tell from the picture. I told him if he didn't die from falling out of the tree, I was going to kill him as soon as he got down.


Here's my precious son scaring his mother to death... AGAIN!!!


Now he's taking refuge in the tree because he knows he's gonna get it once he comes down.


All five of the kids and daddy together.

Rare desert beauty, eggs and Grandma's

Living here in the desert is really boring. There's rarely any other color besides brown or tan, unless it's grass or trees that YOU have to plant yourself and then pay an arm-and-a-leg to keep alive. There is a few short weeks, maybe a month's time, where the desert is actually pretty. It is now at the dawn of Spring. There used to be a lot of vacant fields where you would find this, pictured below, more often; but the desert is growing and filling up so fast that even this is a rare sight anymore--at least here in the heart of our town anyway. I took this snapshot on the way to Grandma's house this afternoon.

Before we went to Grandma's, Haley, Aubrey and Sammy colored eggs. Shay was napping which made it a nice, quiet, and not-so-messy occasion. Shay will have plenty of egg-coloring years, I'm not worried about him missing this one. (As a matter of fact, I planned it that way.) Actually all four of the kids and me are getting over a flu bug, so I wanted to keep things quiet this afternoon.

Here's a pic of Grandma and the kids after the Great Egg Hunt. It was such a hot day today. I hope we're all feeling better tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 80's and I'm looking forward to us spending a lot of the day outside.

My Thoughtful (and Honest) Child...

"Mom, I ALWAYS cry on you." [Be still my heart... my precious son...]

"Oh baby, you know you can always cry on mommy, anytime you need to cry"

"Yea, and I always get my drips on you" ("drips" are tears)

"That's okay. I like your drips."

"And I always wipe my nose on you"

"yea..."

Here is my sweet Sammy after he gave me some flowers (weeds) from the backyard. He told me "They don't smell good, they smell yucky."

Happy Birthday to Haley Renee

My oldest daughter is 11 years old today! Haley was born on a sunny Tuesday in Round Rock, Texas. She was a perfect baby and always happy. She has grown into a perfect young lady. Haley has a great personality in that she loves everything girly; but also loves to climb trees, collect bugs, and doesn't mind getting dirty. Last time I checked, she wanted to be a veterinarian, (she LOVES animals!) AND a hairdresser.

My big girl, Haley. Photo taken two days ago.

Aubrey and Haley. Haley put Aubrey's hair up earlier that day and I thought it looked so cute when she took the pony out.

Taken tonight. Notice Shay could not take his eyes off the cake.

Finally, after too many tries, a good pic of all of them.

Haley showing off her gift.

While Haley was opening presents, we didn't realize that Shay was trying to re-light the candles with the lighter. Or was he?....

No, it seems he was just trying to get some of the cake.

Naughty boy, we finally took away the lighter.

Then he decided to eat the candles. I guess we weren't moving fast enough for him.

Party... Room 626 at the Grand Tikal... Be There or Be Square!

Josseline's birthday party was a big hit. Thanks to Shay's wonderful foster family, we had a pinata (that was almost as big as me,) a delicious chocolate cake, and lots of kids which, I think, made it extra special for Josie. She had a smile on her face almost that whole day.

The pink dress that she is wearing was made by Sammy's mom. She had made one each for Haley and Aubrey about five years ago for their birthdays. I brought one for Josie to wear because it is the perfect party dress. She loved it. I know she felt like a princess all day; and I am so happy that I could do that for her.

Friends, Glen and Melanie were in Guatemala picking up their son, Christian. They also attended Josie's party. They all had a great time, that is until Shay bit sweet Christian's finger. (I think Shay thought it was some kind of *love bite* because he wouldn't stop

hugging and kissing him moments earler.)

Melanie, Shay, Lito, Eduardo, Josie, Dianne

I'm Home

I am home and so happy to see Sammy and the kids. I have to admit it was an emotionally exhausting trip. Josseline is still not too happy with the fact that she is getting a new family. She is so young which makes everything very hard for her to understand, besides the fact that her heart is broken in two because her birthmother has made the decision to give her up. (She has said more than once that I am not her mommy. That her mommy is only at work and will be coming back for her.) The four-day visit definitely had it's share of ups and downs, but it was worth going just to show her that I am not giving up on her.

I will post more info later, but I wanted to get some pics up for you all to see.

In less than 24 Hours...

I will be on my way to see our precious daughter in Guatemala City. I heard that she is happy that her new mommy will be coming to see her again. Hearing that meant to so much to me. I can't even begin to imagine the fear and confusion she feels right now; I can only hope that God will give her a sense peace in the midst of all the chaos and instability she has endured in the last few months.

My next post will be with new photos of Josseline and my visit.

For now, here is Shay not doing too much, except looking adorable.

This is almost a nightly occurence at our house, Sammy going to sleep on his daddy. Usually I will let him stay up until Daddy get's home, but that never lasts long.