His Name

Hurray!!!

It is fixed! Matthew with 2 t's.

Michael, The Photographer!

Our little photographer and his littlest brother asleep on the couch.

So, So, Precious!

Michael likes to get our camera and take pictures.

I think he's done pretty good.

He seems to have a good idea of what to look for.

I love this one!!! Good job Michael!

Here is Matthew at 5 days old.

Michael took these when he had just eaten and was wide awake!

We really are having so much fun!

Matthew with 1 T or 2 T's

O.k. You all are going to laugh at us because we couldn't decide if we want one t or two t's in the baby's name. I think we decided on 2 t's. Hopefully that is the last time we change it. =)

This is Eric. Suza is with Mathew and left her blog open. So I wanted to jump on here and let you know the "rest of the story." Or rather the story up until this point about Mathew's name.

The truth about Mathew's name is we went back and forth and decided on 1 t. Our midwife sent us a draft of Mathew's birth certificate for review and after much discussion we decided to change his name to the more traditional Matthew with 2 t's. So we called the midwife only to find out that there was some sort of mistake and Mathew's information has already been sent to the state and somewhat finalized. We are told that this should not be a big issue we just need to contact and let them know that how we would like our child's name to appear on his birth certificate. This may sound easy but we have just one problem, neither Azusena nor I am good at following up with this kind of stuff. I have a package of underwear in the closet that are the wrong size and have been there for over two months because neither of us has found the time to return it. Mind you there are many other items in our possession that do not fit us and can be easily returned but never seem to make it of the door of our house and back to the store we bought if from. I say all this to say I am not holding my breath when it comes to changing the spelling of Mathew's name to Matthew. We will keep you posted on what happens.

Eric

No School!!! Yeepee!!

Why is there no school? Because I'm in Love again!!! I fell in love with my fourth son the moment I heard him cry. He is soooo precious, and perfect and... I can't explain it! I love how little he is. I love his tiny little cry. I love how helpless he is. I LOVE his baby's breath!!! I just LOVE him!

Of course it is the normal first week of getting used to getting up at night 2 or 3 times, changing little black and green diapers, putting on little clothes that are too big for him. It's almost like playing with a little doll! Eventually reality will set in but for now I just want to enjoy it as much as I can. So NO SCHOOL!!!

Suz

mother of 5!!!

WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS FINALLY HERE!!

Matthew Grant Verdugo

7lbs 8oz; 21" long

Psalm 103:1

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Psalm 103:2

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

Psalm 139:15

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Psalm 139:16

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

Psalm 139:17

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:18

If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

The 2010 Chili Cookoff!!!

Theme: Circus Characters for the 12 and under. Dress as your parents for the 13 and above.

Cameron and Michael went as Mimes. They even did a short skit. Pretty cute.

Here is Elyse getting her clown face on by her daddy.

Jer went as a motorcycle performer.

This is Michael and this is actually what the boys looked like.

Math!!!

I can't believe I am actually going to tell on myself. Today.... I don't like school. Simple huh?

Have you ever tried teaching "Geometric Construction" to your boys when you don't even remember that there were such words in the English Language? Well I have plain forgotten some of these terms. It seems that lately I am re-learning as we go along. Kind of painful. All it is is making congruent (meaning- the same) lines or angles or both using a straightedge and a compass. Using words like radius, rays, diameter, segments, perpendiculars, xyz, abc etc... So I am constantly having to go back and reread definitions. Crazy!!! So there you have it. Sometimes you ask me how I do it... well today I'm not. I am passing it on to Eric. =) Time for Lunch!!!

And maybe a walk! Fresh Air! Beautiful day, who wants to be inside anyways?

Suz

Staying Home With Our Boys.

While Eric and Elyse got to sleep in a tent and eat roasted marshmallows the size of Texas at Girls' Campout. The boys and I stayed home and slept in our own beds. Gina H. and William and Sammy Dean along with Collin spent the night also. So the boys had a party of their own. We allowed them to stay up late and sleep in the next morning.

On Saturday Michael, William and Collin went to build a fort and ran into a hive of angry yellow jackets! My word, were they angry! So Gina spent the morning trying to get the boys comfortable from all their wounds. Poor Boys. =(

Well we did have a good time. Even days with wasp-stings are not all that bad when there are friends to share them with! =) Literally!

Suz

A Little Girl's Dream.

Elyse's First Girls' Camp-out!

I have to say that she sure looked like she enjoyed herself. She came home and told us all about it. Even about the VERY poisonous spider that she found OUTSIDE the tent. A

Daddy-longlegs!!

She told me over the phone one time that "I can ride my bike with no training wheels!!!"

What an accomplishment in life! Wheew!! Got that over with!!!

Daddy and Elyse.

She also came home telling me we "NEED a Jetskii". How she almost drowned one time but, she still had fun! =)

Making biscuits.

Wish I could of been there. But seeing that I am only about 7 weeks away from having a little baby we decided that I would stay home with our boys.

I was sad to miss one her firsts.

Anniversary Day!

Eric and I had a really nice evening to ourselves on Thursday the 14th. while Clint and Da'nette watched our four children. We ate at Saltgrass and split a Rib Eye Dinner. YUM!!! Afterwards we walked around University Drive and went and got some cute ideas from PotteryBarn (that you can easily make.) Also Eric wanted to see the "New Stuff" at the Apple Store. Technology is so over my head now it is incredible! In the end we ended at Barnes and Nobles and split a Carmel Frapp at the Fivebucks there. I would venture to say that we didn't do just a whole lot but, it was so NIIIIIICCCCEE. MMMMM!!!!!! (sigh)

Just wanted to share with you some pictures of 14 years ago.

October 13, 1996!

I have tasted that the Lord is good and, I have been blessed.

A little Poem

Lately I have been reading out of my Heart Throbs book of poems. This is one of my favorites. Everything stayed the same except the last line. Here it goes... This is for Mothers.

Suz

Mother's Boys

Yes, I know there are stains on my carpet,

The traces of small muddy boots;

And I see your fair tapestry glowing,

All spotless with flowers and fruits.

And I know that my walls are disfigured

with prints of small fingers and hands;

and that your own household most truly

in immaculate purity stands.

And I know that my parlor is littered

with many odd treasures and toys,

While your own is in daintiest order,

unharmed by the presence of boys.

And I know that my room is invaded

Quite boldly all hours of the day;

While you sit in yours unmolested

And dream the soft quiet away.

Yes, I know there are four little bedsides

Where I must stand watchful each night,

While you may go out in your carriage,

and flash in your dresses so bright.

Now, I think I'm a neat little woman;

and I like my house orderly, too.

And I'm fond of all dainty belongings,

Yet I would not change places with you.

No! Keep your fair home with it's order,

Its freedom from bother and noise;

And keep your own fanciful leisure,

But give me my (girl) and my three splendid boys.

Chocolate...

You know what sounds good this morning? Chocolate Cake! Have any of you tried the PW chocolate sheet cake? Yikes!!! I can eat almost the whole thing by myself! So after I go and herd the cattle on my horse and help cut hay and... Well, Ok, we do have 6 chickens and a dog to feed. Does that count as physical labor? It has 2 sticks of butter in the cake and almost 2 sticks of butter in the frosting. It is YUMMMY!!! You should try it. Find the recipe at Thepioneerwoman.com. Did I mention that's my cake!!!

Suz

A day out shopping together.

I am almost 28 weeks!!! All of us are so excited to meet this little person. Will life change a bit? Yes, but I am so looking forward to it.

I am trying to learn new and fast little hairdos for Elyse. She has such beautiful hair, but I am not very good with my fingers. Kind of clumsy-like!!!

I liked the way it turned out this time.

My Blog was hijacked!!!

Ok..Alright..As you can see, my sweetheart, my husband just hijacked my blog!!! In fact he is actually calling it OUR blog. He told me he really enjoys it and now has my password and username so he can post things too. I don't mind, it's fun.

I did loose my train of thought from the last post so I think I will just put up some recent pictures of my kids and what we have been doing.

Just Some Thoughts.

I have had such a nice start with school. No complaining! Michael and Cameron are moving along just fine, and seems like they are catching on to this years' math.( Which is my weakest subject) Jeremy is so adorable reading some longer sentences. Elyse and her short vowel words is coming along also.

What a joy it is when things "click" in their little brains. And they say "I Got It Mamma!" It's days like these that make me realize "I can do it" It really takes so much time and most importantly lots of patience. In fact I have a beautiful, black, wooden sign that says just that. PATIENCE. Sad to say, I sometimes ignore it...um... on purpose. LOL

Seriously, I do enjoy teaching, housework, cooking, yard work, and even laundry. I do have to have somewhat of a schedule. It can't be to stringent thou, it has to be flexible.

......hi, this is Eric, I am sneaking into Suzanna's blog to comment on this latest post. An Editors note sort of speak. Sometimes "Patience" is altogether forsaken. Especially when our kids instantly become "retarded." This happens sometimes although not often. She really enjoys teaching but not on days like I just described. Truth be told, on days like that we just try to make it through........gotta go, I can hear her walking down the hall.

Collin and Stephanie's Wedding

What a handsome couple they are. It was a very beautiful wedding.

Oh yeah, did I mention they are our new neighbors too?!

Jeremy, Andrew H., Michael, Collin C., and Cameron

Handsome Boys!!!

Jeremy and his sweet droopy eyes.

The little sister, but not for long.

First Week of School Year 2010-2011

"Mama, do you have to?" Yes! I want to prove that I make you do school and I don't just sit around taking pictures all the time!!! So here is Michael doing his vocabulary. I am sure it is your favorite subject, right?! Right?!! Michael???

Cameron is doing his Spanish Class. They start off listening to a story in English and as the week progresses more and more words get changed to Spanish. By the end of the week the whole story is in Spanish. Of course they get tested a long the way. I like it.

Jeremy is doing his math class. So cute to watch him learn all the little addition facts. To think that Michael and Cameron at one time where also in the little numbers and are now doing Pre-Algebra!!! Time Flies!!!

Miss Elyse? Well she is drawing our family! Except we all have square heads, no torsos, and hair growing out of the sides of our heads and ears!!! She did get the right number. She even counted Baby. Itty Bitty Baby square head!

Back to School!!!

When May hit this year we couldn't wait for summer vacation to start and to have a more flexible schedule. We had a wonderful summer. We made many trips to the library, to the park with picnics, to the fishing holes, to our friends' pools among many other things. We enjoyed so much having Grandma Ceci and Jessica stay with us for almost 3 weeks. Grandpa Pedro also came and stayed the last week with us. We really had a wonderful time with them. Now that the end of August is here we are looking forward to starting school again. Part of it is knowing we will have more of a schedule again and being more organized. My days are pretty much planned and I don't have to "think" of things to do to keep the kids busy.

Like I said school starts Mon. Aug 23. Michael and Cameron will be starting 6th grade (They have always been in the same grade since K. ) Both Michael and Cameron are doing a program available through the state of Texas called TXVA. It is an online public school. The best part to me is that our boys can be at home and still get an ed. and taxes pay for it! Jeremy who is in 1st grade, and Elyse who is in Kindergarden I use the book called " The Well Trained Mind ". The beginning of school is always exciting for me. There is new material to cover and the kids are enthusiastic about starting.

Anyways, do keep us in your thoughts and prayers as the end of the year gets closer. I am so looking forward to a new little baby. My plan is to let the older boys continue on with school without pausing for too long. They really don't need me as much anymore. With Jeremy and Elyse I plan to stop for a month or maybe longer and get used to a new little Verdugo!!! Hopefully in about 17 weeks!

By the way I have really enjoyed keeping in touch with so many of you through your comments and even thou I am a homeschooling mother I do not have a degree in writing. So don't pay attention to the run on sentences and misspelled words in most of the posts!!! LOL.

Suz

Who do you think is our new addition? Buck, and he's 4 weeks old. Jeremy named the only puppy that Ivanna had after his favorite knife!

He is so cute and already a bag of fleas!!!

It is so funny to see the contrast between the mamma who is white and the puppy that is almost all black.

When he howls for his mamma Buck falls over every time. It is so funny to watch him. So wobbly!

My schoolroom redone!

This is what my schoolroom looked liked without the shelves. Not a bad color, but it needed fresh paint to cover up the marks made by little hands, over the last 2 yrs.

Then Eric decided to add some shelves to my schoolroom and I loved it!!!

So we decided to change the color up a bit. When Eric saw the orange he said "Nuh, uh! The whole room ORANGE?! No way!" So we painted the lower portion a brown that I had in the garage. We both love it!

This is the room where everything happens. Games are played, school gets done, verses are learned, paintings are made, books get read(actually that gets done anywhere in the house).

Along with the kitchen and laundryroom this is a verrry used room.

I am glad to have it.

Jeremy turned 6 years old!

Jeremy could invite 3 friends to his b-day. He asked for Jesse Price, Chistopher M. and Dalla G. They had so much fun playing Playmobile and His castle with knights.

All the boys put a whole container of bubblegum in their mouths!!! Could hardly chew it!
This is our attempt at a dinosaur cake that Jermy (The way Elyse says it) requested.
I think he had a fun B-day. What do you think?

A Day at the park.

The kids really had such a nice day at the park earlier this spring. We took our sandwiches, drinks and snacks with us. The big boys flew their kite and also enjoyed playing on the playground. Me... well I sneezed almost the whole time! Miserable Allergies!!! Good thing I was the one taking pictures!!!

Trying on Mamma's Wedding veil and Necklace.

I never thought when I wore this veil and necklace that one day I would have a precious little girl wearing it almost 14 years later!!! I wish she could try on my wedding dress too, but that was burned in a fire we had of our shed about 8 years ago. She had a lot of fun dressing up.

This year crop of peaches.

We had about 30 peaches this year on our 2 year old peach tree! I think in our over excitement we kept picking them too early. And we also had our cute little furry friends the squirrels to compete with! Not so cute now. It was still one of those blessings we enjoyed very much.

Jeremy and a... Costco Magazine?

What is he looking at??? An Insurance Co. advertisement!!! But Jeremy thought that Costco might sell these because it says COSTCO at the bottom of the magazine. I finally convinced otherwise. But it was so cute to watch him staring at it for a long time, longingly.