Matthew turns 1 !!!

The kids and I made paper cutouts of safari animals.

We had so much fun planning his little b-day party.

Even if you are the only kids at a party,

the cupcakes and monkey cookies and decorations make it exciting.

Matthew was the King of this Jungle for the Day =)

Everyone was involved and had such a good time watching him eat his very own cupcake!!!

I love this of Father and Son.

The Playhouse!

We decided to build a playhouse for Elyse mainly, but of course

it's for all the kids to play in.

We used our old deck for the flooring. So far all the walls and rafters are in.

I liked the spot we picked and we should be able to see it from the kitchen.

I can't wait to go to the goodwill and garage sales to find tables and chairs and things!

The front of it will have two little windows and the door.

(That's Chester, in case you were wondering.

They were here in Texas on business. And we had a really great time with them.)

I will try to keep pictures of the playhouse coming.

A School Field Trip

We took a little field trip with some of our kids from k12 to

"The Cheese Shoppe"

in Stephenville and then to the Dr. Pepper plant.

The boys played football while we waited for our turn to tour

the Dr. Pepper plant.

These are some of the girls who went on that day.

None of my kids liked the smell of the aging cheese, but we all loved the taste!

Isn't that funny?

Many, o Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done;

And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order.....

Ps. 40:5

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

Gen. 1:31

I just can't help but think of how much my Lord loves me. If only I wouldn't forget that so often. I have found that He is there to remind me every day, all along the way that He is my Father. I owe Him my life. I was bought with His blood. What better way to show Him my love than to obey Him. Trust Him. Believe Him.

Then the things of earth become dim. I can do all my work through my Lord who gives me the strength every moment.

I am His.

Some of the promised pictures =)

So Precious!!!

Cute little pair!

Jer Bear as he is mostly called by me, lost both his front teeth almost at the same time.

Talk about a lisp!!! I don't remember either of the big boys having one. =)

It's actually cute.

Ready for bed!

He is usually such a happy baby! We are so happy to have him! =)

Robber's Cave Camp

Here we are again. Another year is flying by and Robber's Cave Camp is coming up this weekend! All of us are so excited to be going. It seems that for one reason or another we haven't been since Elyse was a baby. We are so looking forward to it!

School seems to be going very smooth so far. It throws me for a loop when the boys ask for help now a days because they hardly ever do, so it does get easier (at least for me). =) Any ways, Jeremy and Elyse are also doing very well. And all my kiddos are a great help with little Matthew. Matthew is almost 10 mo. Why does time have to go so fast?

Hope to see some of you soon!

Suz

Cutie....

WE are soooo in love with him....

On a VERY HOT day in TEXAS!

Hello to you all.

I definitely have neglected my posts. Things that I enjoy doing have been put on hold lately with school starting and a baby crawling. I am extremely but happily busy. I haven't forgotten any of you and I will have pictures coming up soon. ....wait, I think I said that last time.. =)

Suz

More pictures coming up soon!...

A day at the Playa with Grampa Pedro and Gramma Ceci

What a beautiful sight!!!

I always get hit with the reality of how powerful is the Lord and all His creation. And how insignificant we are and yet He made us for His pleasure!!! I do stand in awe of all the wonderful things He has done for us.

My Hubby!!!

My girl!

The kids having a good time in the waves!

This was the first time that Elyse remembers seeing the ocean.

She was having a blast!!!

Matthew thought the sand was food! =) I promise that I do feed him!

and Michael.

I am still here! ;)

Hello everyone,

Yes I am still here! We have been sick, busy, or traveling. Or all three at the same time! ;) I noticed I haven't put any pictures since the middle of June. So I will try to do this while Matthew is sleeping and Elyse is eating lunch and all my big boys are at their friends' swimming. It's a very hot 102 dregree Saturday here in Texas. Incredibly warm. No rain for weeks! (I am starting to relate to Hank the Cow Dog nowadays!!!) =)

Just got back from a 10 day trip to California. And before that we had been to Oklahoma for the weekend and before that we had been sick with high fevers and headaches. Oh yeah, and before that we had gone on a little trip to Tyler with our kiddos. Now we have about 16 days or so and school starts!! Yikes! This year I also will have a crawling baby, that ought to be interesting. =)

Anyways keep us in your prayers, that I be patient and be the wife and mother that the Lord wants me to be.

Suz

Jeans! Jeans! Jeans!

Of course there is "Our Little Princess" denim too.

I love my new washer and dryer!!!

Eric, Michael 14 slim, Cameron 12 slim, Jeremy 7 slim, Mattew 9mo.

Matthew's jeans look sooo cute on him!

I plan on putting these pics in my laundry room sometime. =)

Remember the Peach tree?

They were sweet but, very very small.

Probably because I didn't water it much this year. =)

A "Mexican" Story...

A couple of weeks ago we were getting our house ready for overnight company... and Jeremy and Elyse were helping me make the boys' beds upstairs. Most of you know Elyse's personality, vibrant, expressive and five. Well, five is how old she is but, that is sort of important in this story. =) Jeremy on the other hand is very reserved (most of the time), quiet, and sometimes pretty giggly. Well here we are making beds, when Elyse says to Jeremy with big round eyes, "Jeremy, Did you know that Nicole's daddy, Martin, is really mexican?" Jeremy answered her with "yesss" So I piped up and said "Did you know that your daddy is also mexican?" Elyse stared at me in disbelief and wide eyes. "He is...!!!?" Then Jeremy said to her. "Elysie, I'm mexican, too." Her eyes got bigger. " You are...!!!?" Jeremy by this time is all giggles and saying, "You're mexican too." Her jaw dropped and her eyes were so wide I was trying not to fall off the bed "I Am...!!!?" "We are all mexican", said Jeremy. Elyse stared in disbelief and amazement and asked, "Are all the Christians mexican's?" And I answered her as best as I could with out falling out of the bed from laughing too hard. "No, but for sure Daddy, Michael, Cameron, Jeremy, you, myself and baby Matthew." It ended with, "I can't wait to tell Marqueal that I'm mexican like her."

Information Post

I am going to make myself learn how to make a slide show on this

blog-a-mo-bobby.

It would be nice if you could see more of our pictures and so hopefully sometime after May Camp I will have learned how to do that.

Can you believe it's been a year since I started this?

Our Little Vacation

One of our many dear friends offered us the use of their van and trailer to use for our little vacation get-away. We ended up going to Tyler State Park here in Texas. Beautiful place! And the best part is that it is only 2 hrs. away from home!!!

The kids had a blast!!! It did pour on us a couple of the days for short periods, in which we were stuck in close quarters but, we didn't seem to mind. We listed to audio tapes, played cards, and games and ate, ate, ate.

They got wet! They fished!

They smiled! They enjoyed the unpredictable weather!

In some cases they reeled in their first fish!!!

I think they loved being outdoors in lovely weather... most of the time.

Pictures of our day at the zoo.

April 2011 Day at the Fort Worth Zoo

Komodo Dragon

Elefante

For those of you who don't understand this is an elephant. =)

At least he thinks it's funny.

Jaguar

I don't know how to say this in spanish. Sorry!

Cameron holding a honey covered stick with bird seeds.

Matthew staring at bird eating seeds. =)

Finishing up this School Year.

We have been so busy lately and it seems that I haven't been on here in forever. We just finished School Testing (TAKS) so now we have about 4 weeks left of school. Hooray!!! I am getting the feverish feeling of summer around the corner and can't wait to take a break here soon! I have to say 6th grade pre-algebra and geometry really had me going in circles and triangles there for a while =)... probably because it is such a strong point in my carreer. =) I almost had to do Lamaze breathing several times just to get through the lessons! =)

We did have a really fun day at the zoo about 2 weeks ago thou. Eric took the day off and we packed a lunch, some water bottles, the stroller,the back packs, and the baby carrier and spent all day at the zoo. We took our time looking at all the exibits and Eric even treated us to rainbow sherbet ice cream!YUM! YUM!

The day ended up being so beautiful!!! The weather started off chilly and as the day progressed it became warmer but it never got hot. There weren't very many kids from schools that day either. I throughly enjoyed it!

Suz

Quote for the week by One Of The Kids!

Lately we've been learning about animals. Elyse pointed this out about Matthew...

" He's NOT an insect... he's a mammal!"

Enough Said

Our 2011 vegetable and strawberry garden =)

I always get confused. Do you plant on the bump or in the channel when you make rows. To say the least we got about half way and had to move the plants to higher ground.

We planted strawberries, tomatillos, tomatoes, jalapenos, serranos, cherry tomatoes, and yellow squash. I hope to add more but, if I don't it's enough to keep the kids busy.

The kids and I had so much fun planting and being resourceful...=) Michael and Cameron made my tomato plant trellises out of our own tree branches. I really liked them.

We have a sidewalk!!!

We have a walkway now and actually there is a flower bed now too.

It has been a lot of fun working on it.

Matthew didn't quite like the feel of that cold cement on his little feet but, that is the price to pay when you have a sentimental mother....=)

Matthew is being so funny!

He was so excited we weren't sure if he was going to cry or laugh!

Changing too fast!!!

This is for you Gramma Ceci!

At your request I have posted more pictures of Matthew.

Matthew is soooo......

Precious.......

Oh, I've said that before! Can't help it thou. Just look at him!