Family Time

Well...Michael was able to come home for a couple of days to be  with us at the 4H Gold Star banquet.  (Read more about that at my 4H blog....so proud of Sean and Henry!)

Since he was home, I thought we would have a little family time, especially after the last time he was home and worked so hard.  We did do a few little items...mainly packed a few boxes...but for the most part it was about being together.

Well, Brendan decided to start this together time a little early!  Sunday morning after Mass...he headed out to the van but did not get into his car seat.  He stood (leaning) on the van door just out of sight of Henry who opened the van door!  Brendan went flying out of the van...as he says...he hit several times before he landed on the pavement!...he said he tried to catch something to stop the fall but it was too fast!  SO...we ended up in the ER for a couple of hours.

Thankfully, a couple from church (Larry and Doris) were kind enough to watch the other children through it all.  I will tell you...once Michael and Amanda are sleeping...do NOT count on them waking up for an emergency....Lord, help us if we ever had a fire in the house at night!..I think they would die in blissful sleep!  LOL!

As head injuries tend to be bloody...this one was no different, but the bleeding stopped for the most part after about thirty minutes.  I asked if I could just clean up the spot on his head but was told the doctor would need to see it first.  Our little self-proclaimed genius enjoyed his mommy time...we said our ABC's and 123's...he sang the monkeys on the bed song...he chattered away with his head on my lap.  He had no one to take me away from him...even Zaira was being cared for by the others.

Then the nurse came in and said she would clean up the wound...the doctor would be in shortly.  I knew right away by her expression that the injury was not that bad...I think if she was surprised also...let's just say...Brendan has a hard head but likes to bleed!  The hole was not bigger than a pin head!  They made me 'feel' better by adding some antibiotic cream to the spot...one expensive tube of cream!  The doctor came in...looked at it and turned around...we were gone thirty minutes later...paper work took longer than the nurse and doctor combined!

We made our way home...about that time everyone was waking up and hearing my many messages to call...scared my mom to death because Michael and Amanda were calling asking her if she had heard from us....I had left my phone at home so was using the phone Doris had to call.

Thankfully, we had nothing to do and all sat down to a quick chili dinner and then a movie.  After putting the children to bed (so much easier with two of us!), we prepped an area that needed some attention so we could complete the task the next morning.

Monday, we finished our work quickly...then headed into town.  We had finally decided it was time to deliver the quilts we made for the families in Newtown.  We had been told to wit until the fall to give the families a chance to decide if they would want the quilts that were made in memory of their child.  Since fall is technically upon us and we are moving...we decided this was a good time to make the delivery.

We arrived and I went in ahead to tell the director our story. She was thrilled but decided that it was not good to just give the quilts...she wanted our family to give a presentation to tell about the project and the children.  She thought it would help the women appreciate their children.  We all agreed that we could do that and a date was set for later in October.  We then left to make it to the banquet.  Not long after we were on our way, I got a phone call from the director asking if we would consider having a news story written in our local paper and also a local magazine for women.  I was shocked!  I told her we never expected to be recognized for this effort...we wanted to do it to help the families.  She insisted that it would help the community to hear these stories.  SO...we agreed to have an article written if the focus was on the children and the quilts...not our family.  It goes right along with the idea that we want to share the lives these children shared with the world.  Their lives will not be forgotten...so very exciting to be at this scale of a story...the children are a little nervous but I think it will be good for them also.

Then...this morning we woke everyone up early to take a trip to our favorite butterfly bench!  In spite of the fact that we have taken many pictures of Zaira and the other children at this bench over the last year...Michael and I have never had a picture taken there...and no family picture.  So we took several shots and had some fun with Zaira in her matching dress that coordinated with her large doll (Rose).  Then we had to send Michael on his way back to San Antonio!

A fun two days...mostly I think it made us remember why we need to make this move to San Antonio.  It is still hard to believe...we love this place so much.  I continue to need the reminders of what is to come...God is good and already has it figured out...I just need to trust in His plan and help the children with the transition.

Also...I would just like to ask anyone who reads this post...please pray for two of my dear friends...one from when I was growing up...Tina just lost her dear niece (Chelsey) in a traffic accident...she was only 18 years old and recent graduate from high school...she will be terribly missed.  Then we learned today that our dear friend Pat has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer...she is a fighter and we know she has many to support her but prayer is always helpful...we will be storming heaven for her recovery and for strength for all involved.  Thanks to all who take a moment to pray for them!

Steam-punk in Wonderland

It was gloomy morning but no rain as we woke up this morning.  This made for a great way to sleep in and gain that extra rest before the big event.  The children were all awake by mid morning, which was a nice way to spend some quiet time for me.  It was also a good thing because we had no water!  That's right!

Water...water....everywhere but not a drop to drink...or wash clothes (Thankfully, I woke up early and started the load needed for the day!)...or take a bath!  The water supply company is drilling a new well down the road from us and decided to turn our water off without telling us!  So...the water finally was back and the children awake...and the excitement was building!

We were out the door by 1pm and off to watch the other teams perform and cook for the judges.  One group in particular was a hoot to watch...the Paleo group from our favorite pregnancy help center!  So we were there extra early!

Thankfully, it was a cool day so we were able to enjoy watching all the rounds before us.  Paleo Puppies did awesome...made third place in their heat.  We were surprised to see a crazy group of ladies in the second heat with rainbow Afro wigs and dancing to 70's music with hula hoops!  They also brought in the children in the audience to have a hula hoop contest!  They ended up winning the showmanship award!

We are convinced the judges were scared of the Steam-punk style...one of the judges even said he was afraid of walking to our sweet Cheshire cat because she "freaked him out!"  LOL!  Oh well...the children had a lot of fun and made some awesome tea cake hushpuppies with a icing filling!  We had an idea for a coating at the last minute that we planned to try at the contest BUT I forgot to bring the shaker with the coating with me!  I was disappointed in myself but the children were OK with the results.  So proud of them...they got third place in their heat and were within 15 points of making it to the final heat!

We were late to our booth for the evening shift so we had to leave before the final results.  I hope to find out from the newspaper tomorrow.  There were some very good recipes made....it seems the judges preferred spicy puppies this year over sweet.  The audience did seem to like our recipe, so all was good to us!

The booth was much busier tonight.  We added about 100 pine cones to our quilt today!  Amanda was especially instrumental in getting the children who visited the booth to add their print.  This quilt is going to be AMAZING!!!!  I look forward to seeing the finished project!

Brendan was so tired...he fell asleep in the rocking chair set up for Timber (museum mascot).  He was so cute!  Perfect pose for our little sleepy dormouse!  Zaira (our little Alice) also fell asleep in my arms!  She looked as if she was dreaming about her own wonderland adventure!

The children also had an extra thrill as they stayed in their costumes for the rest of the evening.  Many people asked to take their pictures taken with them or just of the children by themselves.  Others asked where they got their costumes.

We enjoyed our festival dinner a night later than planned...but who can resist a yummy dish of nachos....fried veggie plate....and corn dogs!  Yummy!  Well...at least once a year!

We are all exhausted but hyped up from the overall experience.  We learned from the experience....funny...even though this will likely be our last chance at this contest...they are already talking about ideas for next year.  I do not see it happening (at the end of contest day I never do), they might just convince us to make the trip back to the festival contest next year!  I am just so glad they will have these memories of our wonderland adventure!

Festival Cancelled

TONIGHT

Heavy
Rain

Low: 70 °F

This is what we saw  for our forecast for the night and Mother Nature had no problem making this happen around our loop.  There was flash flooding throughout the area and under the bridges around the loop by the festival site....so we opted to stay home...arrived home in time to to read the news that the festival was cancelled.

This was a bonus for us as we had time to work on finishing touches for costumes and gather all our supplies for the big day tomorrow.  We also had a quiet night and sent the boys to bed.  Hoping we can all have a leisurely morning tomorrow before dressing up and head to the festival.  Of course all this will depend on the weather tomorrow.  

Oh...we did have our monthly trip to the VA clinic to serve sandwiches to the veterans.  As always we had a great time...listened to stories and put a smile on faces as we showed our appreciation.  Zaira was given a huge bear from one of the ladies in the office where we prepare sandwiches.  She toted it around with her all morning.  She also met a lady who Zaira grabbed by the hand and prepared to lead her out of the clinic.  This surprised us all..I told her she must be a special lady.  We tried to take a picture but Zaira's movement made a blur on the screen as she continued to make her escape!

We then worked on our hush puppy recipe... really have it down and making perfect even balls every time.  Have I mentioned that I am excited about our hush puppy recipe!?!  

The big reveal tomorrow evening!  

Sorry the flow of the blog is a little backwards!  Going to bed now!

Forest Festival Day 2 Cut Short

Headed out to the festival for our second day of fun but the rain came down and people did not show up!  Thursday is a slow day at the festival any way so we decided to head home after a couple of hours.

The boys did manage to make a stop at the Lumberjack show before leaving and we got a picture of the children (minus Zaira who was on my back) at the big blow up Lumberjack.

Since we did not stay long, we were able to come home and work on our hushpuppy recipe.  We made our amazing secret recipe (to be revealed Saturday evening) this morning and it failed!  We are in a panic here because we think it is because of the increased humidity!  So we will work into the night to get it right again.  We cannot wait to show you what the children have been doing but it will need to wait until Saturday.  Sorry not a lot of pictures today but we will make up for it on Saturday!

Festival Pictures Day 1

This will likely be our last adventure at the Forest Festival...we have volunteered for the last ten years in some capacity at this festival and have a blast every year.  I hope the children enjoy the experience once again.  We are out at the children's arena if anyone wants to come out and see us in the next three days.  Here are some of the thrills of the first night:

Our little Lunberjack!

Even the "big' boys could not resist these little riding wheels!

The wood turners are always amazing to watch

Amanda and Katy helping out at the booth

Zaira had the privilege of placing the first pine cone on our quilt.
Come out and help us fill our tree!

Timber made a visit to our booth last night!

Sean watched the gun fight comedy show

The show Amanda could not resist...here is the baby alligator!

I think the audience needs to watch out for this guy!

Running Around Like....

...a chicken with its head cut off!  That is how I feel!  What a two weeks we have had around our "neck" of the woods!

Well...all I can say is you never know how quickly things will change.  Michael and I had a plan to wait to move when the house here sold.  Then two weeks ago, Michael and I started looking at building a new home.  We were going to take this time to look at different neighborhoods near his work...this would help us make the final decision for the new home quickly once the house was under contract.  Our thought was...less time thinking about options when we were busy packing.

If you read my last post, you might recall that I came home from San Antonio to a round of drama...I could have stayed at my mom's for an additional week, but opted out and came back.  The idea was that Michael would come home for four day weekend and help complete projects that I could not do alone.  I still think that was the right choice, BUT...

On Wednesday of that week, Michael and I were looking at neighborhoods and I noticed an interesting property.  Michael and I reviewed the listing several times and he decided to have a closer look.  However, in his curious mindset, he also decided to call our bank to ask about us taking out a second loan.  The bank agreed to pre-approve us for a second loan as he was walking through the house with our realtor!

Let me just say that Michael is not the photographer in the group...and yet he took over 80 pictures of the rooms in the house!  He was excited and wanted me to come to San Antonio.  I told him that after looking at all his pictures, I had seen enough to know the house was right for us.  I did not need to see it person.  If he wanted to make this leap of faith, then I was willing to go with him!  However, that night I went to our bank website to look into our options.  That is when I saw a builder incentive plan for a local builder, so I told Michael we should hold off and I would be on my way in the morning.

The highlight of the house for Zaira...the play area under the stairs!

I left Amanda with the younger boys...took Sean and Zaira...and was in San Antonio as Michael was getting off work.  We drove to a subdivision with their model homes.  Although the house was OK, there was no room to breathe in between houses...the houses were so close together!  We were fortunate that our realtor joined us and offered to take us back to the house we had originally been drawn to view.  He never told us that we should not buy the new home but after we reviewed the original house, and we both agreed we should make an offer, Bobby let out a breath of air and said he was glad we choice the best house.  (And for those who are a little leery of realtors..the houses were priced the same...so not a factor.)

Michael and I made an offer and signed a contract the next day.  Then I raced back home to try to beat the rush hour traffic and not drive in the dark.  Michael was delayed because of work and that rush hour traffic so he was about 3 hours behind me.

There was a big Pro-life celebration in College Station (Home of 40 Days for Life) on Saturday.  I had really hoped to be there to celebrate the closing of our clinic (along with others!), but I knew I could not make another trip or stay the night.  SO...I called a good friend of mine to tell her the circumstances and to ask her to give everyone a big hug from me.  She told me they were all going to be at daily Mass that just happened to coincide with my arrival to town.  I chose to stop...worship with everyone...praising God for the joyous news...and visit with everyone afterwards.

Still two hours ahead of Michael, we continued on the road to home.  I was able to make it just in time to pray with the children before sending them to bed.  Then I sat down and made the list of honey-do's for Michael.  Here is what I hoped we could accomplish over the weekend:

Fix sink in upstairs bathroom
Replace faucet in downstairs powder room
Create fence at entry driveway
Clear the area around the pond
Fix the flowerbed by the pond
Add remaining skirting to the porch
Fix towel rod in downstairs powder room--I completed this later
Fix hole in bedroom and paint wall
Paint door frames throughout house--NOPE...another time perhaps!
Fix lock on kitchen door
Clean up and pack his part of the garage (AKA the tool benches)--This did not happen!

Long list...right?  Most of the work should not have taken a long time and we had almost everything within our finger tips...only a quick trip to our local home improvement store for about $25 worth of items, and we were ready to get the job done!

EXCEPT...dear Michael was confused about why we were doing all this work...ESPECIALLY the fence at the entry.  He fought me on this all day Saturday...it only took digging three 2-foot holes to complete this task but he did not understand the importance of this project.  My thought was that it would distinguish our property as you drive down the road...our drive way is missed all the time...it is hard to turn around on our road.  By placing a white picket fence with our address numbers, we stood out just enough to be noticed.  Not to mention it gave a nice hiding place for our trash can when not in use.  After much discussion, the job was done...he did work on other projects while he balked...and it was AWESOME!!!!

The other project that just did not seem to be completed was the sink in the upstairs bathroom...it was such a pain to get the plumbing to not leak....Michael has done similar jobs without any problem but this sink did not want to be fixed!  Finally, on Monday night, he got it done!  YAY!!!

The last job completed was painting the wall in the upstairs bedroom.  Michael had fixed the door knob size hole in the wall earlier in the day, but other items took priority over painting.  It might not seem like a big deal to paint but there is an issue that I just could not get over...the molding and built in desk in this particular room are a bright bold blue and I could not see any paint job helping to subdue this color.  The thought of painting trim and desk had no appeal...SO we put off painting this room...for the last SEVEN years!  And it looked bad...the paint work done in the house before we moved in was all flat paint so this room (the only room in the house) still had the flat paint.  It was dirty and boring, especially next to that bold blue.  Thankfully, Henry likes to paint and he offered to help Michael.  They decided to just paint the wall with the patch...it happened to be the biggest of the walls because there was not a window or door to break up the surface area.  They choice a tan (we already had in the garage) and make it an accent wall.  It turned out FABULOUS!!!!  The tan really helped the blue and just freshened up the entire room.  I am so glad we got that done!

Notice Hank joined them in this project...and several others!

Flower bed now intact!

Michael...I am sure...was just glad to get it ALL done and headed back to San Antonio to sleep (he started working night shift that day!).  But I don't think he will need to come back and do any more projects, so he should be proud of his hard work.

On top of all the projects Michael was working to complete, we also had two outside sources coming onto the property.  Bright and early Saturday morning...the young man came out to repair our broken window.  We have worked with this family business since we moved here ten years ago.  I sure wish we could take them with us to San Antonio!  They always do a great job!  SO...if you ever need a recommendation for home improvement work...let me know and I will share their name.

Then Sunday afternoon, we had a man come and assess our trees.  We had hoped to just take out a few of the troubled trees and a few additional ones to make it worth his time.  However, he said he would have to take out all our mature pines to come out...so we opted to hold off on that project.  Maybe if we still have the property next spring.

One project that was bugging me was the powder room downstairs.  It is a small issue but would have required re-painting the room and I had no desire.  So I got creative.  The towel holder had come off the wall because it was not originally placed on a stud, so Michael repaired it a few months back...he placed it at a stud but that left the original holes exposed.  It bugged me because the room is so small it was the first thing I saw every time I went in the bathroom.  SO...I created a little frame with stained wood and placed the towel holder back on the wall in the center of the frame.  I think it turned out nice and matches the decor in the room.

After Michael left, the last week has been a flurry of running and making phone calls.  We have already had inspections on the new house and made arrangements with our bank to have appraisals and surveys complete.  We seem to now be on the fast track to moving.

I just ask that anyone who reads to say a special prayer for the house here to sell.  It is going to be a lean until this one sells.  We are taking a huge leap of faith but I know that God has us covered.  I feel better about the move now that I know where we are going.  We have already picked out churches and parks to discover.  We have found the closest library and other activities for the family.  Michael is already looking forward to the shorter commute and having us with him.  It will be good!

On the River Walk

I went to pick up the boys last weekend.  We enjoyed a leisurely weekend with my mom.  We looked around at more homes in the area, and then surprised the children with an overnight stay near the River Walk.

After looking at several model homes in the area (We thought we should at least see if a new home was a good option for us.)  Amanda and Katy were dropped off at Six Flags to use the tickets they had purchased earlier in the month.  They had a great time together and it was not busy so they had time to ride many of the rides.  I think it was a good bonding time for their friendship.

We stayed in a hotel CLOSE to the River Walk....not the ideal but good enough for this trip to be special.  We were able to walk to the sites without too much trouble...although we did have to walk a little further than the three blocks that the hotel boasted which caused some frustration and fussing.  We survived the ordeal...maybe we need to exercise more in the future...LOL!  And, I promised the children we would come back during the cooler months so it would be more appealing to take a leisurely walk through the area.

We  opted to start the River Walk experience with the boat ride to hear the history of the area.  The children really enjoyed this experience.  It was nice to be reminded of how special this place was in my own memories.  I really do love San Antonio!  I look forward to living near all these great places with our children.

We have been praying a special novena to St. Joseph to ask for his intercession in the selling of our house.  While we were taking our tour around the River, we were reminded of the St. Joseph church downtown.  We decided to try to go inside to pray our prayers for the night.  Unfortunately, the doors were locked, so we stood in front of this historic church and were a great witness to family prayer.  Too bad we missed the fest they had for Labor Day at the church...we saw the remains they were cleaning up as we left the area.  (NOTE:  St. Joseph is the patron saint for laborers!)

The next morning, we walked to the Alamo with the crew.  Most of the boys were either too young or not born the last time we made this trip; furthermore, Katy had never been to the Alamo.  So, thankfully we had our own private tour guide!  Michael did a great job of sharing his knowledge of the battle...the events leading up to the fight and beyond...He did so well explaining that we had other visitors join us!  We had a great time, but we were limited since we needed to head back home.

Just as we were walking out of the Alamo, I noticed there were A LOT of moms with babies gathering in the area.  Then I noticed signs in their hands...we were in the middle of a sit-in!  I asked one of the ladies what they were doing and I was told it was a Pro-birth rally.  She looked at me and said...you are dressed in blue...you would fit right in with the group.  I told her I wore blue almost all the time now, but I happened to have my Pro-life shirts in the car...you have to be prepared at all times!   LOL!  However, we really did need to leave so I wished her well and we headed back to the hotel to check out.

BUT...we had one more stop to make in what I now will think back on as our St. Joseph tour of San Antonio...

We made a quick stop at San Jose mission to complete our nine days of prayer begging St. Joseph to intercede for us before God...our Lord and Savior...in the selling of our house...the buying of a new one..the success of Michael's new job...my sanity (the children add that one each time!)...and the patience for all of us as we wait for this to transpire.  May God hear our prayers!!!  AMEN!!!!

It was a lovely time at San Jose...especially since our last trip here happened to be just the day before it would be re-opened after a major renovation.  I was so excited to see the inside of the little church as it would have been in its glory days.  It truly was beautiful!  A fitting place for our last day of prayer together.  I know you do not have to be in a beautiful place to pray but it sure does set a mood that my unimaginative mind needs and it helped the children to  be more focused as well.

We then drove back to my mom and gathered our things and the dog so we could head back home.  Many things still to do and packing to start.  Mainly, we needed to get Amanda and Katy back for jobs and 'boyfriend.'  I considered letting the girls take Michael's car and go back alone and spend another week with my mom, but at the last minute decided we really needed to get back.  I will say that God must have been nudging me in this direction because had I known the drama that would follow upon our return, I am not sure I would have gone home.  However, God knows better than I and going home was the right choice.  There were issues that I can not discuss on this blog but needed to be taken care of with my assistance.  God is good and I know He helped us through these issues.  One thing I have learned over the years...life does not stop because of a move...drama comes in all forms...what is a small matter in our minds might be HUGE to another.  I am so glad gave me that wisdom in the days (really hours) after our return from San Antonio.

I now look forward to having Michael back at the house here in just a couple of days.  He is coming to help me complete some cosmetic items that I hope will cost us a little but have a big impact.  I hope to blog about those next week.