A Puppy Of His Own

For an early birthday present, Fabian got a cute little chocolate lab puppy and has named him "Max". We reached this point where Fabian needed a little incentive to be more consistently responsible and after much thought we determined a puppy might just provide an outlet for him to be more responsible. It worked like a charm. He is the proudest little dog owner and really keeps good watch over his puppy. We're so pleased to see Fabian step closer to that level of responsibility he's so capable of producing on a consistent basis!

See what happens when you have SISTERS!

This is the inevitable outcome when your big sisters grow tired of playing hairdresser with one another! Here's just another one of those day-to-day shots of excitement (and imagination) my lovely children bring into our family. Their daddy wasn't too thrilled with the girly hairstyle Karen and Marissa gave to Luis, but after a little laugh Rick seemed to take it all in stride...followed by a little talk to the girls requesting they never do that again to their little brother. I'm gathering quite a collage of funny pics of Luis for later in life's viewing pleasure at his graduation party and/or wedding reception.

Red creme oreos are the best...

Absolutely the best, according to this little guy!

Luis and his cute little sayings

Luis' vocabulary is expanding amazingly and he talks frequently carrying on little conversations for which I usually have no idea of how to respond since I cannot understand completely what he says. Sometimes he leaves no doubt for what he is communicating. This was a little blurb of our conversation the other day:

MAMA: Luis, What does Santa Claus say?

LUIS: (Responding in a deep voice) HO, HO, HO

MAMA: That's right, my boy!

(Then Luis pointed to me and said, "MAMA says NO, NO, NO" all the while shaking his finger and bobbing his head -- then followed by a big giggle and high-fives from his Daddy.)


So while Santa says HO, HO, HO... let it be known that Luis is paying attention and knows his Mama well with her seemingly constant NO, NO, NO! Very observant little guy!!! For sure!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

As we celebrate this glorious day giving tribute to the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our family celebrated with much joy over the many blessings we have received throughout a year filled with so many amazing outpourings. The children had a wonderful Christmas filled with presents and homemade cookies/treats (which Luis has termed as "yum yums" and he yells persistently for them on a frequent basis). SPOILED you might say... well yes indeed he is, but why not go ahead and spoil him, right? He's just too cute and really is a good little guy in spite of his constant spoiling doled out from his Daddy mostly.

Well the kids sure enjoyed their Christmas and spent the day engaged in playing with their toys, or sometimes sneaking off in the corner to play with one of their siblings' toys.

I hope to post some pictures when I get a chance.

Hoping your family enjoyed your Christmas Day and had as much to be thankful for during this holiday season! Wishing all our friends and family a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year! May your hearts be filled with the love for Christ.

Sometimes I don't really feel like blogging about my very own children, and this is just one of those entries. I want to use this opportunity to send out my congratulations to my cousin and his family who recently added to his family through the adoption of twin boys -- what little cuties they are! I'm so looking forward to our families getting together since we're now only a few hours away.

Most of my friends know how actively involved and excited I get when I learn of another family's desire to adopt... I mean, there's just a kindredship we share with all the poking and prying into our lifestyles as we meander through the home study visits, not to mention the many fingerprinting sessions and oodles of paperwork that never seems to end. I was so comforted to walk through my own adoption journey knowing that God's glory would be served through my act of obedience. I was even more pleased to see another family member walking in faith and obediently answering the call to adopt. Congratulations Cliff and Kelly and family! You radiate God's goodness through your ministry service and commitment to spread God's wishes for ALL families! Keep up the good work!



And as an added note: Congratulations to their son, Stuart, who as a high school senior carrying a 3.9 GPA, just Monday won the recognition as the BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER in 3A FOOTBALL for Arkansas at a Hooten's State Farm award ceremony. (Division 3A has 48 teams so what a wonderful accomplishment!) Way to go, Stuart! Nice work! What an honor!