FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to sign in to MckLinky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

This is my friend Ethel & I back in 1989! I can't remember exactly where we took this picture, but it was at one of those portrait studios. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I wore my hair and makeup like that, but I guess that was the "style" back then. My oldest daughter told me that it looks like I had hair like a witch! Haha! Kids..they're so funny!

And just for fun, here we are, almost 20 years later in 2008!!!

23/52 PICTURES OF ME

I'm participating in a year long challenge, created by Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans. The goal is to be in one picture a week, for 52 weeks. Since us moms are always behind the camera, this gives us a chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. So, click here if you want to join in on the fun!


You'll have to excuse this picture! I tried editing it, to take the flash off my glasses, but with no such luck! These are one of those pictures that I was going to just delete, but then I got creative with the cropping. So, here is my entry for this week!! Me and my little while we were out to dinner with my in-laws the other night. In case you're wondering, she's holding my camera case pretending it was a cell phone...lol!

WORDFUL & WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

All my kids love to make goofy faces. It's funny because my little ones will make the same faces my older ones did when they were their age! I remember one night at Chili's, Eli was around five years old, and he kept making one face after another. It was so hilarious! So, I'm not surprised when Veronica starts to make hers too at these random times! I'm glad I had my camera when we went to dinner with my in-laws! Here are the many "faces" of Veronica!

CONTEMPLATIVE

"I HAVE NO TEETH"
"I'M GONNA GET CHA!"
"OH NO YOU DIDN'T!"

"SEE MY BICEP?"

ROCK Y BALBOA!

Be sure to visit 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday, and 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday.

MEET THE IN-LAWS

My husbands parents came down from Nevada to visit us for a couple of days! The last couple of times it's been just my mother in-law because my father in-law does not care for the drive. I don't blame him though. It takes 4.5 hours just to get here, and maybe more with traffic!

When they were done with VBS, they took my kids to lunch and then to the mall so Danny could pick out his birthday gift. After that, they took them swimming at their hotel for a couple of hours! I totally enjoyed more of a break!

For dinner, we always go to the same restaurant when they're here. In fact, just tonight, my fil said they have been going there for past 40 years!!! Whoa! They do have the best burgers though!!!

Here is my father in-law and Eli getting their salad before the burgers come out!

Is that salad good, Danny?? LOL

Oh yah...the "Steer Burger!"

I love how Eli is smiling at Danny!

Veronica posing while Danny takes a picture of her with his DSi!!

After dinner, we drove to Sweet Retreat for some ice cream. I didn't have any though. I was stuffed from dinner!

Danny & my sis in-law!

I should've got some ice cream!

The kids with Papa & Grandma

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

I am linking up with my friend,Mom's The Word to participate in her Monday meme, "Making Your Home Sing Monday." It's a day when we share what we are doing to bless our families in our home. If you would like to join in, click here.

Last week, my kids had VBS at our church. They were so GLAD to sleep in on Saturday! Well, there is a church much closer to our house that has VBS this week, and YES, my kids are going there too!! They have gone there the last two years, and they always have a great time! With my two older kids gone at Jr. High camp this week, I will have the perfect opportunity to get things done within that three hour window!

Want to know my plan? I decided to declutter a room each day! From living room to the kitchen! I have tons of stuff that I can get rid of! I'm going to be Fly Lady this week!

I'm already receiving new curriculum via UPS for this school year, so this is the perfect time to box the old stuff up! I can't wait to start organizing that area!

And this is how I will make my home sing this week!!

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

On Sundays, I usually post something random. I decided that instead of doing that, I will share a scripture. I pray that it will be a blessing to whoever reads it!

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. -Romans 8:9-10

VBS (Vacation Bible School) IS DONE!

Our church just had their VBS program last week, and although it's only three hours long, I came home so pooped out! The funny thing is, is that my only job was to take pictures! I think it was the waking up at 6:45 every morning that did it! We had to be there an hour before VBS started because my oldest daughter was in the play all week and had rehearsal in the mornings. However, every day, we were later and later! We are totally NOT morning people! Anyway, the highlight for me was putting together a slideshow at the end of the week! I've never used the IMovie application on my MAC, but I was able to figure it out. It was pretty simple! I also put the song "Big House" by Audio Adrenaline in the background.

The best part was that over 40 kids got saved last week! Is that AWESOME or what????

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this week. I'm too burnt out to edit them, but I think you may enjoy them either way!

Lining up outside before they go to class! That's Eli on the far left.

8am rehearsals! That's Miranda with the black top!

Miranda (on the far left) with her friends Britany & Michele.

There were over 100 kids!

Game time!!

Danny & his buddy!

Isaiah & his buddies! LOL

Veronica (far left) and part of her class!

Eli finishing up his "shield of faith" project!

The teens and tweens! LOL! My kids and their friends before we left!

There is a church by our house who is going to have VBS next week! We've gone there too for the last two years and I like it there also! My kids are not sure they want to go since they are TIRED of waking up early, and my two older kids are going Jr. High camp today and won't be back till next Saturday!!! Yay!!!!

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to sign in to MckLinky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

Have you ever heard of Glamour Shots? You know, those places where they do the total makeover on you and take your pictures? When I went to visit my sister in Hawaii back in 1994, she told me that she wanted us to do this. She made the appointment and paid for everything. I remember it not being cheap either! It was so weird how we had to sit to take this picture. I guess it makes sense because we had to be as close as possible. We had to sit on a bench face to face, wrap our arms around each other, and then turn toward the camera to pose. Then they draped that gold looking thing over our shoulders to make it look "glamorous." I think one of my kids asked why we had to sit in garbage bags...LOL! But, I can't believe they got my hair to go that high! Overall, it was a really fun experience to get fixed up, and I'm so glad that I have this picture of my sister and I!! What a fun memory! Oh, and in case you couldn't figure it out, my sister is on the left, and I am on the right.

22/52 PICTURES OF ME

I'm participating in a year long challenge, created by Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans. The goal is to be in one picture a week, for 52 weeks. Since us moms are always behind the camera, this gives us a chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. So, click here if you want to join in on the fun!

Since I didn't originally care for this picture, I decided to crop it to where it looked somewhat decent. My hair was looking through! This was late Friday night and the kids and I took like 20 pictures (trying to get the one "I" liked). They kept making all kinds of weird faces, so although my daughter looks totally annoyed, she really was not. We kept laughing because every picture we took, there was always one of us looking off!! I think all three of us are representing different kinds of emotions! My son looks totally sleepy, my daughter looks annoyed, and I look totally oblivious to them..lol!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, DANNY!

You may be thinking, "Didn't she just have a Happy Birthday post for one of her other kids?" Well, you're right! Four of my kids birthdays are literally back to back, starting in May!

My youngest son, Daniel (or Danny) is turning 7 today!! Oh my..where do I begin? He's 15 months older than Veronica but they seem closer than that in age! It's true when they say girls mature faster! LOL! Here he is around 2 1/2!!


His personality is so complex! He is independent, fearless, soft spoken, strong willed, extremely sensitive, and just so darn C.U.T.E!!! He's one of those kids who can literally entertain himself. Give him one or two of his favorite action figures and he can literally be in his own world (sound effects and all)!! He's not afraid to try new foods (believe me..I was literally shocked when he tried sardines out of a can), and he loves to help me when he can..well almost..lol!

He totally looks up to Eli (my 9 year old) and I noticed that he wants to do whatever he's doing, and go wherever he goes. It's such a blessing to see their bond strengthening as they get older.

He has a smile that can light up a room, and he can hold his own with the "big boys." It's so funny because the high school boys and some of our friends get a total kick playing with Danny. And I'm not talking easy play! He's a rough houser, and he can totally take what he dishes out. LOL, everyone says the same thing about him. They say, "Man, Danny's strong!" So, I think that's why they know they can kick it up a notch with him. Of course, they would never hurt him, but I'm sure there would be other parents that would be freaking out! Plus, he has energy galore and he won't stop even if you want to!

So, to you, Danny, I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday! You always make my heart melt with your gentle smile, and your soft voice. You bless me everyday! I would do anything for you! I love you!

Do you see that sweat rolling down his forehead? LOL, we used to call him "sweaty boy" because he sweat so much from being so active!!

GIFTS & MORE GIFTS!

My sister in-law wasn't able to see Isaiah for his birthday, so she planned to take the kids out to lunch and the movies this past Saturday. Since it's Danny's birthday coming up (on Wednesday), she decided to give him his gift now also.

It was a nice quiet break for me because she took them out for a few hours, and my husband went to shoot some hoops with his friend. They wanted to practice for the 3 on 3 basketball tournament that our church's outreach is having this Saturday.

Anyway, here is my sis in-law with the kids before the boys opened their gifts. Danny already knew what he was getting. He was excited to open it up!

Yay...a Nintendo DSi! He already had a DS, but unfortunately it got stolen! I felt so bad for him, but assured him we would get him a new one for his birthday. Well, in the meantime, he already asked my sister in-law for one, so she ended up getting it for him! Doesn't he look so happy? We're happy for him too!!

And she bought him so games to go along with it!

Look at Isaiah's cheesy grin! He still looks half asleep! Well, I don't know how he could be. She gave him $100 for his birthday!

She took them to lunch at Casa Azteca, and then they went to see Ice Age 3! They had a great time with her!!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

I am linking up with my friend,Mom's The Word to participate in her Monday meme, "Making Your Home Sing Monday." It's a day when we share what we are doing to bless our families in our home. If you would like to join in, click here.

This week is definitely going to be a challenge! Not just for me, but for my kids as well!

Our church starts VBS this week which means no staying up late for my kids since they have to be up early in the morning!

Miranda, my eldest daughter, is going to be in the play that they are having all week, so instead of us being there at 9am, she has to be there at 8 for practice...everyday!

That means, everyone has to be up by 6:30 to take showers (and hopefully eat). Now, if you know my kids, they're barely up at 8am, sometimes 9, so you can imagine how our mornings are going to be!

The way I'm going to make my home sing this week is by making sure that:

1. They get to bed at a decent hour.
2. They already know what they're wearing the next day.
3. They eat a little something before we go.

And Lord willing, we will run like a well oiled machine!!

So, if you get a moment...pray for us!! :)

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

On Sundays, I usually post something random. I decided that instead of doing that, I will share a scripture. I pray that it will be a blessing to whoever reads it!

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.-Romans 5:5

PARTY AFTER PARTY...

Last Saturday was a busy day for us! With three birthdays going on, there was lots to do!

My friends daughter had a tea party for her 8th birthday, so I took the girls over to that in the morning (and we were almost two hours late)!

The birthday girl is in the black & white polka dot dress. Her older sister is good friends with Miranda, and they were helping out with the younger girls. In fact, their little brother is my future son in-law!

They had a teapot coloring contest, and Miss Veronica won! She is the only one who colored the teapot in multicolors! Here she is with her picture and her prize!

The girls were also make necklaces and keychains for their craft! Can you see what Veronica's says? PRINCESS! Why, of course!

Here's my "tween" after eating her cupcake! She approved this picture!

After the party, we went home so the girls can change into park clothes! Our friends son had a birthday party that day too. We originally wanted Isaiah and him to celebrate their b-days together, but the boys didn't want to do that. I guess it only works when their like five years old!

Here's some of the kids taking a break after playing some soccer!

There's my pup Mocha looking at hubby!

Here's a group picture of all the kids!!!

Later in the evening, the guys watched some fight at their friends house. It was perfect since it was Isaiah's birthday, he got to spend it with his friends all day. Sunday, after church, we just hung out, and his other friend spent the night till Wednesday!