Here's my Holy Thursday

Bruce's parents arrive today!  Yeah!  I am trying to get the house straight for our guests.  However, I am getting absolutely NO cooperation from the 2 year old.  


Markie's Holy Thursday to do list:    

Take off clothes as soon as Mommy puts them on
So that I can pull of my diaper and run around the house naked
Climb onto the countertops and dig into medicine cabinet (thank you Jesus for Child-proof lids)
Pull all of the cushions off of sofa
Refuse all food and throw temper tantrum for candy every 20 minutes or so
Bring ALL toys from playroom into living room
Play with DVDs
Bring outdoor toys into the house
Play in the toilet

All for you, my Jesus!!!!!!

Classic Andrew

There is nothing else to say!

St. Joseph Feast Day Celebration - March 19

St. Joseph has been such a support to Bruce and I both as single people and now as a married couple.  He means so much to our family that we have decided to start a family tradition of celebrating St. Joseph's Feast day with a St. Joseph Altar.  Our first celebration was this past St. Joseph day.  We invited a couple of great Catholic Families over for a potluck and enjoyed great food, fellowship, and prayer (we prayed the Litany of St. Joseph together). I made St.Joseph Cream Puffs for the first time!!!  St. Joseph, pray for us!!

Here is our very first St. Joseph Altar (minus the yummy food, of course)

Our Trip to San Antonio aka Can we go to the Rainforest Cafe?

We just returned home from a mini vacation in San Antonio.  Bruce spoke at a conference and the boys and I tagged along. The weather was GORGEOUS!    


We arrived on Wednesday night, settled into the hotel, and took the boys for a walk along the Riverwalk.  Bruce was going over his presentation one more time while the boys and I settled into our one king sized bed (for the four of us).  Little did we know, we were about to embark upon one of the worst nights of our lives.  Andrew was restless so we made a little pallet on the floor for him. I was awoken at 12:30 by a flash of light in my eyes and the sound of someone at the window.  Andrew was pulling at the curtains, trying to get out.  I brought him back in the bed where he proceeded to whack me in the head and hit the head board about 3 times over the next hour.  We finally settle back to sleep when we are awakened at 3:00 by Mark and a coughing fit which ended in him vomiting over himself, Andrew and me.  After changing everyone and cleaning the sheets as best we could, we tried to go back to sleep.  Acutely aware that Bruce had to present at 10:00 the next morning, Bruce and I had trouble getting back to sleep, but we did.  Only to be awoken at 5:00.  Andrew had wet the bed!!  After changing Andrew, we all went back to sleep for about 45 minutes until Mark was up and when Mark is up, everyone is up.  OH!  Well we offered the whole night up and figured that someone really needed prayer.  Actually, during our family prayer the prior night,  we prayed for all of the hotel employees and guests.  Thank you, Jesus

So happy to say that was the worst of the trip.  The boys and I spent an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day at the San Antonio Zoo.  They wouldn't let the birds land on them sooooo.........

It may be hard to see, but the brown monkey is a momma and her baby is just below her to the left.  She was swinging all around with the baby attached.  Quite frankly, she was giving myself and several moms watching quite a scare.
     

Ok, here is where the aka title comes from.  Andrew has this little obsession with The Rainforest Cafe, which is a restaurant that simulates a rainforest complete with robotical animals such as gorillas, elephants, and snakes.  Every so often during dinner, you hear thunder, lightning, and the animals start to move.  We have been twice and he is scared everytime, but is adamant about going.  I made the  mistake of mentioning to him that we could possibly go to the rainforest cafe when in SA and we heard nothing but "Can we go to the Rainforest Cafe?" the entire 3 hour drive there and about every hour until we finally made it to the rainforest cafe.  After returning from the zoo and freshening up, we headed out to the rainforest cafe to check it out.  Andrew would not go in, he was too scared.  We were halfway back to the hotel when he insisted we return, which we did and he refused to enter.  On Friday, he begged all morning to go back and assured me that he would be brave.  WE ATE LUNCH at the rainforest cafe.  I was so proud of him and he was beyond excited.

At the Rainsforest Cafe with the Gorilla (you can't really see him, he is the black spot in the back ground)  It's really dark in there.

Daddy's conference went well.  His presentation went well despite no sleep and he was done by Friday at 3:00. We decided to head down to Corpus Christi to spend Saturday on the beach.  We had a great time.  The boys were so excited and had a great time collecting sea shells and digging in the sand.  What a glorious time spent with family.


Bruce and I were commenting on the way home how we love traveling and getting away, but we equally love coming home.  Praise Jesus for the wonderful family vacation.

I Guess He's Listening

We attended St. Thomas Aquinas' 11:00 mass this morning.  They have this wonderful Children's Liturgy in which they pull the children 3 1/2 - 7 (you can't go once you receive communion) out during the readings and homily and explain it to them on their level.

Andrew attended the children's liturgy this morning.  After mass, I asked him what they talked about.  He replied, "That Jesus wants us to be a fruit".  Now, the gospel reading was about the fig tree that was not bearing fruit and Jesus said to cut it down. In his homily,  Father spoke about how we are all called to bear fruit.

I guess he was listening, although he did appear to miss the whole point. Well, It's a start. He wouldn't have even gotten that had he stayed with us.

My Boys Are Growing

The boys had their 2 year and 4 year well visits on February 11.  (I forgot to blog about it)

• Andrew weighs 44 lbs. and (now that I thin k about it, they didn't give me either of their heights, or I don't remember) .  Anyway, Andrew is in 94th percentile for weight and 99.9, or off the charts for height.

• Mark weighs 26 lbs.  He is in the 30th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height.

They just grow so fast:  Mark is speaking in sentences and getting into all kinds of mischief.  He is truly feeling that "independence" that is the trademark of the "terrible twos".  

The other day, I caught him in the office, standing on the desk.  He looked at me and said, "Mine up here, na na boo boo!"  Thanks Andrew, or rather his friend at the park, who introduced this saying to my boys.    Mark and Andrew run around the kitchen table calling, "na-na, na-na, boo-boo".  Or at least they used to do that until we put a stop to it..

After putting Mark in the swing outside, "I want bubble (buckle)"

He is becoming an independent 2 year old, but thankfully not too independent.

Mommy:  "Mark, please put your jammies in the laundry basket."

Mark:  "NO!" 

Mommy: "You want to chose obedience, don't you?"

Mark:  "OK, Mommy" and puts his jammies in the basket.


Mommy:  "'Mark, I have your lunch, come sit at the table"
Mark:  "OH, tan tu (thank you), Mommy"


Mark:  "Mommy, want win na"
Mommy, talking on the phone with my sister Michelle:  "Mark, I don't know what you want, tell Nannie Shellie"
Mark: "Win na"
Mommy to Nannie Shellie:"What does he want?"
Nannie Shellie: "He wants a wing nut"


Let me just say that I am LOVING 4 years old.  Andrew and I can sit and have great conversations.  He amazes me everyday with the things he is doing and saying.  He has only been 4 for a month and he can write his name, swing by himself, dress himself, and a whole slew of other things.  HE is also a GREAT helper.


Andrew:  "Mommy, Happy Birthday"
Mommy:  My birthday was on Monday.
Andrew:  I know, I'm just pretending it's your birthday.  I am going to decorate with beautiful decorations.  What do you want for your birthday?
Mommy:  How about you draw me a picture.
Andrew:  I am going to draw you a beautiful masterpiece. 
And he did!


He loves the word beautiful and uses it quite often.
"Mommy, look at this sparkly book, isn't it beautiful?"

Going Home!!!!

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  In light of the gospel reading for the day, Bruce wanted to climb a mountain (ha ha)  We settled for Monument Hill is LaGrange, TX. where there was these beautiful cliffs which overlooked a quaint little town.  We had a great time.  About 2/3 of the way through our "hike" we crossed a couple with their grandchildren.  Larry Hernandez began talking to us as if he had known us for years.  Among the many stories he told us in our almost hour long conversation with them was a very touching story about their 16 year old daughter Jamie, whom they had lost to cancer almost a year ago (it will be a year on April 25)


Having spent that last year of her life in hospitals, Jamie became close friends with two other girls who were also dying of cancer:  Emoni and another girl whom I can't remember her name (we'll call her Susie).  Susie and Jamie died before Emoni.  One mother's day of last year, Emoni told her mother, "I'm going home today." To which her mother replied, "No, honey, we are not going home today."  Emoni told her mother that Jamie and Susie were here and they told her they were here to take her home.  Jamie's mother Lupe looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I miss my baby everyday, but I know she is home and not in pain anymore."


Pray for us, Jamie Hernandez!!!