Halloween Parade

This is my preK class!


A brief glimpse of Batman's real identity!


Check out those muscles!


Is that the man in the yellow hat?



The three amigos!

Adventurous Kids

Our family, too, has taken on the challenge of raising adventurous kids after hearing Mike Young's speech last Friday.....see www.noblewarriors.org if you have no idea what I'm talking about. So it started the next day...I had gone right out and bought a box of nails to teach the kids how to hammer. There is this great craft using nails and a mailing tube to make a rain stick. The nails go in very well and don't get all bent up because they aren't hammered straight. The kids loved it and only hit their thumbs a couple of times...and not enough to cry! The project is not finished, but when they feel like it, they go and hammer a few more nails into the tube.
The next adventure was getting the chimney cleaned out so we could have a real fire. It needed some caulking repairs, which Juan Pablo took on himself. He bought a ladder and climbed up onto the roof, which of course, Joaquin also wanted to do. Notice there are no pictures. I did hear the pitter patter of little feet on the roof, but I did NOT want to see it. Joaquin thoroughly enjoyed himself, and Isabela was quite upset that it happened while she was at school...so another roof outing is planned for the weekend.
Then, tonight, before he left for work, Juan Pablo built us a fire, suggesting we could roast marshmallows. I was reluctant because he wouldn't be here, and "what if the house caught on fire?" was in the back of my mind. But I gave in, and the kids had fun searching the woods for the perfect sticks and then roasting. I even added several logs to the fire as it started to die down. And the house is still standing!

I'm really excited to find out what other adventures God has planned for us. It is definitely hard to let go, and trust no one will get hurt, but also worth every effort.

car singing... to mass choir

I've always loved to sing...my favorite place is in the car. Then there's karaoke night on Christmas Eve. I'm not really a shower singer. Yes, I know I can't really carry a tune...but when our church asked for any volunteers to sing in a special 150 person mass choir (no talent required!) I signed right up, both Isabela and I. On the first practice night, we were ten minutes late, so I sat us down as inconspicuously as possible...which turned out to be with the sopranos! Well, I don't know what I am...and I certainly wasn't going to take a test to find out! So the practices were fun, and thank God I'd taken piano lessons and could read music...it's not really like learning Mary Had a Little Lamb...I mean, they skipped from the middle to the back to the front and anywhere in between twelve sheets of music.
So the big performance was yesterday. We got to do one run through before the 9:30 service, and Isabela and I got the premium spots on the end of the risers...not too hot amid all the bright lights...and more importantly, no microphone nearby. The big band played with us, so you really couldn't even hear your own voice...which, for better or for worse, made me sing louder...I did notice someone different was standing next to me the second time around. I wasn't sure what that meant.
Joaquin also performed yesterday in the Jr. Kid's Choir. He brought his trusted "other one" bear, who was balanced on top of his head for the first few stanzas. But, then he got serious, and he really sang beautifully!
There really is no talent required to be a musical family...we just need to get Juan Pablo up there next! Have you heard him sing?

Mom, I screamed too.

I remember my mom asking me occasionally..."Do you remember when you were a baby and I screamed at you?" Of course, I didn't, and she went on to say how awful she had screamed and how sorry she was and she wished it had never happened. Well, Joaquin and I had one of those nights tonight. It just seemed like it would never end, too. I just couldn't get him to listen or do one thing I asked him ALL day, and I had had enough. I ended up screaming at him...loud...he even said I hurt his ears...and we were both crying. I had put my foot down and he had too, and he can almost always outlast me. After our screaming match, we ended up both saying we were sorry and hugging and apologizing and I watched him drift off to a peaceful sleep that I had thought would never come. But how I wished the day could be redone. How I wished it had never happened. How I wished I had kept my calm like I do everyday at work with twelve four year olds. And the one more precious than all of them, I yelled at. After he was asleep, I quickly googled mothers and anger and found that, yes, even good mothers do yell and get angry at their kids...but for some reason that is of little comfort right now. What is comforting is the sweet kiss he gave me before he fell asleep and the knowledge that the forgiveness of a child is a blessing from heaven.

costumes!

Isabela's school had their fall carnival on Friday....and they got to wear their costumes. Isabela was the man (or girl, as we called her) in the yellow hat.....

...and Joaquin was Curious George! Originally, they were going to be a snowman and batman...but we couldn't pass up the $15 monkey costume at Old Navy, and then we thought up Isabela's costume. Most of it was made with felt and hot glue.

She ended up winning most original costume for Kindergarten! Juan Pablo took them to the carnival by himself because I was at book club, and I had to laugh out loud at the pictures he took of Isabela....her hair was wild and the monkey was falling out of the bag!...it looked like the man in the yellow hat had been attacked by monkeys! She was SOOO excited to have won...of course, I warned her before she went that she might not win...and she said, "If I don't, I'll cry." So I was pretty excited she won too!! That's the first trophy she's ever received!

what's in a name?

I know the first name is obvious, but how ironic is the vice president's name?

OSAMA BIN LADEN
OBAMA BI DEN

What are the chances?
This is just an observation....not an endorsement for either candidate!

pumpkin patch with daddy!

Isabela's class took a field trip to the pumpkin patch today and Juan Pablo was able to go with them. It was a great time for them to spend the day together. He even got to ride the bus with them! He thought the bus was pretty unsafe...which is funny knowing how things are in Bolivia...no car seats, etc. He also said Isabela had a lot of friends! I was glad to hear that. And I had seen that, too, after eating lunch at her school a couple of times. She is VERY social. Anyway, they came home with two great pumpkins that we'll hopefully carve this weekend. The school didn't allow siblings to tag along, so it looks like we'll probably hit another patch soon for Joaquin.

it's a ...!

We found out this afternoon! I took the kids so they could see the first pictures of the new baby! Juan Pablo unfortunately wasn't able to make it. The ultrasound was a little long for them...but they enjoyed seeing the baby moving all around (which I couldn't even feel) and hearing the heart beat. So....not to delay any further....It's a boy! We really can't believe it's a boy. I'm not sure why we just knew it was a girl, but both Juan Pablo and I really had no doubts about it. Oh, well, shows what we know! So, it's a boy! Isabela will have two little brothers! She is still very excited. And Joaquin, of course, is too. Joaquin said today, "When the baby comes, can I still run around the house in my underwear?" I said, "Of course!" At least we all know what's really important!

Hallow-scream

We had a great day at Busch Gardens last Sunday. We had never been there during their Halloween time. A lot of the rides were closed, and some were converted into Haunted Houses. We went in one, only to come out at the first escape exit...Isabela and I didn't want to walk through. But Juan Pablo took Joaquin back in. He said every time they got to an exit, Joaquin wanted to keep going through the dark paths, but once they had continued on, he would say, "I want to get out." He came out the other side in Juan Pablo's arms, but all smiles and really liked it.

They got to ride two rides they had never done before...Joaquin is finally tall enough to get on the next level of rides. That's Juan Pablo and the kids way up high on that boat ride...and you can't see them, but they are on the next one way up high again.


They were all smiles when they got off! Although Isabela did say it made her feel kind of sick.

They both said that this one was their favorite ride.

There were lots of cool gourds and pumpkins around the park. The kids tried to see which were the heaviest.

And I love this picture of Juan Pablo and Isabela going down the log flume. They always have the greatest smiling,screaming faces...but those pictures are so darn expensive...so I tried to get around that by taking my own. If you click on the picture, you can enlarge it and see their faces better.

picture day!

Isabela had her school pictures taken the other day. She decided to sleep in her foam curlers the night before so her hair would be curly. I meant to take a picture of that, but I forgot....so here is the finished product before she went to school. I had to take her picture because who knows what it would look like when they got around to taking them. Everyday when she gets home, she looks like she's been through a tornado!

a little too excited

I've been meaning to update...I still have to post pictures of our Busch Gardens trip...but first things first. Today we were all excited to get the ultrasound of the new baby! Juan Pablo got off of work early, I picked up Isabela early from school and we were all at the hospital...only we were four days early! The appointment is not until Tuesday! The receptionist looked at me and said it's on the 14th and I agreed, and she said, "But today is not the 14th!" She would have tried to fit us in, but one of the machines was down. The kids were disappointed the most, Joaquin almost started crying. I've only told everyone I know that we were finding out if it is a boy or a girl today. So, we'll find out Tuesday!

Isabela's new teacher

Yesterday I took the day off from work to meet the new Kindergarten teacher for Isabela, starting Thursday. Her school hired a sixth K teacher to bring the class sizes down from 25 to 20. Thank God! Four from each class are being moved and she is one of them. She is very excited, and has gotten to come out of class to play some games with the new teacher to get to know her and some of the other kids. Mrs. Burns is her name and she was a preschool (JK) teacher before this. She seemed very nice and I know Isabela will adjust nicely. Then I got to stay for lunch with Isabela and that's always fun. The lunch ladies only turned the lights out two times, this time. That means no talking for those who've forgotten. I also sat in her class for a little bit afterwards. The kids were sorting some pictures that rhymed and Isabela came up to me upset because the teacher never called on her even though she had her hand up. She's just like me! I remember having that same problem, haha.