My Angel

Baseball season has arrived! A friend of our has a sign in her house that reads, "LIFE STOPS FOR BASEBALL." That has become our family mantra as well. Angel is an excellent ball player. We're hoping that will be his ticket to college!


So this morning I came downstairs to find my son looking like a teenager. This is totally unusual for Angel. The boy doesn't like to brush his hair. *Hmmm...what's going on here?* Anyways, I grabbed my phone and snapped this pic of him.


Here's the front view of the new hair-do. I was blown away when I saw my son standing in the kitchen. Did he have to use a blow-dryer? There's lots of gel going on, and I THINK hairspray. He's 10-1/2 and growing!

Alliah My Love

Everytime we go visit Larry's family in Fresno, Alliah and Diane are always being compared to one another. They do look alike, and they even have the same temperament. They are both super athletic and don't give up on anything easily. Being like her Tia Diane is a good thing.


Here, Alliah sits with her cousin Alexis at Dennis the Menace Park. These two girls definitely know how to have a good time together.


And here is a picture showing just how beautiful my Alliah is becoming. Each day it seems like a little piece of baby face is gone. She's becoming so charming and is growing more and more lovely each day.


Alliah loves walks. She loves anything to do outdoors. Here we stopped for a rest on our walk around our neighborhood. There are lots of trails and Alliah loves that we haven't discovered all of them quite yet.

Gracie Girl

Party Time! Here we were celebrating Isaiah's 2nd Birthday. It was a "Yo Gabba Gabba" party and was so much fun! Grace enjoyed all the refreshments, along with gal pal, Lucia.


I couldn't help but capture this pic of Grace. This morning was the first time she turned and smiled when I said, "Say Cheese!" She didn't say it, but she sure knew what it meant!


Thanks Old Navy! We went to Old Navy to get the kids some shoes. We saw a sign in window that said, "SHOES $10 SALE!" and the tires on my truck came to a screeching halt. In our "browsing" me and Larry found these shades - in my baby section mind you. Again, we couldn't help ourselves and HAD to try them on Grace. She loved them. Doesn't she look adorable?!

Nicole's Little Men

BABY ELI
My baby sister Nicole has two adorable sons. This is Elijah. He is my big ol' teddy bear. I call him Papa Joe because he looks so much like Corwin's dad, Joe. This little boy is the sweetest thing. He is so loveable and you just wanna sqeeeeze him every time you see him. He has most most adorable laugh and loves to cuddle. And you should see him jump! White men CAN'T jump compared to this little guy. He has a special piece of my heart reserved just for him.

ISAIAH
And this is my Isaiah. Yes, I said MY Isaiah. This boy stole my heart the minute I saw him. He is one of my favorite play partners in the whole world. He is 2 years old now and can talk a mile a minute. He repeats everything he hears and is smart as a whip. I can't help but smile, even now, as I think of him. He is sunshine on a cloudy day. And when he's not that into you, he'll let you know. But give him about 5 minutes and he's all over you with his ooey-gooey love. Such a sweetheart!

Adoption Postponed

Larry and I went out to breakfast this morning. We found this little diner called 'The Nifty Fifty.' It's a retro little place that plays 50's music and, better yet, their prices might was well be out of a menu from the 50's. Good food, great price. So, there we sat. Enjoying coffee, awaiting our pancakes, eggs, and bacon...oh so good. While we were waiting for our food I decided to check my voicemail. And there it was. Our social worker called and said there had been some mix up on the finalization paperwork we signed on January 21st. Apparantly, another "somebody" was supposed to sign the paperwork before we did and our social worker jumped the gun and missed it. Now we have to re-sign it all again and wait another two weeks for the new papers to process. I cried when I heard the message. My heart was so set on being DONE! I told almost everyone in the whole entire world, only to follow up by SMS and facebook that the date has been changed. Urgggh! It is so frustrating. What made it worse was that I received a phone call on Tuesday confirming our court date on Thursday. I had planned a family portrait sitting for Thursday afternoon, wrote the kids' teachers so they would be excused from school...yes, frustrating! Larry was my rock this morning. He kept assuring me the adoption IS going through, just a few days longer. I was so glad he was with me when I listened to that message. I was even MORE glad when our social worker called me back. I didn't want to talk to her. He spoke to her and handled the whole ordeal quite nicely. And our poor waitress! I was in such a good mood when we arrived at the restaurant. I was looking forward to my breakfast and a good day at work, full of smiles. Then she comes to refill my coffee and I'm in tears! She just patted my back and said, "Have some more coffee." We finished breakfast, with me breaking down every 15 minutes or so. So, here I am...sitting in my office...waiting still. God must be trying to teach me a lesson. I must need to learn something through all this waiting. Patience? Trust? More patience? Whatever the lesson, God help me to learn so this all can be overwith. I trust you God.

Wirter's Block

I don't know what has gotten into me, but I just cannot get back into the swing of things. I have been so bad about keeping up with this blog lately. It is very important to me because life changes so quickly and one day my kiddos will be grown, and I will be able to read about the days of our lives and re-live the many wonderful memories we created just by reading a few lines on paper (I print out my blog in book form monthly). I used to blog everyday. I was excited to do it! But life has been a little bit crazy these last few months. We've moved into a new house, our household arrangements have changed, then the holidays, work has been absolutely crazy, and then there's just normal life that keeps going on and on in what sometimes seems like an endless ocean. I think I'm feeling a little sea sick. Anyways, I feel like I've skipped so many things that have happened. Grace started talking in mini-sentences. She gives hugs and refers to herself as "baby." We hear, "Baby eat, baby ba-ba, baby mee-mee..." Love it! Alliah is growing and becoming such a wonderful person. She's beautiful, caring, sincere and so helpful. And she's super smart. Her teacher wants her to do 'extra' homework because she's breezing by and she LOVES to read. My Angel is getting lazy. He's becoming a pre-teen (he's 10-1/2). He's still his loving little self. He takes good care of his baby sister, he amuses - uh, ehmmm...I mean he plays with Alliah, but lately he doesn't think I know very much...or I should say, he thinks he knows more than me. I'm in the process of straightening THAT out! LOL All three kids are amazing each day. I'm going to try to do better at keeping up with my blog. These memories are too important to forget. SO, see you tomorrow....

Proverbs 31: Fact or Fiction

Yesterday was SuperBowl Sunday. My dad invited all of the men over his house to watch the game. No wives, no children were allowed. Larry was going over to my dad's house, so I invited all the wives and kids over to my house. We made GIANT baked potatoes, frito boats, had chocolate cake. We were all talking and laughing, watching the kids play. In the midst of our conversation I stated that I was so glad to hear that the Proverbs 31 woman didn't exist. My mother hit the ceiling! She couldn't believe I had said that. I explained to her that my pastor had shared that Proverbs 31 was a model taught to King Lemuel by HIS mother so he would know what kind of woman to look for in a wife. My mom disagreed arguably! I explained that I believed the Proverbs 31 woman to be a model to "attain to" but that I often felt intimidated by her. I further explained that it was like looking at a touched up picture of a perfectly shaped woman posted on a gym wall or a magazine cover. The perfect body does not exists, but we should take care of our bodies and try to look our best. We will never look like the photoshopped woman on the magazine cover, but we can be healthy and be physically active. No, the perfect body does not exist. And in my opinion, neither did the "Proverbs 31 Woman." Yes, I do agree that we need to try our best to be like her, but she is the model. In the bible, this woman has aged to perfection. She is healthy, wealthy, wise in managing finances, her husband is in politics and is respected by all, he leaves her to manage the home (and doesn't interfere which that alone is miraculous), she is well educated, has servants to help her, is a successful entrepeneur,makes her children's clothes (which I think she had help from the servants) and does everything else the perfect wife and mother would ever do. Not only that, but she does everything so well that her husband and children rise up and call her blessed. That last part I do agree can happen. I notice that the verse says her children "rise up" and call her blessed. I believe that to mean that as they have grown older. I believe my children will realize the sacrifices and appreciate all the love I have shown them MORE when they are older. When they "rise up" in age. Yes, my mother and I's conversation shook up the party, but I believe what I believe. After hearing that the Proverbs 31 woman was an 'Ideal' to attain, that there is not actually a person who did it, I didn't feel like such a failure. Hearing that made me WANT to try to be that person. I always felt like I was coming up short when trying to measure up. My mom still doesn't agree with me, but that's okay! I love her and she loves me. We can't agree on everything. So, in closing, I will strive harder to be all those things that the Proverbs 31 woman depicts. But if I don't make it, if I fall short on a few of those traits, that's okay, too. Thank God for His grace and mercy...and the opportunity to always try again.

Gracie

I had all of these pictures that I had taken with my phone and it's time to clear them out. So here are some more random Glimpses of Grace - Part 2... And yes there probably will be more! :D

A is For Adoption

We finally got the date! February 11th is the day Miss Grace will officially and legally become Miss Grace Renee Gonzales. In nine days our adoption will be finalized. We were hoping that this would happen back in December, but we've had a few setbacks with paperwork. Now all the paperwork is done with every dotted line signed, every 't' crossed and 'i' dotted. Now the big dilemma...what to wear! I'm thinking we may take our family picture that day. Angel and Alliah are so excited. When we told Alliah that we got the court date she looked at Grace and shouted, "Grace, you finally get to become a Gonzales!" as if it was a privilege. I guess it is. February 11, 2010, will be the day our family becomes complete. The little promises I've spent countless nights praying for will all officially be ours. I thank God so much for these three precious lives that He created for ME. The bible says that in their mother's womb, He knew them. He knew what the days of their lives would hold and that He had created me to be their Mommy. In the times we question God and cry out to Him in desperation for what we think is best, I believe He is holding the gifts we're crying for behind His back, smiling at us, just wanting to give the gift to us, but in His time. I think back to Christmas. I knew what was inside each wrapped gift. The kids knew what they were wishing for and were pretty certain we got them the gifts they had asked for. The smiles on their faces when they got their gifts was priceless. I think we got more joy out of giving than they had receiving. The bible says to present your requests to God and we did. Just as we, as earthly parents, love to give good gifts to our children, so does God. Angel, Alliah and Grace are our gifts from God. They weren't creating from a union between Larry and me, but we have the pleasure of unwrapping them and holding them, thanking God for them in anticipation of what great things they will accomplish and seeing who they will become. Think of us on February 11th. And think of the good gifts God has given you and thank Him for them.

I'm The Mommy

I was sitting on the couch watching TV. I was watching none other than a program on the Food Channel when 10 minutes into the show, Grace decided she needed some attention. While I consider myself a very attentive Mommy 100%, this was one moment where I really wanted to sit down, relax and watch this program! I heard Grace call me. "Mom." And again, "Mom." She was sitting down on the carpet, surrounded by toys and juice cups and even a snack. I tried to prepare in advance so she would be entertained for a while ~ but no. Again she said, "Mom." I looked at her and smiled and said, "Good girl, Gracie, play with your toys..." She stared right back at me and said, "Mom." My eyes returned to the TV screen and her eyes never shifted, but she started getting a little more irritated. "Mom! Mom!!, Mom!!!" Finally she belted out, "Maw-meeeee!!!" I gasped! She had never called me 'Mommy' before. I have always been just 'Mom.' I dropped to my knees in front of her, picked her up and gave her the biggest hug, along with a kiss on the cheek. When I wrapped my hands around her little head to look at her face to face she had a HUGE grin - ear to ear! She had found a new Mommy button, and she knew it! My heart strings were fluttering and I felt on top of the world. There's no other feeling on Earth that can take the place of special moments like this one. I felt so loved and wanted and needed. Grace has called me Mommy once or twice since then, but I will never forget that day. What a gift. Thank you, Gracie.