Home Sweet Home

We're pretty partial to our new house.  Here, we've enjoyed some amazing sunsets, 

ominous storm clouds (it looks like the clouds might swallow the house, here),

drenching downpours (where does all this water come from?),

beautiful sunrises,  

and hay farming!  OK, so that's not us doing all the hard work on the tractor, but we are enjoying the process and looking to the sky to see when the rain is coming to make our hay grow.

 

In short, we don't think we could have done better when it comes to settling in a home. 

Gabe Turns 4!

I can hardly believe this guy is already 4.  To him, this day hasn't come fast enough.  He's ready to run off to school with his big brother.  He knows what kind of back pack and lunch box he wants, and he's ready to help me fill them up. Luckily, I get to keep him home for one more year.

Gabe's birthday was just one week after Easter.  We didn't get the chance to do our usual Easter egg hunt at that time, so we made it part of Gabe's celebration.

He has been wanting a Godzilla birthday cake all year.  Daddy found a pack of Godzilla cake toppers on Amazon, and we piled them on this jungle scene cake.  He couldn't have been happier.

Here's to hoping that this year doesn't fly by as quickly as the last one . . . ;-)

Easter Celebration

This year, we celebrated Easter by baptizing Gabriel and Laura at our church's Easter Vigil service.  We were lucky enough to have lots of family members join us in the celebration, including Gabriel's godfather (Uncle Eric),

 Laura's godparents (Cousins Erica & Greg)

Grandma Gonzalez,

Aunt Janie, Uncle Bob, Grandma & Grandpa Robles, and the cousins.

 

 Laura was not so much a fan of the bonnet that came with her gown. 

And getting her, gown and all, into the car seat, was quite a job.  She managed all the activity well, including the baptism itself, thanks to a ready bottle and a quick ceremony on the part of the priest.  Gabe was cool and collected, too, but who wouldn't be when Uncle Eric is helping you out?

We enjoyed having everyone out to help us celebrate the holiday and baptisms.  This was the first time we've played host since moving into our new home.  It was nice to finally make good use of our space, and we look forward to our next celebration.

Look out World . . .

. . . Laura is ready to roll your way!

Valentine for Mom

"You stole a pizza my heart"

Four Months

Click the image to read the details on the top left hand corner of the picture.

Last Christmas . .

Here’s a few pictures from last Christmas.  Since I still have a few Christmas decorations up in the house, I guess these pics aren’t late . . .

My mother-in-law made a couple of beautiful flower arrangements and a wreath to help us make the house look festive, while the boys and Cousin Matthew were responsible for the tree decorations.  Everything looked lovely, and we had a wonderful holiday - so wonderful that Gabriel keeps asking when Christmas will come again, and LT has next year’s Christmas gift all planned out.

Happenings in 2017

You may have noticed that we didn't post much last year.  That's not because we didn't have things to talk about.  Quite the contrary - we had our hands full.  Let's take a look back at what happened:

A couple of significant milestones during 2016 set the tone for 2017.

And early in the year, we learned about a new addition to the family.

 We did some sightseeing and had fun

Waco Mammoth Site

Witte Museum

A chilly day for a rugby match

Witte Museum

Dallas World Aquarium

Sundance Square

 

And celebrated LT's accomplishments at school

 

We wished everyone a happy birthday

He's 3!

He's 8!

You don't need to know how old I am . . .

And celebrated 10 years of being a family.

 Laura made her grand entrance into the world at the end of September . . .

 

 . . . and two weeks later, we moved into our dream home - 12 acres of land in God's country

 

 

 

We had to move TWO TIMES before we finally landed here, but it was worth the effort.

 Halloween was the first holiday we celebrated in our new home.  We aren't in a neighborhood, so we had to go elsewhere to go trick-or-treating.

The Highlander, Pikachu, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Baby Laura - as she is called by her brothers - had a skeleton onesie for her costume.  She spent much of the evening bundled up in her stroller.

 We decked out the house for Christmas,

and, in true Texas style, enjoyed BBQ for Christmas dinner.

More Christmas pictures coming soon!