Daily Reminders

Acts of Love

2009-03-04T09:02:00.003-06:00

We have been talking about Lent with the kids, what it means and what we can do as a family. We talked about making sacrifices big and small and doing little acts of love throughout the day. Before lent started the kids all agreed that I should give up coffee, I am guessing they know how much I love my morning coffee. Isaac said he was going to give up cleaning the play room. I told him he already did that and it wasn't a sacrifice. Maya told her teacher that she was going to play nice with her friends and share. At school Maya's teacher sent small paper hearts that we are to write any acts of kindness that Maya does and send it back to school. They are going to gather all of the hearts and put them on a cross. Maya is so excited about this and Isaac has caught on and wants to participate in his own way. Well, last night at dinner we were all talking and I told Josh how proud I was of the kids because they made up their bed all by themselves without me telling them to. Maya then chimed in and said " and we got dressed all by ourselves without mommy screaming at us" . Josh and I shared a chuckle with each other. I wish she would have used a better euphemism like yell or raised her voice, but I guess this tells me a lot of what my children hear. Maybe I should start working on my own acts of love and curb the screaming.

Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-02-09T16:49:00.003-06:00

We had another wonderful weekend here in the Morris house. We spent Saturday morning geocaching again, this time we had to cut it a little short because I started to feel sick. Needless to say it was just enough outside time for me! Saturday night Josh and Maya went on a date. They attending the Daddy Daughter dance here in Round Rock. Josh asked Maya on her date on Thursday and she was super excited. He said she could pick any place to go and eat. She said she wanted to go somewhere fancy since she was going to be wearing a pretty dress. She chose Red Lobster. We have never been there and never really talk about the place but we found out it was because she saw a commercial about it. O those commercials really do work! So, off to Red Lobster they went. They had an early dinner because the dance started at 5:30. They arrived at the dance and Josh said it was packed. The danced and ate some cookies and Maya begged to have her picture taken. So, of course her date obliged. After the dance they went to have some snow cones. Maya said she had a wonderful time and like dancing to the YMCA. Josh too said he had a wonderful time. I am sure this will be something special that the both of them will remember for a very long time.

Treasure Hunting

2009-02-02T09:34:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful weekend it was!! The weather has been beautiful and we had to spend it outside. After a birthday party on Saturday we took the kids geocaching. Geocaching is something Josh has been trying to get me to do for a while but honestly it sounded kind of lame to me. Plus he needed a GPS do it, but didn't have one. Well, he finally got one and I had no excuses left. Basically you go to some website were people post coordinates where they have hidden a "treasure" and you go and try and find it. They are usually in a park or on some trail. The treasure is really just a box with some random things in it that people who have found it before have left behind. We went to a park/trail in Austin were Josh had about 4 locations mapped out. It was a perfect trail for the kids. Not too difficult that Sam couldn't walk it, but challenging enough for Isaac and Maya to climb and search for the treasure. The kids loved it and I have to admit that I really had a good time. Sam was such a little trooper and he didn't let his size get in the way of him trying to keep up with the bigger kids. Maya did a great job and found the most difficult and smallest treasure. Isaac made friends with everyone we encountered along the way. He would tell them that we found the treasure but he wasn't going to tell them where it was. I definitely look forward to going geocaching again.

Sunday we celebrated Ava's 2nd birthday. We went to my sister Veronica's house. The kids had a blast playing outside and riding on the golf cart. Yesterday was also the Super Bowl so it was a birthday/Super Bowl party. It was a great game and I didn't really care who won but I guess I was cheering for the Cardinals since they were the underdog. It came down to the last minute but the Steelers pulled it out in the end. Maybe some day soon the Cowboys will make it back to the super bowl.

I will make sure to take some pictures next time we go geocaching to post to the blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-01-09T16:23:00.005-06:00

What better way to start the New Year! Tony and Josh sharing a cigar

Me and my sisters! Maya loves spaklers!

One of her birthday gifts, she loves to help Nita, Allie, Kaylee and Maya at the aquarium

Josh and the kids with the penguins

O
On
Well we survived another Christmas and New Year and managed to squeeze in a few birthdays too! Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful! The 2 older kids are at that age were they really get the whole Santa thing and it is so much fun to share in their excitement. We got to see Santa at my dad's house the weekend before Christmas. The kids loved seeing and talking with him. They had the chance to ask him any question they had. Some questions included where is your sleigh (Santa came in a van) and what do you eat. We all had a chance to sit on Santa's lap, yes Josh and me included, poor Santa. Isaac asked for storm trooper helmet and gun and Maya asked for a princess Leia gun and a bike. The princess Leia gun was news to us, so off to Target I went on Christmas eve, she had to settle for a light saber. We celebrated Christmas with my dad the weekend before Christmas. Then on the 23rd we celebrated with my mom and sisters. It was also my mom's birthday so that was some added joy. We opened up gifts on Christmas morning at our house and quickly, or as quickly as we could go, packed up our bags and gifts and headed to Dallas where we spent the day with Josh's mom and siblings. The next day we spent the day with Don an Sheree. Needless to say we were very busy but loved every minute of it.

Christmas morning was so much fun. Isaac came down the stairs and he was almost in disbelief to see the gifts. He came into our room and said that Santa had left him a nerf gun. I think he almost didn't get the fact that there were more gifts. We told him to go and wake up Maya so he ran up stairs and we could hear Maya squealing and she ran down the stairs. She definitely was excited to see all the gifts. Then we she got her bike, she was on cloud nine. She wanted to ride it right away.

We ended up staying for a few days in Dallas. We spent time with Josh's family which is always so much fun. We also got to see Caleb and Katie's new house all finished. It is so beautiful. They have done such a wonderful job. They were babysitting 2 dogs when we went by and they also have their dog too. The kids loved playing them. Maya wanted so badly to bring one home. So sad to tell her that we won't be getting any new pets any time soon. We also went by Josh's friend Jason's new house. It is super cute too! That night Nita and Gear said they would watch the kids so we could go over to Josh's friend Jonathan and Jennifer's house. We had lots of fun seeing them and some other old friends of Josh. Of course Josh loves talking about old times and somehow a crazy video of Josh made its way on the TV. Let's just say I hope our kids don't see that video till they are like 30 and know better than to follow in their fathers footsteps.

Monday we went to the Dallas World Aquarium with Nita, Allison and Kaylee. It was such a cool place. They kids loved seeing all of the animals. Isaac's favorite was some crazy fish that looked like seaweed. And Maya liked seeing the penguins and alligator.

We headed back to Austin in time to clean up the house. Actually, my wonderfully super awesome mom surprised us when we got home from Dallas. When we left Christmas morning the house was a complete mess. My mom had come by to pick up the fish to fishsit. I guess she either felt so sorry for us or wanted to do one last act of super kindness before the end of the year and cleaned our house. It was such a wonderful feeling to walk into my house and have it clean, like a dream come true!! Anyway, my mom is so great and I love her tons and tons!! So, back to New Years eve. Maya's birthday is on New years eve, so there is always a party! We invited some family (my sisters and their families and my mom) and friends the Roch's over to help us bring in the New Year. We spent the evening talking, eating, doing fireworks(sparklers) and playing board games. I did make some brownies per Maya's request. We sang her happy birthday and she opened up a some gifts. The kids had a great time doing the sparklers. Maya couldn't get enough of them and I thought Sam would try and catch one.

So begins a new year and I know there is so much this year will bring. I look forward to seeing my kids grow and learn. Isaac will be starting Kindergarten and we will be adding a new beautiful child to our family in August. Yes, another one!! What a wonderful Christmas gift God has given us. I pray that this baby grows to be healthy and strong. The kids are very excited and Maya has already informed us it is a girl and her name is Fuzzy. So, we look forward to meeting Fuzzy and know she or he will be bring such joy to our life.

2008-12-15T17:59:00.003-06:00

More pictures from the kids party

Quick update

2008-12-15T17:25:00.005-06:00

I realize I have become very bad at updating my blog, tisk tisk. I will try and capture what has been going on these past couple of months.

Let's start of with the move. Yes, we finally moved into our new house and we are settling in quite nicely. The house is beautiful and we are filling it with lots of love and memories. The kids are really enjoying their big backyard and playroom upstairs. We had our first artwork displayed on the wall upstairs in the playroom when Sam found a purple crayon and decided to share his artistic talent. We quickly found out just how hard the tile floor is when 3 Christmas ornaments broke within the first 30 minutes of putting up the tree. Again, thanks to Sam. I have found a little watchdog for the tree. It is this Reveille dog that plays the Aggie War hymn when you squeeze it's paw. Sam is terrified of this little dog, so he now stays away from the tree. Is this mean?? We have already had many family and friend gatherings in the new house. Thanksgiving was at our house this year. The Gonzales and Turman family were there. Along with my mom and 3 of my LeBlanc nephews, Adam, Anthony and JJ. It was so great having them there, at least part of the LeBlanc clan was there. We sure did miss Lollie, Joe and the other kids. I was so proud of Anthony LeBlanc. He actually made and brought a side dish, guess the boys are growing up!

We had Maya and Isaac's birthday party here a couple of weekends ago. We decided to do a joint party this year. They had a blast! We rented a moon bounce for outside. The weather was wonderful and the kids played and played outside. Many of the kids from their school made it to the party so the kids loved having their friends there. Grammy, Grandaddy, Emily and her kids and Allison and Kaylee also made it in from Dallas. The Gonzales, Turmans, Grandma and Andrea were also there to help celebrate the kids birthday. We had so much fun and we are so thankful for all the wonderful family and friends that shared the special day with us.

We finished up another season of soccer. Isaac and Maya were on the same team for the last time. Josh was able to be their coach as well. We had a great season and the kids had a blast. Maya made great efforts to keep up with the other kids and was not afraid to go after the ball. Isaac really blossomed this year and was the star of the team. He is really grasping the game and is more confident in his abilities. Go Tigers!

The kids finished up with their school (Mothers Day Out) and had so much fun this semester. They kids performed a Christmas program and they were super cute. Maya's class all wore red, green or white shirts and had cute Christmas hats on. Isaac's class all dressed up as part of the Christmas story. Isaac was a shepherd and was awesome! They sang songs and followed it up with a party in each of their classrooms. This Friday the kids have their Christmas party at Catechises class. They are loving this time of the year. We are planning on going to see the lights at Zilker this year, I am sure they will love that. I remember going when I was a kid.

This past weekend the Ayalas came up from Corpus to celebrate a friends Christmas. We love seeing them and spending time with them. Isaac, Maya and Raul had so much fun playing together. We made a special dinner that night and Tammy and Thomas joined us. We followed dinner with a fun game of Mad Gab. The rest of the weekend we just lounged around talking and playing games. Josh was in heaven with all of the game playing.

I think that pretty much sums up these past months. Life is wonderful and we are especially grateful for all that the Lord has blessed us with!

We've made it!!

2008-11-05T07:30:00.003-06:00

It has been over a week now living in our new house and it has been such a whirlwind. Things are slowing getting put away and our walls are even slower getting adorned with pictures and such. Closing day was crazy with going from title company to title company, trying to figure out just how much we made from the last house and how much we owe for the new house. In the end Josh and I were very happy with end results and really felt God's hand in it all. We felt so truly blessed in this whole process. From an amazing realtor/friend (Kelli), a lovely family buying our house, finding the beautiful house we will make a new home to all of our family and friends who came out to help us move. Thank you all for everything and most importantly thanks be to God!!

The kids are adjusting quite well to the new house. Maya had a bit of difficult first few days. She would tell me she didn't like the new house and she was sure we left some of her things behind. I took her back to the old house and let her have a look around to make sure nothing was left behind. I think this put her mind at ease. The kids love all the room upstairs for all of their toys. Isaac loves his new bed that he is sleeping in. It really isn't a new bed, it is just that it was the top bunk bed in the old house and he was too scared to sleep in it. Now that the bedrooms are bigger we are able to have both beds on the floor. They are however eager to switch rooms and get new roomates. Isaac keep reminding me that when the new baby gets here that Isaac an Sam are going to share a room and Maya is going to share a room with the new baby. No, I am not pregnant, but they have this set in their mind. Maybe they know something I don't! The kids also love their new backyard. The weather is so wonderful right now and they spend most of their days outside. I do have to watch out because they have discovered the joy of making mud holes. Josh isn't too happy about this in his new yard. We have already had our first guests as Nita, Caleb and Katie came up this past weekend to pick up Josh for an Aggie game. We really enjoyed having them come for a visit and are eager to entertain more people visiting!

The kids are doing great in school and are learning so much. They love their teachers and friends. We also recently had fun trick or treating for Halloweeen. We went to Kelli's house for Halloween. They hooked up a trailer filled with hay and drove to a nearby neighborhood. They drove from house to house and the kids filled up on candy. Isaac was able to hang with the bigger kids and Maya really wasn't in too much of a rush. Sam just loved getting out and looking at all the decorations. A few times he got scared by people dressed up in scary outfits. The kids had a blast and now we have way too much candy in our house. Veronica has all the picutures so when I get them from her I will post pictures of the kids. They looked adorable. Isaac and Maya were pirates, Josh made their costumes. Sam was a lion, too cute!

This past Halloween also marked the 20 year anniversary of my grandma's passing. We had a mass in her honor and gathered together at my Aunt Sylvia's house afterwards. Aunt Sylvia had pictures of her and a beautiful table my grandfather made with tiles of Our Lady of Guadalupe on it. My mind that day was filled with so many wonderful memories of my grandma, I miss you grandma!

house pictures part 2

2008-10-06T18:52:00.004-05:00

1. Backyard 2. Our beautiful tree!! 3. Stairs 4. Our Gameoom, it is huge! 5. The kids after running around the house, yes Maya's tights have a big hole in them.

Our new house!

2008-10-06T18:38:00.006-05:00

We are moving! I figured I would post some pictures of our new house for those of you that haven't had a chance to come and see the house. We are busy packing and have done a great job getting things packed up. I really do have to mention that my mom is awesome!!! Without her help packing we would be drowning. Thank you mom, you rock!!!! Now for the pictures. I wish there was a way to post under each picture of what they are but I will try and list them, plus I am sure you can figure most of it just by looking at it. From top to bottom, left to right.. 1. Front of house 2. Entry way, study is off to the left, then the dining room. Off to the right is a hallway to the powder room, laudry room and garage. 3. Study/Office 4. Kitchen from living room.

Go Tigers!

2008-10-06T18:10:00.004-05:00

It is soccer time again for the Morris family. This year Isaac and Maya are are the same team, the Tigers. Josh is coaching again and doing a great job. We have 12 kids on our team ages 3 and 4. Isaac is our "clutch" player. He is also one of the oldest and biggest. Maya is also doing a great job and is not afraid to go after the ball. Isaac has really improved over last year and has much better control over the ball. We have a great team and the kids are so cute and fun to watch. They still pretty much just chase the ball and fall over themselves but they are having lots of fun doing it. At the first game we had so many loved ones come and watch. Nita and Geary, my mom and the whole Gonzales family were out there cheering the kids on. The kids loved all of the support! I am not sure they realize just how loved they are!! Here are a few pictures of the kids 2nd game. They had so much fun at this game. Maya especially had a great time, but mostly because of all of the mud on the field. She loved stomping around in it, I think she spent more time trotting in the mud than chasing after the ball. We have this weekend off because of some silly little football game being played up in Dallas, but we will be back next weekend, go Tigers!!

1st Day of School

2008-09-05T17:31:00.002-05:00

The kids started back at Mothers Day Out at our church this past week. They were so super excited to get back and meet their new teachers and of course see all of their friends. Maya's teacher is Ms. Patti and she is super sweet. Maya has all of her old classmates back in her class. Isaac is in Pre-K and has most of his classmates back. We are looking forward to an exciting year. Our church is building some new religious education buildings on their new church campus and they should be ready very soon. The kids will be moving into their new classrooms after Christmas break. The kids will also be starting RE (religious education) classes in a couple of weeks as well.

Summer Pictures part 3

2008-09-05T17:12:00.000-05:00

Summer PIctures part 2

2008-09-05T17:11:00.001-05:00

Summer Pictures

2008-09-05T17:09:00.000-05:00

Is summer over already??

2008-08-26T16:03:00.003-05:00

O my goodness, has it really been that long since I last posted, shame on me! I bet people have given up on me. Okay, so let's summarize what has been going on these past few months. Where to start, guess I'll start with the kids.. in reverse order..(I am the youngest and always hated being listed last). Sam is doing great! He is walking and running, or at least trying to run. And trying to so hard to keep up with Isaac and Maya. If he doesn't keep up they drag him along. He is going to be one tough little boy, it seems he can't get a break. There is always some sort of boo-boo on him. He makes us all laugh, even at only just over a year he has a sense of humor, or maybe he is just an odd little nut. He loves to put things on his head, be it food, clothes, hats, shoes, toys or dirt. He loves balls and to bang things together to make noise. He is also a little bow legged, it is kinda funny to see these skinny little legs, reminds me of a small cowboy. And, yes, I am going to mention it to his doctor,we go in for his 15 month check up next week.

Princess Maya, o my sweet sweet girl. She is growing so quickly, I think she had a bit of a growth spurt. She is super smart and you can't put anything by her. She picks up on everything. She also loves anything sparkly. Where did she get this from? We picked out new shirts for school today and she insisted that her shirt has sparkles on it. And of course now she says she wants sparkle shoes. We bought her some last year but alas she finally admitted they are too small for her. She has also enjoyed watching the Olympics with me, her and Isaac love doing their gymnastic routines. I really should get her into some gymnastics classes, I think she will love them. Don't get me wrong, she can definitely hang with the boys, she loves playing star wars (loves those light sabers) and doesn't mind getting dirty or looking like a rag a muffin. This summer we have been working on her numbers and letters and she does a great job counting things and recognizing letters. She is super excited about starting school next week. I think she is mostly excited to see her friends.

Super hero Isaac. Isaac is all about the imaginative play. He loves to play pretend be it doctor, school, knights, house and his and Maya's favorite.. Super Heroes!! Isaac and Maya love playing together and for the most part get along wonderfully. I think God definitely knew what he was doing having me have them so close together. Isaac has also been working on his letters and counting to 100. He has also been working on simple addition. He loves to learn and is always asking questions. He thinks Josh is the smartest person in the world. He was talking to him the other day and was asking him a question about something, not sure what, but he told him that he was the expert. Josh loved it. I told him to enjoy it while it last because before long we won't know anything.

This summer we have been keeping very busy. Isaac and Maya took swim classes and they did a great job. I definitely will take them back next summer. Isaac did get to practice his swimming when he fell into the lake/river at a restaurant we were at a couple of weeks ago. Josh didn't think twice about trying to see if he could swim he just dove in after him. We still are not sure if he fell in or he jumped. My nephew Connor insists he jumped. We have been swimming a good bit this summer, the kids love being in the pool Most of the time we swam at the Gonzales's house. Thank goodness for my awesome nephews and niece who took care of them while they swam. Isaac played T-Ball for the first time this summer. he was on a team at the YMCA. He loved it and did a great job. We also spent a lot of time this summer with my sister Veronica and her kids.

One big thing that did happen this summer is that we have decided to put our house on the market. Josh and I have been talking about this for some time now and we decided now was a good time as any. My mom and the Gonzales all came over to help us get our house ready to be put on the market. We packed away a bunch of the kids toys, clothes and just a whole bunch of stuff. My house really sparkled. Now the hard part has been trying to keep it clean. The kids have done a great job with cleaning up after themselves. They are excited about the possibility of getting a new house. Maya says she wants a dining room and Isaac wants stairs and a game room. Isaac also keeps saying that we need a new house so we can have another baby. Not sure where he comes up with this stuff, but he is part right. We have really been thinking about adding to our family and a bigger house would be much needed.

I guess that sums it all up, I am sure I have forgotten some things but in all we are doing great and the kids are growing and getting cuter by the day. I will do my best to keep up with this more often. I will also post some recent pictures of the kids... till next time.

My Little Sam is 1 !!!

2008-06-02T15:56:00.003-05:00

I can't believe my little boy is one today. Has it really been a year since he was born? The year has flown by but I have cherished every moment of it. Maybe because he is my third and I am not so eager for him to reach each new milestone but savor him for where he is now. He is a sweet and snugly little boy with eyes that just make you want to give him lots of kisses, and I so happily oblige. We celebrated his birthday this past weekend. It was just family, but as you all know with my family we will celebrate anything, and yes, it will be an all day thing. Josh stayed up late making is wonderful brisket and chicken. He loves his new smoker and loves to cook for people. Grammy and Grandaddy ( Josh's mom and step-dad) came into town for the weekend as well, another reason to celebrate!! Everyone came over around 2 and everyone loved Josh's brisket and chicken. Those that made it to the celebration where the Gonzales Family (ALL of them!!), the Turmans (minus Luke :o( ) , my mom, Nita and Geary, my dad and my brother Lloyd.

I made Sam's cake and some cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out yummy, but my cake, well it was a sad little cake. Not sure what happened but it was kind of flat. O well, it tasted good and it was all gone in no time. Maya did the decorating, she did a wonderful job. I wrote Happy Birthday Sam on there and Maya made little snakes everywhere around the cake. Each snake had a different story, one was a cold snake, another a warm snake, another a dead snake, there were snakes everywhere. Then there was one small lady bug that turned out to be a rather big ladybug after the sprinkles. It was definitely a cake made out of love.

Sam received some wonderful gifts and will look absolutely adorable in some new outfits. The kids had a blast playing outside in the sprinkler and playing with their water guns. I had a also had a great time playing with the water guns, not sure who I really got those for, the kids or me! Yesterday we spent the day with Nita and Geary. We had a yummy breakfast and then went to the Parade of Homes. We saw 6 houses that ranged from $2- $4 million bucks! They were huge and beautiful. Some I liked more than others but each had something about them I liked. Josh and I kept thinking.. if we had this house think of the parties we would have! I told you, we will celebrate anything!

Maya is with my mom this week in Abilene, so my house is a little quieter today. I miss seeing her sweet little smile and hearing her precious voice. She is having a blast with her cousins and I am sure they are doting on her making her feel like a princess.

Happy Birthday my little Sam, mommy loves you!
.

Fun in the Sun

2008-05-19T08:51:00.006-05:00

We returned from our vacation last week and I am just now getting back into the swing of things. We (Josh, Maya, Isaac and I) went to Cancun for a week. We stayed at the Moon Palace, which is an all inclusive resort. This place is huge! In a nutshell we had a fabulous time. This was the first plane ride for the kids and they did great. Isaac looked a little scared when the plane started to take off, but his face soon turned to excitement. Maya thought the whole thing was fun. The plane ride was only about 2 and half hours so they weren't stuck in their seats for too long. When we arrived at the airport we had a van waiting for us to take us to the hotel. After checking in (and having a glass of champagne while checking in) we had our first meal. We were super hungry. The kids were filled with such excitement at being somewhere new. The waiter was really nice and entertained the kids with some "magic". One of the things he did was a trick with the forks, this was funny because Maya tried throughout the whole trip to recreate this trick. She never quite figured it out. After lunch the kids wanted to go to the pool and the beach. We didn't have our luggage yet so we just went by the pool and headed to the beach (which was right there next to the pool). The kids loved it and Maya ended up getting most of her shorts wet. We were finally able to get into our rooms and the kids wanted to go swimming! Josh took the kids to the pool for a while and I stayed behind to unpack and get our things organized. We went to dinner that night at a steak house, it was tasty. Isaac, however, managed to take a couple of bites before he fell asleep at the table. The waiter was nice enough to bring a chair over and make a little bed for him to sleep.

The next day we spent the day just hanging out at the pool and made our arrangements for the tours we would take. We set up excursions to Wet-n-Wild and to Isla de Mujeres. For Mothers Day Josh said I could take a half a day to go to the spa and have a facial, yea!! After a day at the pool we had lunch and made sure the kids had naps. That night after dinner we saw a circus. Okay, it really wasn't a circus but it was the resorts version of a circus. They basically had some strong men, a man who played with fire, a man who danced and a couple who danced on roller skates. It was mediocre, but the strong men were cool. Isaac did NOT like the circus, it scared him. But he does this really funny imitation of one of the dancers who juggled a huge cube. I need to video tape it. The following day we went to Wet-n-wild. It was a blast. The park was pretty empty so that was great. No waiting in lines and didn't have to worry about the kids getting lost amongst the crowds. That night the kids were super sleepy. Isaac ended up falling asleep at the dinner table again. It was hilarious. On Friday I had my spa day. It was sooo wonderful!! After my facial and back massage I met up with Josh and the kids and me and Maya had a manicure and pedicure together. It was her first one. It was so great having that one on one time with her. I think she really enjoyed it and loves to show off her nails and toes. The lady that did her mani and pedi was great with her. I had picked out this pretty light shade of pink for her, but Maya had a different idea. She wanted bright pink! They also painted a little flower on her nails, they look cute.

The rest of our days we spent at the pool. They have a great pool for the kids where they could run and play without their floats. We also spent a good bit of time in the bigger pool. The kids loved swimming up to the bar and having drinks. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed that part too! Josh was able to take Isaac to the driving range at the golf course. Isaac ending up getting a blister on his hand, the same place Josh gets a blister each time he goes golfing. We also had some fun playing tennis or attempting to play tennis. There were so many iguanas on the tennis court, what a sight to see. Each night the hotel had some sort of entertainment. They had a game show, some dancers and the last night they had Michael Jackson. No, not the real thing, but a pretty good imitator. The last day we were there we went to Isla de Mujeres. We had to take a boat out to the island and the kids thought that was cool. Then we took a boat tour around the island. We got to see a bunch of fish, some dolphins (at a little water park) and swim in the ocean. The water is absolutely beautiful. You can see all the way down to your feet. Maya was fearless and thought she could handle the waves all by herself. That was until she swallowed a good bit of water, but that didn't scare her the least.

We had a wonderful time in Mexico and the kids can't wait to come back. Of course we will be bringing Sam next time. The kids missed him and told everyone we met about him and that we left him at home with Grandma. I too missed him terribly. I knew he was being taken good care of and being spoiled by Grandma. Isaac is so excited about coming back when he is older and can go snorkeling and ride on the jet ski's. Yesterday Maya said she wanted to get on a plane and go to the water park. I told her we can see about going to Schlitterbahn some time this summer or at least the local water park.

Is everything okay, mam?

2008-04-17T18:15:00.002-05:00

I was surprised yesterday afternoon when I heard a loud knock on the door, then to see a man peering through my window. I opened the door to find a police officer (yes, I saw that he was a cop before I opened the door ). He asked if everything was okay because they received a 911 hang-up call from our house. I informed him that it must have been my son, Isaac. You see, he just learned about calling 911 from their firetruck tour at school (see previous post). I guess I should have gone over it with him about what an emergency was. He asked if he could come in and check everything out. Of course I let him in, sadly my house was not the cleanest with toys all over the living room and the kids glued to the TV in my room (they sometimes sneak away to catch some cartoons in my room when I tell them no TV.. yes, they listen so well). The police officer asked Isaac if he called 911. Isaac then proceeded to go on some long tangent about who knows what. Something about our neighbor and his mom. All I could think was, how does this sound, is the officer going to believe me that all is well, what else is Isaac going to tell him. Have I reprimanded him lately, yelled, been "mean" mommy? I guess the officer knew that everything was okay and that it was all an accident. He told Isaac that he shouldn't call 911 when there isn't an emergency. After the officer left I had a long talk with Isaac. He was a little scared and cried a little when we had our talk. Hopefully he learned his lesson, but now I need to worry about Maya.. she now knows all about 911.

Cowboys, Athletes and Fishermen

2008-04-14T12:13:00.003-05:00

So much has been happening these past couple of weeks I figured it was time for a little catch up. The kids had their Western Day at MDO a couple of weeks ago. They dressed up in cowboy boots and hats. At school they had different activities for the kids like a petting zoo, face painting, Texas flag making, cowboy sing-a-longs. I think their favorite part was the petting zoo. They have been playing cowboys since then. They also had their first soccer game. They did a great job! I was especially impressed by Maya. I wasn't sure how she would do, but she did awesome! She was a bit slower than most of the other kids (she is also one of the youngest), but she wasn't afraid to get right in there. She hustled after the ball and got into the mix. Isaac did a great job playing goalie and made a couple of saves. The Gonzales family was there to cheer both of them on. I know they will enjoy this soccer season and love it when anyone comes to watch them. Go Bluebirds!

This past weekend we went camping with Josh's family. We went to Cleburne State Park. We had so much fun! It was really cold at night but we made it through. The kids loved being outside and getting all dirty. Saturday we went to Dinosaur State Park. We went hiking around the park and the kids got to play in the water. We packed a lunch and ate it out there. When we got back to the campsite Josh took Isaac and Maya fishing. They loved it. Maya was insistent on holding her own pole and was determined not to need any help. On the way to go fishing our nephew Mattie had a bad fall. He landed straight on his head and Emily and Matt had to take him to the hospital. After 4 hours in the ER they finally saw a doctor and determined that he didn't need stitches. Poor little guy was a trooper and was back to his old self by Sunday. We hope to go camping with everyone again soon!

Easter and April Fools

2008-04-02T11:20:00.003-05:00

More than a week has passed since Easter so I figured it was time to update my blog to let everyone know how our Easter was and everything else going on over here. For Easter we went to Dallas. The drive up there was long thanks to accidents along the way. However, we are always grateful that we are not in the accident just part of the traffic following. We got into Dallas late Friday night, but the kids still managed to have enough energy to play with Grammy. Saturday we had lunch with Josh's dad for his birthday. I think we surprised him when all of his kids and grandkids made it to the lunch. The kids got to spend some time with papa d for a couple of hours before we went to lunch. Later on Saturday Josh took the older kids to Bass Pro shop while mommy got to spend some girl time with Nita, Allison and Katie. We met the guys later and Caleb and Katies new house to see the progress they are making. The house is looking good and I am so excited for them. You can check out their blog on my friends list of blogs. I know, I know I only have 2 people listed on there. Either I need to make more friends or my friends need to get blogs of their own! Anyway, Easter morning came and we made it to Mass just in time to get a seat. Isaac wasn't feeling suepr great so he stayed with us during Mass while Maya went to the nursery. After Mass we headed to the Thorntons for some lunch and of course the Easter egg hunt. The kids had a blast!! How could they not, there were really only 3 of them that did most of the hunting. It was Isaac, Maya and Mattie. Chloe decided she was more interested in hiding the eggs than hunting for them. Something she recreated many times after the first hunt. The kids loved it. Needless to say we have wayyyy too much candy left over. We spent the rest of the day enjoying each others company and of course we had to play a game. This is the reason we didn't leave Dallas till after 8 that night. We finally made it into Austin after 11. One good things was that the kids slept the whole way so not pit stops!

We had a garage sale this past weekend. Veronica also contributed some items as well. Atually, she had the most stuff and sold a whole lot. She said it was just enough to cover her gas getting to and from our house. We did okay and sold some odds and ends. Isaac and Maya each found some toys they wanted to sell, so they made a little money themselves. Isaac is eager to buy something new with his $2. Monday was Josh's birthday. Sunday we had the Gonzales, Turmans, my mom and Andrea over for some burgers. Josh made them and they were super yummy. Monday night we went to eat just the family at Fudruckers. The kids made him cards. I too made him a little card. Though mine wasn't nearly as cute. Isaac drew him a picture of a box with a smoker in it. Each kid put in some money to go towards a smoker. Guess what he is getting for his birthday?? He is all excited and has been resarching the one he wants for the last couple of days. Last night we went to dinner with my dad for his birthday as well. 3 days of birthday celebrations! I think he is kinda loved. Yesterday was also April Fools day. I was pretty clueless to it all till I was fooled. I went to pick up the kids from MDO and I walked into Isaac's classroom and he came up to me with a sad look on his face and told me he got a sad face at school. (His teacher gives them a happy, not very happy and sad face on how they behave in scholl that day). He kinda had a smirk on his face, which I immediately thought.. he isn't taking it that bad, I wonder why. He then said.. April Fools! He had me and some other mommy's laughing. He got me! Tomorrow the kids have Western Day at MDO so I will make sure and post some pics of them in their "western" attire.

A Person is a Person No Matter How Small

2008-03-19T14:19:00.003-05:00

Yes, we saw Horton Hears a Who. Maya and I had a girls day on Sunday. We went to church (the whole family). Then Maya and I went to lunch at Cici's (yes, she chose pizza of course), the toy store, book store and then to the movies. We had a great time together, it was so much fun hanging out with my little girl. She loved the movie and I really enjoyed it as well. She gets so into movies it is kinda funny. Throughout the whole movies she was asking me questions. When Horton was trying to get away from the buzzard she was yelling at him to run away and kept hiding her eyes. Then in the sad part when they were going to throw the flower/spec into the boiling pot of water she started to cry. I had to hold her in my lap and tell her everything would be okay and to just watch. I am amazed how emotionally attached to the characters she becomes. We watched the Fox and the Hound the other night and she just couldn't understand why Todd had to go to the woods and why he got a new friend, Dixie. Guess in her eyes friends are friends forever.

Isaac came back home on Monday!! O how I missed him! It seemed like he got so much bigger in that week he was gone. He had lots of fun. He had the chance to hang out with his cousins that he doesn't get to see that often. He and Ben hung out together and got along really well. On top of spending the days playing outside on the trampoline playing circus he went to two museums, the movies, soccer and softball practices and visited a TV station. My mom did tell me that Dolores had to take him out of one of the museums because he got too scared. Apparently they have some type of holograms that depicted gun and arrow fights between the Native Americans and settlers. It was just too scary and loud for him, yes he is the sensitive type. I think he was happy to come home and he was so excited to see his sister and Daddy.

Sam is sick, yet again! I took him into the doctors this morning and he has an ear infection in both ears. Poor little Sam, just when we thought the days of being sick were over with, for a while that is. He is on some antibiotics so hopefully he will be feeling better by this weekend. We plan on going to Dallas to spend Easter. The kids are all excited about hunting for eggs. We went to Target this morning to look for some baskets and buy some candy. I bought Maya a basket, but didn't find one for Isaac. In his words to the pharmacist "my mommy said they are too expensive here". Yes, he had a whole conversation with the pharmacist about Easter and hunting for eggs and how his mommy wouldn't let him buy a basket. What a mean mommy I am! Above are a couple of pictures of Maya's week of fun. One is of me and little roo and the other is of Emeril Daddy and Emeril Maya. On the weekends Josh usually makes breakfast for us and he puts a hat on and plays Emeril Daddy. The kids love it and are often right along side him with hats of their own.

2008-03-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

Picture of Sam

2008-03-10T12:55:00.002-05:00

I just realized that I don't have any recent pictures of Sam on here. Poor little guy, already being overlooked. Here is a recent picture of him, isn't he cute??!!

We got them in!

2008-03-10T08:30:00.002-05:00

We finally got our passports in the mail! Our last hurdle to travel to the far off land of Mexico. I feel like we should plan other international destinations in order to get our money's worth. The kids were so excited to see their passports, now they can't wait to go far far away. Isaac is going to Abilene with my mom for a week and he was so excited because he thought he would get a stamp for his passport. We had to break the news to him that Abilene isn't considered far enough. Funny that it will take longer for them to drive to Abilene than it will for us to fly to Cancun. We are set to leave for Cancun on May 6th and come back on May 13th, I can't wait! We still haven't told the kids yet, it has been more of a ' maybe one day we will fly far far away and go to a beach, and you can get a stamp for your passport'. Isaac and Josh were looking at the map yesterday and Isaac said he wanted to drive down through Central and South America then take a boat to Australia. Not so sure I would like to drive through Central America, but I would love to visit all those places some day.

Maya's newest thing is to end every word with a "y". She calls things milky milk, juicey juice. It is kinda cute coming from a 3 year old, but when I start calling things stopy stop you know something is wrong. She has also acquired something that I can only call an accent. I am not sure where it has come from but there are certain words that she seems to draw out. Like, "over there", it sounds more like "over theya". Samuel is still stuck on dada and mama, but not to me and Josh respectively. Though I think maybe he is catching on to dada for Josh. He loves his daddy. Every time Josh comes home Sam gets super excited to see him and if Josh doesn't pick him up right away he gets upset. Sam is also cruising along trying not to get tackled by Isaac or super hugged by Maya.

Easter is coming up in a couple of weeks and the kids are learning about it at school and here at home. Maya impressed my mom the other day when she was able to tell her what Easter was all about. My mom then had to tell her RE (religious education) class of 2nd graders that her 3 year old could tell her what Easter was, they were all very impressed. On Saturday I went to a fashion show with my mom and sister Virginia at their church. We had a great time, only problem was that now I want some new clothes. While I was there we sat next to a lady that taught me and Josh our NFP class. Her name is Barb and she loves to talk, it was so nice seeing her again. Her husband and her co-taught the class. She did give me some hope when she told us that one of sons is about to be ordained a priest in Rome and one of her daughters was a nun in Mexico City. When I asked her about their childhood she said her son was a handful or as her father reminds her, a brat and her daughter almost didn't become a nun because she didn't want to wear a dress. She then said that her boys never played "mass" but instead built forts and such with Lego's and played war and loved to blow things up. Maybe there is some hope for my kids. Though I don't think it is the dress part of being a nun that would deter Maya, I think it is more the fact that I don't think there are nuns that have sparkles on their dresses. I know my mom is continually praying for one of her grandchildren to be a priest or nun, my kids may be her last hope. If God is calling any of them to the priesthood or nunhood (I don't think that is what it is called) I pray they listen to that calling. We continually tell the children that they can become anything that God wants them to be.

We are finally healthy!!

2008-02-20T13:24:00.003-06:00

I have felt like our family was like Pigpen from the Peanuts. Except instead of dirt flying around us it was germs. I just wanted to take out the Lysol and spray my entire house, kids included. One kid would get sick, then the other, then the other and the first one that was sick got sick again. It was a vicious cycle. Of course Josh and I managed to get the germs too. Josh got it worse, but was a trooper (well, for a man that is). But we are back and the kids are in full force. I think they are expelling all that pent up energy they socked away while they were sick. Valentines day came and went, Josh and I were probably the least romantic couple with our boogies and fever. We were supposed to go to our annual Valentines dance but since the kids were sick Josh offered to stay home. I ended up going and dragged my dear friend Andri along as my date. My father had an interesting time explaining our "situation". We ended up staying the night in the hotel (my father didn't use his suite so he offered it to me and Andrea). We woke up the next morning and had a late breakfast. It was a really nice evening out without the kids. I missed Josh but I also had lots of fun just haning out with Andrea. I miss our "girl" time. Guess that is about all for now, till later!

Catch up time

2008-02-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I last posted so I figured it was about time. Sam is sleeping and Isaac and Maya are occupied (ie watching TV). A few weeks ago we made a trip to Dallas to finally see our newest niece, Kaylee. She is beautiful!!! So sweet and loveable. Allison is a great mommy! We spent the weekend with Grammy and Grandaddy and most of the time played wii. We got to see Caleb and Katie's new house and see all the work they are putting into it. It is an adorable house and I can't wait to see it when they are finished renovating it. Good luck to them on this adventure of theirs. Sunday afternoon all of Josh's sisters and brother (family included) came over to hang out. We of course had lots of fun playing games. Isaac has become quite the wii player. He had a high score of 188 in bowling. He looks so crazy when he plays, but somehow manages to do it well. Maya on the other had is still trying to figure the game out. When she bowls she does a granny bowl, it is pretty funny. All of the other cousins are doing well and getting so big.

The kids have been having fun in Mothers Day Out and learning so much. They love their teachers and look forward to going to "school". Isaac is learning his letters and what sounds they make. He has really picked it up and is always eager to find things that start with their letter of the week. They have a jobs chart where each child chooses which job they will do for the day. His teacher says the kids love it and are always eager to help. Maybe I should put together a job chart here at home. You think the kids will be so eager to clean up their playroom and maybe Josh will want to help with laundry??!! Maya is having fun learning her colors and letter recognition. I think her favorite part is story time, she always mentions the books they read in class. And of course she loves chapel, she gets to sing songs.

Sam is doing well, he is growing and becoming a handful. He is crawling now and there is no stop to his curiosity. He is pulling up but sometimes forgets how to get back down. His siblings are always there to help him out, maybe a little too much sometimes. The other day Isaac decided to pick him up and put him on the couch, needless to say Sam made a nose dive for the floor. Poor little guy cried and cried. I think Isaac learned his lesson. Speaking of Sam the kids just woke him up (they are doing races down the hallway). Is their show already over?? Guess the tv can't keep them entertained for too long, which is a good thing, right?

One last thing, my dearest friend Amy, had her baby yesterday. His name is Nicolas Manuel Ayala. I am soooo happy for her and Hector!!! I love you guys!!

It was the most fun ever!

2008-01-14T12:09:00.001-06:00

I take care of our neighbor across the street after school. His name is Dylan. Isaac loves playing with him and they usually have lots of fun playing together. Well on Friday they had the most fun ever! I was busy inside doing laundry and basic house stuff. I heard them laughing and playing outside, harmless, right? I decide to check on them and I walk out to see Dylan with the water hose spraying Isaac. Isaac is laughing and having a blast. The boys have the biggest smiles on their faces. I can't help but giggle to myself. I don't get after them too much. Just tell them to end their fun and put the water hose up. Give them the basic, you shouldn't have done that, but I can't blame them, it is fun! Maya meanwhile is taking shelter in the little school house. I find her shivering soaking wet. I am not so sure she was having as much fun. After having them change I make them come back inside to have some quite time. It wasn't so quite as the boys were too riled up, but after I made them some popcorn they settled down to watch some Scooby Doo. Dylan comes back today, I'll have to keep a better eye on them, no laundry!

Miss Maya is 3!!!

2008-01-02T14:45:00.001-06:00

We brought in a New Year, but more importantly we celebrated Maya's 3rd birthday. We spent New Year's at the Gonzales house and had a wonderful time. The Turmans as well as Tony's sister Josie and her family joined us for the festivities. We had some yummy food and drinks and played board games while the kids played wii. Sam hit the sack early but Isaac stayed up till Midnight. Maya almost made it but crashed at about 20 minutes till midnight. At around 11 we went outside and did sparklers. Maya loved them at first, till she overheard someone say to be careful because you can get hurt. She would have no more of the sparklers. Isaac on the other hand said no from the get go. He was terrified of the sparklers. I tried to hold him while holding a sparkler and that didn't even work. He was happy just watching from afar. At midnight we toasted a New Year with everyone, Isaac had no idea what we were all cheering and hugging for. But he was eager to yell and cheer along for no reason. We finally left their house at around 2 am. The kids thankfully let us sleep in till 8:45!!! They never sleep in that late, maybe we should keep them awake till midnight every night.

The next day Mom came over to help us prepare for Maya's party. She made the rice and beans and I still haven't learned how to make them. The Gonzales's and Turmans came over at around 2. Maya requested chocolate cake with a flower on it. I made the cake and Josh decorated it. It turned out really cute, Josh did a great job on it and Maya loved it. Maya chose what she wanted to wear to her party. She wore striped tights, pink sparkly shirt and her Snow White dress up dress. She looked adorable. When it came to singing happy birthday for Maya she was so excited. She loved all the singing just for her. She blew out her candles and was ready to move on to the presents. I told her we had to wait till everyone finished their cake. I soon after found her opening up a gift. When I came over there she told me not to look. We finally made it to her gifts and she loved them all. One of the gifts she received was a Cinderella outfit (tiara, dress, handbag and high heeled shoes) from the Webbs. She was eager to put it on. I wish I could post video to this site because she had us all laughing so hard as she tried to walk down the hallway in her shoes. She looked like a little bag lady with her striped tights and dress up dress wobbling down the hallway. She was definitely having fun. Maya is a sweet and smart little girl with a lot of spunk in her. She says the funniest things and has a way of getting her way. Everything is just one more for her, either it be cookies, books, hugs or kisses. And I am always up for one more hug for my little girl.

Alamo Bowl

2007-12-30T16:01:00.000-06:00

My dad gave us tickets to the Alamo bowl this year. The Aggies played against Penn State. It was me, Josh, Andrea and Anthony G. Isaac stayed with Connor, Sam was with Virgie and mom still had Maya. We drove down to San Antonio and grabbed a bit to eat at Chris Madrids. Josh has raved about this place and I finally was able to eat there. It was yummy!! We had some greasy hamburgers and fries. We drove to the Alamo Bowl, and thankfully we had reserved parking because there were so many people. We all had a great time. Unfortunately the Aggies lost, but for a while I thought for sure they would pull it off. O well! It is always nice to be surrounded by fellow Aggies, one of the reasons I love this school. We drove back home that night and after dropping off Andrea and picking up the kids we didn't get home till 2:30 am. Sam is still not feeling well and was a fussy little baby for Virgie. Poor little guy wouldn't go back to sleep till 3:30. I think he finally is on the road to recovery so we will have our happy smiling Sam back soon. Gig'Em Aggies! Whoop!!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-28T10:24:00.000-06:00

The Morris house had a wonderful Christmas this year. It seems like we have been actually celebrating for a while now and things are starting to calm down. We went to mass on Christmas Eve and for the most part the kids were well behaved. Afterwards we went to my dad's house to celebrate with his side of his family. Most of them had not met Sam, so it was nice to introduce him to everyone. We had a great time and the kids got to see Santa again. Isaac was so excited and wouldn't stop talking. I think he was the evening entertainment. That night Josh and I got home and started putting all the gifts out and made cookies for Christmas. Christmas morning came and we heard the kids talking. Josh went out to find them in the living room. We left the Christmas tree lights on so the kids could see the gifts. Josh asked them if Santa came and Isaac replied no. Josh said he think he did because of all the gifts out. (we put out santa gifts unwrapped on the coffee table). Isaac said, no Santa wasn't finished because the gifts were not wrapped and he needed to go back to bed so Santa could finish. It took some convincing but they finally accepting the fact that, yes, Santa had come. They they got all excited. We opened up gifts and the kids had a blast. It was so much fun to see their excitement. Right after opening up the gifts we got dressed and headed out the door. We drove to Abilene to the LeBlanc house to spend Christmas day. We had lots of fun hanging out with the family and the kids got a few more gifts to open. Later that day Josh, Isaac, Sam and I heading back to Austin.
We left Maya behind to stay with her cousins. Mariana is having a 13th bday party and invited Maya to stay. She was so excited about going to her party. She didn't bat an eye when we left. I have since talked to my mom and let's just say we are not missed in the slightest. Mom says Maya is having a blast over there. She has all her girl cousins doting on her and making her feel like a princess. I think I am going to have my hands full when comes back home. Mom did say that she had to take away the candy dish because Maya kept getting into the candy and Mom found her hiding eating the candy. Maya birthday is coming up in a couple of days, I think she is 2 going on 13. In her mind I am sure she thinks she is just as big as the other girls. Mom has said that Gabby has been especially patient with her. Meanwhile Isaac is missing her and isn't quite sure how to play by himself. He keeps asking if we are going to pick up Maya today. Isaac did get to spend the day with Connor yesterday. They went to Inerspace Caverns and ate lunch at Chick-fil-a. He had a super fun time.

As for Sam, poor little guy came down with a cold. I took him into the doctors office yesterday and it turns out he has RSV. He is on some breathing treatments and we just have to keep an eye out if he gets worse. The past few nights have been difficult as he keeps waking up every hour or so. He should be feeling better in a week or so. Now, I need to try and keep the other kids healthy!

Date Night

2007-12-21T10:48:00.000-06:00

Last night I went on a date. A date with a very sweet, funny and talkative young boy. Yes, I am talking about Isaac. We went Christmas shopping, to dinner and more Christmas shopping. He was such a trooper as I dragged him around the mall. We picked out gifts for Josh, Maya and Sam. At first he wanted to get Josh a computer, I had to break it to him that it was a little out of price range. So we settled on 2 board games. It was so much fun just hanging out with him. Maybe I am a little biased, but he really is an amazing little boy. The whole time we were at dinner I just stared at him and laughed at all the things he was saying. He reminds me so much of Josh sometimes. Josh took Maya on a date a week ago and she had a wonderful time. That sweet smile on her face was priceless when I told her she was going on a date with her daddy. They too went Christmas shopping, though she can't really keep a secret as she told me later on that she bought me a bracelet. I told Josh we need to continue to find time to spend with each kid separately. We are so blessed to have 3 amazing children and I realize more and more that they grow up way to quickly.

Christmas Lists

2007-12-19T17:15:00.000-06:00

It is Christmas time and the kids are so excited. It is so much fun to see the excitement in their eyes every time they see Santa, or Christmas lights or even just singing Christmas songs. Isaac and Maya had their Christmas program at school yesterday. They were so cute. Isaac wore a Santa hat and Maya had a t-shirt that they decorated and a little halo on her head. Need I mention that the halo kept coming off or was on crooked the whole time... quite fitting I believe. The kids have made their lists for Santa and they are as follows. Isaac wants a jet airplane, race car shirt, pants and pj's. And of course some cars. Maya would like a sparkly shirt, socks and a doll. And Sam, well as Isaac puts it, he can't talk so we don't know what he wants. He's getting a few toys, pj's and a small cuddly blanket. This whole Santa thing is so much fun. Right now the kids are small enough where hiding the toys is pretty easy and they have such an amazing ability to believe in Santa. Their joy is so contagious.
We have spent the past 2 weekends in Dallas celebrating Christmas with Josh's mom and dad. The kids have had such an amazing past couple of weeks. I think they think that Christmas last for weeks. I had to put a big C on the calendar so they could keep track of when Christmas is. The other day they woke up in the morning and Josh came out of the room to find them staring at the tree. They were so sad. Josh asked them what was wrong and they said that Santa didn't leave them any presents. We had to explain to them that he wasn't coming for a few more weeks. Hence the big C on the calendar.
We did have some big news yesterday, Allison had her baby! Kaylee was born at 10:32 pm, weighed 7 lb 13 oz and 20 inches long. I talked to Allison today and she said they were doing great and haven't slept much. O welcome to parenthood!
Tomorrow I am taking the kids to a puppet show at the library and afterwards we are picking up some lunch and going to the park. We are meeting a few of Isaac's classmates there as well. Hopefully all 3 kiddos will have fun.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-26T08:16:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year in Dallas. The night before Thanksgiving we headed to my Dad's house to celebrate Thanksgiving with him. It was just the Gonzales's, Turmans, Muto's and my nephew Vincent dropped by as well. We had some good fun and just got to spend some time together. Thursday morning we headed out for Dallas. The kids were very good on the drive and we only had to stop once! Everyone gathered at Nita's house. All of Josh's siblings where there with their families. It is always so much fun when we all get together. We all ate way too much, but the food was just so yummy. Nita was very adamant that we begin eating at 1 because her Cowboy game was coming on at 3. After eating we watched the Cowboy game then played some board games. On Friday Josh, Nita, Caleb and Katie went to College Station to watch the A&M vs. t.u. game. Me and the kiddos stayed behind and hung out at Nita's house all day. We watched the game and cheered the Aggies on to victory!! Whoop!! Josh said they had a blast, what a way to end the season. Saturday we went to Don's house and celebrated Thanksgiving with him. The kids had a blast playing with all of Mason's toys, while we watched a movie. It was a fun filled weekend and we are set to head back in a couple of weeks.

Isaac is 4!!

2007-11-20T15:19:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Isaac's 4th birthday on Saturday. He played in his last soccer game, then some of the kids from his team all went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and of course to get their medal. Isaac had a good last game and actually scored 2 goals! We laugh about the goals because he basically stayed back and let the other kids kick the ball, then he came in at the last minute and scored. None the less he had fun and we had fun watching him. Later that night we had a small party for him at our house. Those that came were Grandma, Aunt Virgie, Jacob, Anthony, Aunt Vernie, Uncle Luke, Connor, Ava and Tia Andri. Isaac loved his cake and his Tim Duncan ice cream. He got some great gifts and had lots of fun. Maya is now eager to get her party started. She will be 3 at the end of the year and has already informed me she wants cupcakes and has pointed some items out she wants for her birthday.

Sunday after mass we spent the whole day watching NASCAR. Josh and Isaac were very excited that their driver, Jimmie Johnson, won the championship. I can't believe I am actually including this in my blog, Josh will be shocked. My back decided to go out on me on Friday and I have been trying so hard to get it back into good health. Josh was very helpful to me over the weekend and took Daddy duty like a champ! Isaac went in for his 4 yr old check-up and we discovered that he has bronchitis and an ear infection. Maya also has an ear infection and poor little Sam is all congested. Seems like the Morris house has the sicky bug, hopefully we will all get better soon as we are going to Dallas for Thanksgiving. Till later!

So much to say

2007-11-14T11:06:00.000-06:00

I was reminded by my sister that I haven't updated my blog in a while. I have meaning to for a long time, as much has been going on, but all the excuses come up. So, no more excuses! What has been going on with the Morris clan the past month or so? Well, we had Halloween, vacation with Daddy, trips to Dallas, and of course Isaac's 4th birthday! Josh took off a week from work in October, we went to Dallas for Allison's baby shower and Josh took Isaac to an airshow. Allison's shower was so much fun and she got lots of goodies for the baby. Isaac had a blast at the airshow with Josh. He loves telling people about it, he is so animated when he tells his stories. He is so much like Josh. During Josh's vacation we came back to Austin and went to the Austin Children's Museum and Zilker park. The kids loved the museum and of course had fun playing at the park. Most of all they really enjoyed having Daddy home for a whole week, and of course I enjoyed having him around.

Halloween came on a Wednesday this year and I took the kids to Josh's work so they could trick-or-treat at his office. All the employees had candy for the kids and Josh got to show off just how cute our kids are :o). Isaac was the black spiderman, Maya was a princess and Sam was a giraffe (or has Grammy says, a cow). The two older kids really got into the whole idea of Halloween this year, they loved dressing up and of course all the candy, which we are still eating. Isaac told everyone that he was the good black spiderman who saved people. Maya loved all her sparkly jewelry and princess shoes, and she twirled around whenever people asked what she was. And Sam, well he just looked super adorable in his costume. Grandma came over to our house and helped pass out candy and see the kids in their costumes.

We spent many a Friday or Wednesday night going to see Anthony and Jacob play football. The kids enjoy seeing their big cousins play and cheer them on. Maya loves playing with the pom poms and Isaac really like screaming and yelling rooting for his team. October has also been spent trying to potty train Maya. Let's just say we are still working on it. She is strong willed and headstrong. I am learning to have patience and learned quickly that forcing her was not the way to go. She has a potty chart and loves putting her princess and kitty cat stickers on her chart.

We had a very sad beginning of November as Josh's cousin Gena passed away. She battled with cancer for the past 4 1/2 years. The funeral was beautiful and the church service was packed with all the people she touched. I know I will truly miss her, she was the first one of Josh's extended family to make feel so welcome into the Hartley clan. When I tell people about her I still can't help but get teary eyed because she was such a beautiful human being. We are all so blessed to have had the chance to know her.

Isaac's birthday was yesterday, he is now 4 years old!! He is such a big boy, so smart and funny. He reminds me so much of Josh, especially his story telling. We made cookies so he could take them to school and share them with his friends. Later that night we took him to dinner and went to soccer practice. We are having a small party for him on Saturday, he is looking forward to it so much. He is standing next to me right now as I type and wants me to include that he is going to the doctors office after his party. O, and he just kissed my arm and told me he loved me... made my day! Maya wants me to include that princess Maya likes playing with Isaac, and she says this as she twirls around. Well, the kids are begging me to play bubbles with them outside and I am running out of five more minutes. Till next time, which hopefully won't be too much longer.

Field Day

2007-10-08T22:05:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday the kids had Field day at their Mothers Day Out. I was able to volunteer for the festivities (I say volunteer, but half the time I was tending to Sam). All the kids were so cute and I got to play with Isaac and Maya's class. The kids had a blast, Maya's favorite things were the bubbles while Isaac loved playing soccer and basketball. Saturday Josh and I drove up to College Station with Caleb and Katie for an Aggie football game. It was a tight game but we pulled out a win!! WHOOP! We all had a super fun time but didn't get home till 1:30 am, of course Sam was wide awake at 5:30, mama needs more than 4 hours of sleep!! Maya and Sam spent the day with Grandma and Maya was a good big sister and helped Grandma take care of Sam. Isaac spent the day with his cousin Connor. Vernie said they had a blast playing together and had so much fun playing outside in the water and mud. Sunday we went to church and then spent the rest of the day with the Gonzales family and grandma. The kids always love going over there. Isaac can't wait till he is big like Anthony and Jacob and of course Maya is Alie's princess in training. We are all looking forward to a good week and the kids can't wait to see Grammy and Grandaddy this weekend.

Rain Rain Go Away

2007-10-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

We are back from our mini-vacation in Corpus Christi. We had a blast! We stayed with our friends Amy, Hector and Raul. They were so gracious as to put us up for the extended weekend. It ended up raining for much of the stay but the sun did come out on Sunday and we took advantage of it and headed to the beach. The kids had so much fun and want to go back tomorrow. Though it rained we still had a wonderful time just hanging out with our friends. The kids got along so well and we have determined that Maya and Raul will be getting into a lot of trouble in the future. Seems like both of them have a bit of dare-devil in them. Amy is pregnant and just found out she is having a boy, she looks all aglow with that pregnancy happiness. Josh finally suckered me into playing Risk with him, I have been avoiding playing this game with him. And guess what... I won!! I did have a little help from him and Hector, but I won. And we all know how much I enjoy winning. I think maybe he did this on purpose so I will play again. So, we are back in Austin and trying to get back into the swing of things. Funny how just being away for a few days can make things out of whack. I was sad to come home to find out my guardian angel maid hadn't paid me a visit to clean my house, guess that will be up to me. I will try and post a few pictures of the kids at the beach, see if I can figure this thing out.

Shoots and Ladders

2007-09-27T08:21:00.000-05:00

I bought the board game Chutes and Ladders for the kids the other day. They were so excited about playing it with the family. Mind you they have never played the game before. When Josh got home from work Isaac was so excited to tell him about the new game and how we were going to play it that night. He told him that mommy, Maya and daddy were going to climb ladders and he (Isaac) was going to shoot them. Is this funny, or should I be concerned?

So, I am a bad mom or least a mom that procrastinates. Maya was the line leader at school today. When they are line leader they are to bring a snack for the whole class, a favorite book and a couple pictures from home. As I was putting her bucket together I went on my search for pictures of the family. Much to my dismay we don't have any pictures of Sam.. he is almost 4 months old! How sad. It isn't like we haven't taken any of him, we just haven't printed them, they are all still on the camera or my computer. So Maya's family picture was pre-Sam. I told her Sam was in Mommy's tummy, she seemed okay with that answer.

And so it begins...

2007-09-24T08:20:00.000-05:00

I decided to start this blog as a way for me to remember all those little things that go on day to day that I know if left to my memory will cease to exist. You see, I tend to forget things, that is except for some small meaningless thing Josh did or said about my hair or clothes. You know, those silly and petty things that women can never seem to forget. I find myself watching my children grow and think to myself, that is so cute I will have to remember this when they are teenagers and I am about to strangle them. Josh's grandmother recently ran across a journal she kept for a short while back in the late 70's. She shared with all her children, grandchildren and extended family excerpts from this journal. It was really the neatest thing and everyone loved hearing about what was going on with their family 'way back then'. So, I begin this blog and dedicate it to my wonderful family who continually bless me with their love, hugs, kisses and daily reminders that God has a sense of humor.