My two girls still at home

It has been so fun to still have Caroline and Kathryn at home with me during the day. I went yesterday to sign Caroline up for Kindergarten. Where does the time go? Caroline has been busy taking Speech classes twice a week and dancing one day a week. Kathryn and I will miss her next year when she goes off to school.

Lauren and Holden's 1st day of school- Aug.2007

Well, the school year is almost over. I can't believe it! I wanted to add some pictures of the kids on their first day of school. I am just now posting this because I was in no frame of mind when school started this year. I had been diagnosed with my cancer one week before, so things were really crazy. This has been a great school year for both Lauren and Holden. Holden's kindergarten teacher's name is Mrs. Carpenter. Lauren has two 3rd grade teachers- Mrs. Oster and Mrs. Estrada. Both Lauren and Holden are in the dual language program at school. They learn most of their curriculum thruout the day in Spanish. It is amazing to me that they can understand and read Spanish so well. Their teachers are awesome! When I was in the hospital in November, one of Lauren's teachers called the house and studied with her on the phone for her Science test. How often does that happen? Then her teachers had their class write me get well cards. I received 33 beautiful cards. Her teachers also came to our house to bring me gifts after my surgery. I feel very fortunate that my kids have such caring and amazing teachers!

Grandma Lois turns 96!

Me, my sisters and one sister-in-law
at Grandma's party.

Grandma Lois on her 96th Birthday!












On April 15 my Dad's mom turned 96! We traveled to her hometown for a large family birthday party for her. She is a funny lady who told me that she loves every day of her life. She lives in an assisted living facility (much like a nice hotel). Her Dr. told her a few weeks ago that he had never seen a woman her age with such a healthy heart. My grandpa passed away 11 years ago, so she has been on her own ever since. He was the kind of man that took care of everything- shopping for groceries, the bills, the yard, vaccuuming, working, etc. Maybe that is why she has lived so long. She hasn't had the same chaos that a lot of moms today have. And chaos often means stress. I hope that I can look and feel as good as she does when I am older.

Happy 9th Birthday Lauren!!

Lauren in her new birthday outfit. April 23, 2008.

Mom and Lauren and Caroline at Olive Garden.

Lauren and her friends eating at Olive Garden after having had their manicures. Aren't they cute?

Wow! I can't believe that it has been 9 years since my first baby was born. I still remember it like yesterday. It was Fiesta Friday (a big deal in San Antonio) and my doctor was arguing with another doctor about who was on call and would deliver my baby. (This after being in labor for 12 hours! Needless to say, I did not not use that doctor for my other babies.) I still don't know the name of the doctor that actually delivered her. My eyes were shut and by that point I didn't care who delivered her. Then she came out a big surprise. We had been told that we were having a baby boy. 2 baby showers later, Lauren entered the world as our surprise baby girl. Jared was totally in shock. I was just glad to finally be done with labor and have a healthy little baby. She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz. But I could have sworn that she was 9 lbs! She was beautiful (even with bruises on her head from forceps to get her out) and so tiny. She has been playing practical jokes ever since. Lauren is a beautiful and smart girl. She is a great big sister to her brother and sisters. Although sometimes she does lose her patience with them just like I do. She tries very hard. She is a good little student who has worked diligently at mastering Spanish this year. She loves to play tricks on people, cracking herself up as she does. She enjoys visiting with people, dancing, shopping, eating out, writing in her journal, and organizing her room. She is a detail person, always noticing the slightest new thing or if something has changed from before. I appreciate the special spirit that she is. She is a big help to me.

For her birthday, Lauren invited 3 other girls (9-10 year olds) and she asked Caroline to come (another example of the kind big sister that she is) to have manicures and then to eat at Olive Garden. It was a lot of fun for me also. Today she got picked up from school at noon by Mama Pam and she went to lunch and then to shop for her birthday gift. She brought home a very cute Build -A- Bear. Tonight Meme and Papa and Becca brought over her gifts and a cake and we had dinner. We are going to have a family dinner on Sunday at Mama Pam and Papa Miller's house. Jared had school tonight so we didn't do it tonight. I think she had a great 9th birthday. I love you Lauren!

I'm Back!

After 6 months to the day, I finally am able to join the blogging world again. I figured that I spend so much time reading other blogs that I might as well use some of that time to update my own. Much has happened since my last entry. I have endured 2 surgeries, an ileostomy bag for 8 weeks, the holidays, and now more chemo. I feel so blessed to be where I am now.

I am going to try to post pictures of all the happenings over the last few months. Please forgive me while I try to play catch up. I feel like the last few months have been on hold while I was trying to recover from so much trauma to my body. Many days, it was all I could do to perform my duties as a Mom. I am looking forward to organizing the moments of my life that I would like to capture.