Memory Hunting

2011-09-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

2011-09-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

aun-tia suzi came and went

2010-06-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Aun-tia Suzi, Ben's sister, came in on Monday and left on Thursday, but we jam packed as much as we can in her few short days here. It pretty much involved lots of eating... we hit up in-n-out (of course), Joe's Sushi, and Sprinkles. She left Sprinkles with 7 cupcakes all for herself! I guess that is what happens when there is no Sprinkles in San Antonio.

Soul loved meeting her Aun-tia for the very first time and True and Brave had a blast playing with her all the day long! They already told me that they miss their Aun-tia and want her to come back!!! We love you Aun-tia Suzi!!!

sheesh

2010-06-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

This little Soul is one eager beaver to get caught up to her two big sisters. Last week it was crawling, now this week it is pulling herself up to stand (and not just in her play yard).

I still haven't even got caught up with a picture of her crawling and she is already standing! Wherever she is, she will crawl to a place where there is somewhere to put her hands, so she can lift her chubby self up. I thought she was gonna be a slow mover cause of her chubbiness, but it seems her weight is no match for her will. This girl is moving... and fast! At this rate, she will be going off to college at the age of 5!

and she's up

2010-06-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

I can no longer use the co-sleeper cause this little one is a climber! She even climbs up and stands in the play yard. The co-sleeper is now put away. I got kinda sad because if Soul is our last one, that was the last time it would be used by us. Ah! This baby phase goes by too fast, but we aren't sure if we are gonna go for that fourth. We will see what God wants...

Oh! And did I tell you? She is a crawler. Yup! She is everywhere and into everything. Send in the border patrol, cause this little one needs it!!!

six...

2010-06-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

{six months}

{five months}

{four months}

{three months}

{two months}

{one month}

in position

2010-05-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

She can get her legs under her and she is in position to start crawling. It is just a matter of time. It is making this mama a wee bit nervous. How can she grow so fast?!! She's my baby!!!

not ready

2010-05-06T15:23:00.001-07:00

Ben and I are pretty structured people, so as soon as Brave and True were sleeping through the night, they were moved out of our room into their own crib, in their own room. For True this happened at 2 months, for Brave 5 months, so we know Soulie's time is coming soon. I don't think I will be ready. We aren't sure if we are gonna go for the fourth, right now it looks unlikely, but only God knows right? So with Soulie growing so fast, I don't think I am ready for her to not be a baby.

A few weekends ago, we finally fixed up Brave's vintage bed that we had sitting outside forever. Ben scraped and sealed it, then we took it up to True's room to get ready for Brave to move in with True. They were both so excited. I was too, but then when it came time to put them to bed together at night, I realized I wasn't ready. I was dreading this next step. The girls were happy and had cute conversations as they both laid down in each of their own beds. Their conversation went like this:

True: Brave, I have a picture of my mommy and papi.
Brave: I have a picture of Bravey.
True: Goodnight Brave.
Brave: Goodnight True.

True: I have my own bed over here.
Brave: Now, I have my own bed too.
True: Goodnight.
Brave: Goodnight.

They both did well that night, though True did cry for a bit, but Brave fell right asleep in her own little big girl bed. The next morning we heard them wake up and immediately start playing together. Ben and I were both so proud.

That evening when it came time to put them to bed again, well, we put Brave back in the crib in her own room. Ben and I were not ready for them to share just yet. It felt like they were such big girls and we weren't ready for that. I particularly wasn't ready. Brave wasn't happy with the decision to go back in the crib, but we told her, "If you want to sleep in your big bed and share a room with True, you have to go poo poo and pee pee in the potty all the time. Okay?" So that's the deal. Once she gets this whole potty thing down, it will be off to the shared room she goes. I am kinda nervous. She has gone #1 & #2 in the potty for two days... I guess she is highly motivated.

Though until she has got the potty thing down, this side of the room will be patiently waiting for her...

her four-to booth birthday

2010-04-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

After her Auntie Linda's wedding, which had a photo booth for guests to enjoy, True was asking for a photo booth for her birthday. Ben and I were originally going to take her to watch a local musical, but after this request, our minds started spinning. Hm... a photo booth. Believe it or not, Ben even thought about buying one, just thought about it though, after talking to a few experts (and seeing the price), we decided against it. Though if it was photo booth that she wanted, well by golly, it is photo booth that she was gonna get!

The Saturday before her actual birthday was when her photo booth adventure was going to take place. It all started with her card, which was a photo booth strip of Ben and me, and we gave it to her first to start it all off!

Next, we made her close her eyes and took her to our own homemade photo booth to kick off the picture taking frenzy! She was so so excited.

This was us in our homemade photo booth. We hung up fabric to make an enclosed area, used our macbook in front of us to take the pictures, then photoshopped it into strips, and we printed it onto photo paper, cut it out, and voila! Our homemade photo booth pictures, not to bad, eh?

Then we gave her the next surprise, which was a small vintage suitcase full of goodies. She opened each different goody all throughout the day to help aid in the dress up photo bonanza.

First stop: Cue, a Japanese photo booth studio.

It was pretty crazy because the instructions are in Japanese, which I don't understand, and there is so much going on. You have to pick backgrounds, colors, and get to digitally draw on your pictures. It was crazy fun! The girls loved drawing on their pictures. These pictures are also cool because they are stickers!

Next stop: Boomers.

True opened up some more treats from her suitcase: party hats, homemade wool felt beards, and princess dress-up items. Everyone was getting into the dressing up and making silly faces!

Next stop: Scandia.

Here she opened up: clown noses, big glasses, funny eyes glasses, and glasses with a funny nose. Our favorite here was the funny eye glasses because as soon as we put them on, we couldn't see a thing and we were all just laughing and laughing.

Soul was a pretty good sport throughout all of this. She was fed after each picture taking session and didn't mind being in and out of the car seat all day long.

Last stop: Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.

This was were we really wanted to go as we knew they had the vintage photo booth, but the machine was out of order and they were expecting the technician to come fix it that day. So we kept calling and calling to see if it had gotten serviced. As we were leaving Scandia, Ben called one last time to see if if the machine had gotten fixed, and lo and behold the booth technician just got there. Thus, we decided to make the long trek to Palm Springs. Hoping it would be up and running upon our arrival. Thankfully it was and boy was this the dreamiest booth ever! Oh vintage photo booth... we love you so so much!!!

The birthday girl was the happiest camper around and was excited to be going home with a stack of photographs to tape up right next to her bed. She kept EE-ing and AH-ing with excitement the whole ride home!!!

'Twas a lovely four-to booth birthday adventure with our little baby who is now a little girl. I can hardly believe she is 4! She got all she wished for this birthday... a photo booth, camera, and sushi. All simple, but sweet. If you want to see just a smidge bit more pictures of our fun day, check here.

yes

2010-03-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

I am very much still alive. I know I have been horrible at our family blog, but with three kids time is a bit more tricky to find for myself. Thus, if I am not blogging here, read Cakies because I am for sure blogging there!

I will update soon with lots of caught memories that are long overdue!

angry

2010-01-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

Pretty much all evening long. Then, she settles down and goes to sleep.

taking turns

2010-01-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ben and I had date night on Friday. We ate yummy cajun seafood. I, actually we, have been craving it forever. This our first time leaving Soul together. She did well with Auntie RJ and Grammie.

On Sunday afternoon, Ben had a date with his two big girls. They went to see The Princess and the Frog. These two are definitely Papi's little princesses. They came home telling me about the princess kissing the frog. That seems to be all they remember.

We love taking turns having date nights with our main man.

go spurs go

2010-01-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

We introduced Soul to the San Antonio Spurs. She is their littlest-biggest fan!

Big sisters played as they watched the game. What can I say?!! They are girls and can multi-task. They can cheer the Spurs and have a picnic all at the same time. It was fun having all of us decked out in our little outfits.

Go Spurs Go!!!

wrapped

2010-01-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

I will be sad when the day comes that she will be too big to be swaddled.

cleansing the soul

2010-01-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

For some reason, Ben and I always give our children their first baths late. True had hers at like 2 months and she had to settle for lots of sponge baths and wipe downs before that. Brave got hers at a little over 1 month and now it was Soul's turn. Luckily, she got hers at one month and it was definitely about time!

Her first bath wasn't so bad, some crying here and some quiet moments there, but overall my little Soul did pretty good.

Now, my baby is so fresh and so clean clean! Well, until her next spit up, which in this case was right after she got her clean shirt on. This little baby spits up so much! I don't remember the other girls being like that, but every kid is different.

Spit up or clean, my baby still smells pretty good.

one month

2010-01-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

51

2010-01-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

Grumpy turned 51 and we all went to the park for a picnic to celebrate.

Praise God for giving my Dad 51 years of life and may the rest of his life be even more fruitful in loving and enjoying God.

our rockin' new year

2010-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve we do something we call "Club Bratcher." We dress up in our silliest outfit, eat some black-eyed peas, then blast some Black Eyed Peas and dance the night away. This year we even had a strobe light!

To help get our party started, I made a colorful garland to string above our dinner table...

True made a "Happy New Year" sign...

The girls got a New Year present, which was a new sketchbook for the new year...

Ben made Grilled Insalata Di Mare, which is seriously so yum that everyone must try it...

Of course, he also made black-eyed peas as it is tradition to have that before we dance...

After we all indulged in the yummy food, we got the party started and danced...

And danced...

Okay, actually Ben and I got out-danced by Brave and True as we were exhausted, but the strobe light was giving them some magical energy despite the late hour. Nevertheless, we all rocked the night away and rang in the New Year together.

We've got a feeling 2010 will bring lots of good things. It already started pretty great!!!

doctor visit #2

2009-12-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

Last week, I took Soul to her second doctor visit. Not quite ready to venture out with three kids, their Auntie RJ (and Reinna) slept over so they could babysit. Soul is pretty good in the car, not much crying as long as she is fed.

For this visit, Soul was 3 weeks old and had already gained 2 more pounds and grew 1 inch. Dr. Kwan told us that usually at this visit they should be back to birth weight, but this little one has already surpassed it. I have a feeling this one is going to have a little chubby phase like Brave did, though just like the older two, will fall off the growth chart because she will probably be super petite like the older two too.

We are so enjoying this newborn time. I know that in no time she will be running around (and fighting) with her older sisters.

puzzling

2009-12-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

Some of Ben's students at work were so kind to give us a large gift basket of Dr. Seuss stuff. In it was a puzzle and immediately True went to work. Our little big girl completed her first puzzle all by herself. She was quite proud.

We were very proud of her!

our christmas

2009-12-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas morning started off late as we ended Christmas Eve really late, nevertheless we were all pretty excited to see our full stockings and what Santa brought the girls.

We all quickly ate breakfast and was anxiously awaiting for Papi to be finished doing whatever he was doing in the garage, so that we could get the party started! I knew he must have been working on my Christmas present.

Kids are funny cause initially I think they like the actual opening more than the actual gift. Each girl got three gifts from us, one from Santa, and stocking stuffers. We tried to get True and Brave similar things otherwise WWIII would ensue and for the sake of the world, we can't let that happen.

Brave was adorable cause she immediately loved her Jess Brown doll and named her Ballerina. My kids definitely got our naming skills... they go with the untraditional.

I had two requests for Christmas: 1. Email our wedding videographers 2. A chalkboard canvas. Of course, in true Ben nature, he delivered. I love them both, but I am still waiting for the email back from the videographers.

It was also our little Soul's first Christmas and she was oblivious to everything around her.

After all the present opening, we immediately had to get dressed to head over to my Aunt and Uncle's. True and Brave were so cute in their French vintage dresses. I so wish that they still sold clothes that looked like this.

I had a vintage dress for Soul, but didn't stress in altering it to fit her teeny tiny frame, so I will just save it for next Christmas. Plus, she was swaddled up the whole day anyways.

We went to my Aunt's and ate more food, opened more presents, played fun games and then headed home to have our own little family celebration. Ben cooked a simple meal and we just spent the evening together with a fire and a good movie. Well, Ben and I had time to throw in a fight between the two of us too, but I guess sometimes things like that just happen. Thankfully, Christ was born on Christmas so that he could come into the world to save us from sin, the kind of sin like pride that happens during a fight.

It was definitely a special Christmas with our new family of five. We definitely had a very Merry Christmas!!!

'twas a late night

2009-12-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Grammie and Grumpy's house. My mom of course prepared a wonderful meal fit for a king! She does not have the word simple in her vocabulary and I am sure not going to complain about that as I got to indulge into a ginormous lobster. It was so delicious! The two little ones even got their own cornish hens.

After the delicious feasting, my dad had a message on "Christian Giving vs. Christmas Giving" and it is something we definitly should work on. For me, I have been planning what gifts to give since summer time, but have failed to plan how to give like how Christ commands. I definitely need to work on being a Christian giver.

Then, around midnight we opened presents. True and Brave (and Soul) of course were blessed with presents galore. They kept opening, and opening, and opening. It seemed to never end. Ben and I got some cool things too! Thanks to me and RJ exchanging our wish lists and reporting that to our parents. That's right, even at 28, I gave my parents a wish list! Not just for things I wish for, but even things I like for the girls. They did a good job in trying to support our toy philosophy and buying things handmade, even if they did throw in a few other things for good measure. Thanks Mom and Dad (Grammie & Grumpy), Creinna, Richendrew, and Fayan... we love everything (even the Elmo)!

We ended the night extremely exhausted, but had full tummies and happy hearts!

the big sisters

2009-12-18T13:26:00.001-08:00

They are the best of friends and the best of enemies. They laugh and play all day long, but when they fight it kinda drives me crazy. Oh boy! Nevertheless, I love them both so much.

he's thirty-five

2009-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

When I met him he was 26. Several years and three kids later, he is now in his mid-thirties. Before you know it, he will be in his mid-forties, but will always be looking younger than ever. I am pretty sure it is because he loads up on tons of anti-oxidants daily, thus have lots of things fighting those free radicals.

Like tradition, he got his breakfast in bed. He kept insisting that I not make it seeing how I am the one doing the round the clock feedings, but it is tradition and I love him so much that I just had to.

During the day, he did things that needed to be taken care of and spent the afternoon with True working on the garden. It was definitely a more low-key birthday than last year, but with a newborn and it being so cold, we didn't have many options. Nevertheless, we had an evening full of family time.

We made a fire, did our Christmas advent, ordered in lots of sushi, sang happy birthday with his favorite cupcakes, gave him a little sewprise, and watched Home Alone. It was just Papi and all of his girls.

Happy birthday Benny! We love you!!! I promise next year's birthday will be super grand!!!

a hunting we will go

2009-12-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
To find our first real Christmas tree,
For a hunting we will go.

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
We found a tree and took him home,
To decorate with lots of glow.

the first few days

2009-12-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

Soul is so sweet. The first night was hard and she kept eating and eating and eating. It seemed to never stop. Now, she has settled down and has the every 2 hour thing down good, really good. The life of a newborn is bliss... a lot of cuddling, eating, and sleeping.

We are all so in love with her.

we've got Soul

2009-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Meet our newest little babycakies... Soul Valentina Bratcher.

Soul arrived safe and sound early Thursday morning, after some fierce contractions that started around 9pm Wednesday night. Her name Soul Valentina is our little prayer for her as Valentina is from Latin origins and means "strong & healthy." Therefore, we pray that she would have a strong and healthy soul and one who is a strong and healthy soul winner for Christ.

We are all absolutely in love and praise God for the new soul that he has brought into our family. Thank you Jesus!!!

christmas is coming

2009-12-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

Excitement is abounding in our little home as we are getting everything ready to celebrate Jesus' birthday. The girls know that once they start to see Christmas trees their little sister will arrive shortly. So we are hurrying our decorations in order to get ready for their little sister's homecoming and I hope it is really, really soon.

Meanwhile, we have started to put out some decorations, but we still need to get our tree and I have to make one extra Christmas stocking. We indulged in some special "healthy" home baked cookies and had pandora on playing some Christmas music. It was a grand time of memory making.

We also started our Christmas advent. We are looking forward to using it for a little more Christmas memory making.

The birth of Christ is such a wonderful, miraculous event and I pray that amidst all this holiday busyness, we don't forget the real reason for the Christmas season.

the two sisters

2009-12-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

Are both are girly as girly can be...

I can't wait to get the third one into the mix.

happy indeed

2009-11-30T12:20:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was full of family, fun, and of course food. Thanksgiving for us started on Wednesday night and we continued to have fun at 3 different meals at three different houses. We are truly so blessed.

Now, Ben says I can go into labor as he was trying to not have a Thanksgiving baby, so please baby... come out!!!

snip snip

2009-11-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

After 3 and a half years, True finally got a haircut. I had a little rule that I made myself, which was no hair cuts until after the age of 3. I wanted her to baby as long as possible.

It was exciting, but heart breaking to see her get it cut. Thankfully, her Auntie Reinna is a stylist at Carlton, so True got the VIP treatment, although taking a 3 year old to a salon like that is asking for trouble. Nevertheless, True was pretty excited to get to sit in the salon chair.

Despite her nervous looking face, she loved every moment and she is already anticipating her next hair cut. She looks so big now with her hair cut! Ben is not liking the fact that she looks older...

Later that evening, she said something funny. She had just gotten out of the bath and her hair was wet and messy down her face and she looked in the mirror and said, "Mommy, where did my hair cut go?"

I just laughed and realized that she no longer saw the cute little bob her Auntie styled for her.

Thanks Auntie Reinna!!!

who knew?

2009-11-27T07:34:00.001-08:00

I could swallowed a turkey!!!

(polaroid and pictures taken by my RJ)

Okay, not really, but it looks like it... doesn't it?

waiting

2009-11-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

Almost 2 weeks until my due date and we are just waiting. I am so ready to go now, but all in God's time. It is hard not to get anxious, but we are just very excited. This pregnancy has definitely been the hardest of the three and I cannot wait to meet her. I know she will be here before we know it, but waiting is hard.

I have pretty much done and made all I wanted to before the baby comes. I keep coming up with new lists of to-dos, but we are ready when she is.

Until then, we remain a family of four...

I can't wait to see the rest of our family photos from Christian. Soon, we will have to take another batch as a family of five, but it is fun to look back and see when we were just a family of three! God is good as he continues to bless us. We are still in awe as we know having children is a miracle and gift from God. Children are definitely a blessing...

rockin' mama day '09

2009-11-20T07:50:00.001-08:00

Every year, Ben and the girls try to give me a "Rockin' Mommy Day." Ben believes birthdays and holidays should not be the only days to show appreciation, so he came up with "Rockin' Mommy Day." I never know when or how this day will come, but when it comes, it definitely rocks!

So on Sunday, I stayed home from church because Brave was a bit under the weather and we didn't want to get any other kids sick. Well, True and Ben came home from church and immediately True had a message and a rock for me. True said, "You rock Mama!" With my past "Rockin' Mommy Days," the note is accompanied with a tiny little rock to remind me that I rock. It really is all too clever.

The note had the lyrics to Michael Jackson's song "Rock With You" and the line, "DON'T TRY TO FIGHT IT, THERE AIN'T NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO" was highlighted. This was my clue to the first surprise.

Ben hurriedly told me that we need to leave the house now. Good thing I was dressed! I didn't know where we were going. I kinda freaked out as Brave was not dressed and we left the house without any shoes for the girls, so I thought what on earth was going on!

We drove a bit when Ben exited and was making his way to Glen Ivy. It finally clicked. My husband was dropping me off at the beautiful Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa. They bid me farewell and informed me of all my appointments and that they would see me later. I was so excited! I had never been pampered like this before. My first appointment was a pedicure, which was kinda funny as I was just complaining to Ben about my feet the day before.

The pedicure was so relaxing and I was loving every moment. My next appointment, which was a pregnancy massage, was not for another 30 minutes, so I grabbed a yummy sandwich and lounged by the pool. It was so nice to enjoy some peace and quiet. After snapping pictures and enjoying the time, I moseyed on back to the salon and checked in for my appointment.

As I was waiting, I heard someone call my name and I looked up... it was my best friend Linda. I was so shocked! It was funny cause I was gonna call her while I was eating to tell her what Ben did, but I didn't see anyone on a phone, so I thought it was not allowed. Well, it turns out my husband thought I might want some company, so he arranged for Lin and I to hang out and get massages together! Dang. Ben really thinks of everything.

Well, Lin and I chatted during the first half of our massage and then I think we almost fell asleep during the second half cause we were so relaxed. Then, they nudged us it was over, we didn't want it to be. I think we were in denial. The massage was so wonderful and I (and Linda) wished it went on forever.

Now, I was getting the plan, not only was Lin there for some company, but she was also my ride home. I knew something was not quite ready wherever I was to be next, as she suddenly wanted to stop at a nearby farmers market and get some roasted corn. I kept bugging her that she was stalling and that Ben needed more time or something. Thus, we got corn and even made a stop at Anthropologie. Seriously, I was wondering what was going on that Ben needed that much more time. Linda then handed me my next note and rock...

The second clue was "YOU GOTTA FEEL THE HEAT AND WE CAN RIDE THE BOOGIE."

Seriously, I was a bit confused and intrigued.

Finally, we made our way back to my house. She had instructions for me... I was to go through the front door and just sit on the blue couch and that is just what I did. Mind you, it was pitch black in my house and I sat there on the blue couch in the dark, all I could make out were these words written on the black paper, which covered the entire wall.

After about 5 minutes of waiting, I see little shadows with round heads stroll in and some music start playing. I started laughing hilariously once I realized what was going on! It was Michael Jackson's "Rock with You" song, which was the song written on my rockin' notes. My Ben and girls decided to celebrate "Rockin' Mommy Day" by recreating Michael Jackson's video. There was even a spotlight from the ceiling and a green strobe light behind them as they danced. Even the girls were totally into it as they were shaking booty and pointing the finger in their little dance.

Mid-song, when the song sang "And we can ride the boogie." Ben said, "Who is 'Boogie' girls?" Then, he left the room and came back carrying the rocker that I had been wanting and they aptly named the rocker, "Boogie." I screamed in excitement and they all kept dancing along.

Of course, I couldn't just sit there nor did they intend for me to, so they handed me another note and rock, which called me to boogie on down with them.

The note highlighted "GIRL CLOSE YOUR EYES, AND LET THE RHYTHM GET INTO YOU."

So I let the rhythm get in, danced to a medley of Michael Jackson songs (even got to wear my very own special Michael Jackson wig!) and rode "Boogie" too.

My husband is just so clever. He really would say he is not crafty or creative, but he really is just super humble, but come on! He bought black shirts and leggings, took double stick tape, laid stripes down on the black outfits using the double stick tape, then sprinkled silver glitter on top. Oh! I can't fail to mention the silver boots that he spray painted and glitter-fied too! He even completed them all with some 'fros. It looks pretty darn close to Michael Jackson's outfit. Gosh... I am so blessed to have my Ben.

The rest of the evening consisted of picking up some yummy Japanese food I was craving and we had a picnic inside of our house. It was perfect.

The next evening, I had another surprise. Brave handed me another rock with a note that highlighted, "RELAX YOUR MIND, LAY BACK AND GROOVE WITH US... SHARE THAT BEAT OF SOUL." The surprise was that the four of us were going to create a family-made piece of art to welcome the new baby.

Although the Michael Jackson trio had been feeling under the weather, we had fun working together to create a masterpiece for the newest addition to our family.

The end result is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E as everyone had their own little corner and space that we worked on and drew and colored for baby. It definitely was a labor of love and something I hope baby will cherish when she gets older. It is framed and ready to go in the baby's room, once she gets a room, but for now, it will be in our room as that is where babycakies will stay in the mean time.

I feel absolutely blessed to have been showered with this much love and surprises. I love being Ben's wife and True and Brave's mom. It really is so wonderful. It humbles me so much that they think I am so wonderful to deserve this because I know all my shortcomings and failures and it is only by God's grace that I am able to go through each day as a wife and mother.

I know it may seem like this fantasy life with a doting husband and well-behaved children who like to craft all day long, but really, we do fight and there is even yelling in our house. Ben and I are both sinners who are struggling and trying to trust God everyday in the roles God has given us. It isn't easy and there is no way we could do this on our own. Most of the time we fail, which makes us even more thankful for the cross. Thank you Lord!

It was definitely a most happy "Rockin' Mommy Day!" My Benny and my girls rock!!!

this is it

2009-11-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

It was finally time to take the girls to see their first movie... This is It.

If you know me, I grew up loving Michael Jackson. My family would watch all his videos and my brother and I would re-enact all of them (we have tons of videos to prove it). He thought he was Michael and I just wanted to be a dancer/choreographer. Ben also grew up listening and loving Michael, but good thing he wasn't trying to be a Michael Jackson dancer like me! My girls have been passed down the love for MJ and everytime we are driving that is what they want to listen to. Now, with the movie out, we thought it was the perfect start to their movie experience. Before their introduction to the movies we went out for a family dinner.

Then, off to the movies we went...

They were in awe. They ate popcorn and they had a grand time, except when Thriller came on, as it scared them a bit. We were impressed that they stayed awake and were quiet the whole time, except when True would have to exclaim she loved a certain song. We were definitely glad that their first movie experience was with Michael. It was a fun family evening!

Now True tells me...

"Mommy, I want to see Michael Jackson again. Can we go after the baby is born?"

"We will see. Maybe, we can just rent the video and watch it at home."

"No Mommy! I like it on the BIG TV!!!" (as her arms spread open wide)

a storybook surprise

2009-11-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

Sunday afternoon seemed normal. I mean, we went to worship with our church family in the morning, grabbed some yummy lunch with friends, and then headed over to my parents to pick up True's dance recital video (or so I thought). Once we got to my parents' house, Ben asked, "Do you want to go in or should I?" I said, "I'll just go." I planned on being quick, so then we could head home. I tried to open the door, but it was locked, so I rang the doorbell.

Immediately, the door opened and to my happy surprise, despite the look on my face, a lot of my friends were standing there and yelled, "Surprise!" At least I think that is what they said, but I was so shocked that I can't remember. The first thing that went through my head was "huh?!!" as I saw Danni, who was supposed to be in Seattle, then Cheryl, who was visiting her parents in San Bernardino and Frances, who has a sick little baby at home. I was utterly confused! Not to mention, I had already pinned my hair out of my face, barefoot at the door, and was stinky cause we just ate food with a whole bunch of garlic! I was not party ready, but party ready I had to be! I was not cute!!! Had I known I was going to a party, my newest baby's party, I would have sewn myself a new dress! But then I guess it was a surprise after all and definitely surprised I was.

(I looked so horrible, but I was so confused!!!)

Danni even took video of this hilarious moment and I will share it once it is up (because I already know she is dying to share it, but really my face makes me feel so embarrassed). After my shock and retrieval of my shoes (cause swollen feet are not cute), I continued on to the backyard where I was greeted by such a wonderful display of goodies! The baby shower theme was all about books. It was perfect for the crafter and teacher in me! Each yummilicious dish was accompanied with a poladroid picture (cause everyone knows I love polaroids) of its corresponding book. Everything was absolutely delightful and a crafter's heaven. I mean seriously, it was just all to darling and creative!!!

I was in awe of everything and ate everything, even though I just come from eating a ginormous lunch. I had so many questions as to how they pulled this off. I had no idea and I just kept telling anyone who asked about a baby shower not to worry about it as this was my third and another girl, so this was very unexpected.

The four of us, soon to be five, were so, so grateful and thankful to God for such good friends who love to support us and shower us with love. God is really so good!

The brains and the invite behind the dreamy storybook surprise... Danni, Linda, and Helen, but missing is Ellen who was moving that day.

This is the outcome when you have craft/design bloggers, a teacher, a super organized person and good friends all rolled into one... they throw one heck of a cute party!!! Thanks guys! You are the absolute best!!! I loved it all!!!

And thank you so much to everyone else who came and showered us with love... we are blessed by all of you!!!

*photos taken by my baby sister and Helen and can read more about it on Helen's blog.

a big uh-oh!

2009-11-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

This was done by our little artist True. Her imagination and art has no limits.

Trust me, I was furious. Though at the same time, amazed because she is good. At least, we think so. Her picture even has a story. You should ask her sometime...

I guess that is what I get for encouraging art and imagination!

True's first recital

2009-11-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

True was so cute in her recital. Actually, all the little girls were just darling. It is funny because True takes dance so seriously and does what the teacher says. Although, towards the end she got a bit distracted. We also know she has a shy face that she kept doing. When other kids were smiling and saying cheese to the audience, True's face was serious or her "shy face."

Ben and I felt so grown-up as we drove to her recital. We were both kinda dressed nicely and while we were driving we said, "This feels so weird. I feel old!" I guess this is just the beginning of feeling older, not that we are old by any means.

Brave was mesmerized the entire time. If you asked her, "Do you want to dance?" She would give a very eager, "Yes!" She wants to be just like big sister, so if big sister does a "shy face" (pictured below), then you bet your dollar Brave will do it too!

(last three above pictures taken by Auntie RJ)

We love our little ballerina and little Brave...

i love birthdays

2009-11-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

Like our familial tradition, that started in the Navales family, I got breakfast in bed with Ben's added tradition of his little food characters.

My husband and daughters showered me with a wonderful homemade card and my newest camera.

The day was spent out thrifting with my little ladies and the night spent devouring Japanese food. It was yum.

I loved all the little smooches throughout the day and being able to spend it with my sweet little family. I love True and Brave (even little babycakies). I love Benny. I love birthdays. I just love it all! God is just so, so good!!!

Thank you Lord for giving me another year. May I fight to love you more this year. Please use me for your glory...

friday night polaroids

2009-11-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

We went to a corn maze and got lost. We yelled, screamed, scared and chased each other. True even got to ride a little horsey named Rosebud. She loved every minute of it. Memory hunting is lots of fun...

lost in a corn maze

2009-11-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

We finally made it out to Temecula to get lost in the corn maze. I have never been in a corn maze before, it has always been kind of a dream. I must say, we were not disappointed! We went in and the sun was out and we came out and the sun was gone.

trick-or-treating ready

2009-10-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

Decked out in our get-ups, we went to Grammie and Grumpy's to get some treats and hit up a house or two. We met up with the Filipina tinkerbell and her lumberjack boyfriend. Then, we went to Aunt Loop's house to gather more treats!

We were pooped and so glad that it was daylight savings time!!!

Hannah and Gretel

2009-10-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there in a deep forest lived a woodcutter and his two daughters, Hannah and Gretel. The woodcutter was remarried to a nasty woman who thought only of herself, so when hard economic times hit, she forced the woodcutter to make a difficult choice.

The nasty stepmother told the woodcutter, "We have no money and there are too many mouths to feed! You must take the girls deep into the woods, so that someone else can provide for them. Surely, someone will want to take care of them. You must do what I say or else..."

The woodcutter was deeply afraid of the "what else" and felt he had no choice but to follow the orders of his nasty wife. He was hoping that surely someone would really be able to give his children a better life than this. Hannah and Gretel overheard their stepmother's wild demand and was overcome with sadness.

Hannah comforted Gretel and said, "Don't worry, I know God will take care of us no matter what. Plus, we will always have each other." Hannah tried to never show her fear in front of her sister. Hannah knew that she had to be true and brave to help Gretel get through this very tough time, so she concocted a plan for when her father would take them into the woods.

The next day, the father declared that they would be off in search of wood for the stove. He took his girls, Hannah and Gretel with him. They all walked off into the deep, deep woods together. Knowing what her father was instructed to do, Hannah put her plan in motion, from the very moment they left the house. She made a trail of tiny pebbles, so that she and Gretel would be able to follow their way home.

Once they were in the deep, deep forest, the woodcutter decided it was time to chop some wood. He chopped and chopped, until he said he needed more wood, so then he told his daughters to stay and watch the wood until he returns.

Hannah and Gretel waited and waited. They grew tired from all the waiting. As soon as the first twinkle of stars came out, Hannah said that it was time to go home.

Gretel said, "How are we are going to go home? We don't know the way."

Hannah replied, "Gretel, I left a trail of pebbles for us to follow home."

Together they set off to follow the trail of pebbles home. Once they got home, they quietly and tiredly snuck back into their beds and off to sleep they went.

In the morning, the nasty stepmother was surprised to have found the girls sleeping in their room. She immediately went to nag her husband and demand that he take them deeper into the forest or else...

Deathly afraid of the "what else", as soon as the girls awoke, their father declared it was time to fetch more wood. The woodcutter said, "Hannah and Gretel, we must go back into the deep, deep woods to get more wood for the stove as we have already run out!"

Due to the quickness of the trip, Hannah didn't have much time to plan, but all she managed to bring was some pieces of bread. She decided that she would use the bread to leave a trail back home.

As they were making their way into the woods, Hannah broke the bread into tiny pieces to make sure to leave a trail behind them. Unfortunately, Hannah failed to let Gretel know the plan and Gretel was so hungry that she ate up the pieces of bread that she found.

After awhile, Hannah started to pay attention to Gretel and noticed she was chewing. When she demanded to know what she was eating, she told her to stop because that was going to be their way back home. Gretel immediately apologized not knowing the plan and Hannah continued to leave bread crumbs to make a trail. Little did Hannah know, that a tiny bird was just as hungry as Gretel and ate up all the other bread crumbs that was left behind.

Once they were much deeper in the deep, deep forest, the woodcutter decided it was time to chop some wood again. He chopped and chopped, until he said he needed more wood, so once again he told his daughters to stay and watch the wood until he returns.

Hannah and Gretel waited, waited, and waited. But just like last time, they grew tired from all the waiting when Hannah decided it was time to head back home.

Together they set off to follow the trail of bread crumbs home, but to their surprise there were no bread crumbs to be found. Hannah and Gretel were immediately disheartened and started wandering deeper into the dark forest trying to find their way back home.

The young girls were hungry and tired after wandering for a few hours, when they happened to spot the loveliest sight. It was a house made of their favorite fruits and vegetables. Instead of flowers in the flower bed, there were bunches of broccoli. Instead of a tiled rood, there were watermelons and for windows, there were strawberries. There were also vines of grapes growing all along the front of the house. They were so overcome with excitement that they immediately started devouring whatever they could get hands on.

As they were eating, an Old Lady popped out and greeted them. At first, Hannah and Gretel were a bit taken aback, but when the lady offered them more food and a place to stay, they happily took the offer. After all, they were hungry and tired, and had no other place to go.

Little did they know, that what they saw was a spell put on by the Old Lady of the house. She was able to make little children see what they wanted to see in order to capture these little children for herself. Hannah and Gretel were about to step into a lot of trouble.

Upon entering the Old Lady's house, everything changed. It wasn't as lovely as they first saw, and the Old Lady quickly took Hannah and caged her up. She locked her in and there was no way for her to get out. The Old Lady said, "I got you my precious and you will never go home again!"

Then, the Old Lady forced Gretel to become her servant. She made Gretel cook and clean for her.

The Old Lady said, "Hannah, you must eat as I will need to fatten you up for my big meal!"

Little Gretel, knowing what the Old Lady would do to her sister, took the Old Lady's glasses and cracked them so that she could not see clearly. Now every time the Old Lady went to check to see if Hannah had been "fattened" up, Hannah would stick out an old bone, so the Old Lady would think that she was still not quite ready to be eaten.

Growing impatient and hungry from all the waiting, the Old Lady declared she did not care if Hannah was not yet ready. She was hungry now and demanded Gretel get the stove ready for Hannah.

Gretel afraid for her sister pretended to have trouble getting the stove started. She kept calling for the Old Lady telling her that it did not work. Frustrated, the Old Lady got up to see what the problem was.

As soon as the Old Lady was close enough to the oven, Gretel, with all her might, pushed and shoved the Old Lady into the oven.

Quickly, Gretel then retrieved the keys to unlock Hannah out of the cage.

Gretel freed Hannah and together they watched the Old Lady disappear into smithereens inside the hot, hot oven.

Happy to be free from the Old Lady, Hannah and Gretel quickly searched the house for the Old Lady's stash of gold coins. They found the gold coins, took them, then went on their merry way to find their way back home.

Once they were a good distance from the Old Lady's house, they started to hear their father calling after them. Excited, they followed the sound of his voice and it wasn't long before they were back with him again. The woodcutter happily embraced his Hannah and Gretel and declared his love for them and ask for forgiveness for being so cowardly and not standing up to their nasty stepmother. He told them that once he realized the terrible thing he had done, he ordered his wife out of the house and went in search of them. He had been searching for days now and he was so glad to be back with them again.

Hannah and Gretel were so excited to be with their father again and to share with him the little surprise they had. First, the recounted the story of the terrible Old Lady and how they got away, but as soon as they got home, they were delighted to be able to show him their handful of gold. The woodcutter was absolutely gleeful to have his daughters home and that they no longer have to worry about money.

Hannah said, "Father, see God took care of all of us. Look, we are rich now! You never have to chop wood again and we can have all the fruits and vegetables we want on our table!" They all embraced and were just so overjoyed to be safe and back together.

And they all lived happily ever after...

Happy Halloween!!!

sorry brave

2009-10-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, after we grabbed dinner, I was taking Brave out of the car and closed the door, in which smashed the top part of her big toe and toe next to it. I opened the door like lightening speed fast (and it was dark so I couldn't tell really what happen). I felt so bad. She cried. It all happened so fast. There was blood. We rushed in and attended to her toes.

She kept crying, "My toes! They hurt!!!"

I felt so, so horrible. I vowed never to take her out of the car again. Ben will do it from now on. Okay, that vow isn't realistic, but still I felt horrible! Beyond horrible...

I hugged and held her tight as she clung to me and her blankie, as her Papi ran her toes in cold water and applied ice. I panicked. I freaked out as I was worried about her little toes and it was all my fault. True was helpful. She would pray for her little sister and fetch her things that her little sister wanted.

We didn't know what to do. Is it broken? We called my mom. She is a nurse. Grammie and Grumpy, who live 30 minutes away, rushed over to check out our little patient. Grammie said she would be fine. The coloring looks good. It is just bruised and will need to be buddy taped. So, she buddy taped her toes together and now Brave is limping around.

Her limp is really cute. She is still happy and giggly this morning. Her toes are a bit purple and pink, which is good. I still feel really bad.

Sorry Brave. Mommy loves you... very much!!!

Thank you Lord that she is still able to walk and it is moments like this that you use to humble me. Praise God for this humbling experience. I am not perfect, even mommies make mistakes.

about this pregnancy

2009-10-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Eating was hard.

That is something I will definitely remember about this pregnancy.

I am not quite done with the pregnancy as I still have 7 weeks left to go. Though, I am really only thinking 4 because I tend to go early, but who knows this time around. From the beginning until now, I have a hard time eating. I was doing well for a couple of weeks in late August and early September, but the first trimester pickiness and nausea is back... yuck.

As I sit here typing, I am doing so because I am hungry, but don't know what to eat. I am craving steak teriyaki and shrimp tempura from Tokyo Lobby, but that is quite far from where I live, so that isn't happening tonight. Ben tried last night to satisfy that craving with a local Japanese place down the street, but it was nasty! I ate it because I was hungry, but it didn't kill the craving.

I will go back to fridge now to figure things out. As for the picture of cauliflower it really has nothing to do with this post. I do love cauliflower, but I think picture-less posts tend to be boring, so I stuck that in here for good measure. Roasted purple and orange cauliflower are some of my favorite vegetables to eat, but I don't want it right now.

Come on baby... what do you want to eat tonight?!!

an afternoon of fun

2009-10-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we decided to make an afternoon trek to Sea World for their Halloween Spooktacular. Ben was super busy with work all week, so we weren't able to spend any family time, so Saturday was our family day. We did things at home in the morning and then made our way south for a lovely afternoon of fun.

The girls were so, so, so happy. They love all the animals and show. They are just enamored and take it all in.

Thank you Lord for such a wonderful time and creating places like this to make some fun family memories.

We only have a bit more time to enjoy being a family of four, before we make a new normal and enjoy being a family of five. This time it will be a stroller and a sling because there is no way I am gonna be pushing around a 3-seater stroller! I am getting nervous... nervous, but very excited!!! Children are such blessings from the Lord.

conversation

2009-10-22T17:23:00.001-07:00

I know it has been ages. Ben gets on my case. I will be back here regularly soon. This is after all our family blog.

Our funny conversation today:

I was talking to True and asking her, "Do you know what Papi is going to get Mommy for her birthday?" (Yeah. I know. I am bad.)

True says, "Flowers."

I said, "Oh really?!!"

True continues to say, "I am going to get you flowers too. Papi will give me money."

I reply, "Oh, I like flowers.You have money?"

Next, my funny little girl says, "Grammie has big money."

I look at her and chuckled, "How do you know Grammie has big money?"

"Grammie told me. Grammie said she has BIG money."

I just started laughing and called my mom right away.

answered prayer

2009-09-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

For a few months now, if you asked True what her prayer request is, she would say, "For me to go to dance class."

God finally answered it.

Meet my little dancer. She is doing a class with ballet and tap and loves it!

Parents aren't allowed to be in class or take pictures during, so we watch through a glass and take pictures after.

It is so cute. She calls her tap shoes, "tap tap shoes." She has a little bag for her shoes and she brings it with her everywhere. And what made her first dance class extra special is that they played Michael Jackson. She loves Michael Jackson!!! Though, I did get a bit nervous because every little girl had to say what princess she wanted to be like. Well, True doesn't watch television, so she doesn't really know princesses. Good thing, she just copied what the first girl said like all the other little girls did.

As True now says, "Praise God! I am in dance class!!!"

hams

2009-08-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

I tell you, my little ones are such hams!

when yek's in town

2009-08-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Friends are over. There's lots of laughing and interrogation. Though the number one thing is that pizza is always made.

Side note: Heather makes the best peach cobbler.

And why isn't I never got the picture of our guest of honor. Who knows?!! Sorry Yek.

Praise God for the many friendships that have lasted through the years (and now include our significant others)...

mama-milestone

2009-08-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

All because of God.

Can be bought at your local Borders or Barnes & Noble.

another fair-ly good time

2009-08-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

It is a family tradition to go the O.C. Fair and now that the girls are getting older, it is a lot more fun as they are able to interact with everything going on around them. True was happy to go ride hopping and Brave just followed suit. Too bad for me, I can't really ride anything because they don't let pregnant people get on rides, even ones that go .5 miles per hour. Kinda ridiculous, but better to be safe than sorry.

Our trip to the fair came after Brave's birthday celebrations, the girls' vacation with Grammie and Grumpy, which included lots of swimming, shopping, and Knott's Berry Farm, and so the fair was going to end their week long escapades (not too mention they went to VBS in the beginning part of the week). We were nervous about taking them to the fair after such a busy week, but it was the last day, so we had no choice. Thankfully, the girls are troopers and had a lolly jolly time doing fair-ly fun things...

Our family is definitely growing. The first time we came here, we were a family of 3 (soon-to-be 4 as I went into labor the very next morning), last year we were a family of 4, and this year we are still a family of 4, but we have another one on the way. So two out of the three years we have come, I have been pregnant. But then again, it seems like I am always pregnant. Despite the lingering nauseousness, I love being pregnant and everyday we get more and more excited to meet this little one inside me.

Next year, will be extra, extra, extra loads of fun as we will be taking our three little girls to the fair. We can hardly wait!

no girls

2009-08-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Both our babycakies went to join their Grammie and Grumpy (and aunts and uncle) on their vacation in Palm Springs and galavanting in southern California. Therefore, that means Ben and I had a few days & nights of quiet and were able to sneak in a date night (& date breakfast) somewhere between.

Husbands and wives definitely need date nights (and date breakfasts). I absolutely adore Benny and love it when we can have a relaxing time of the just the two of us. Of course, we were missing our girls dearly the whole time, but we were happy just to be together.

sea world

2009-08-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

We decided to finally take them to an amusement park. Though, I guess we took them to Knott's last Winter, but it was just a few hours and we got in free because of Toys for Tots. It will probably still be awhile until we go to Disneyland because those tickets are just darn expensive and not in our budget. Nevertheless, off to Sea World we went for the continuation of Brave's birthday...

It was a full happy day. The birthday girl and her big sister had lots of fun. The animals are so mesmerizing and we will definitely be back.

We are now all in love with Sea World.

Brave's birthday dinner

2009-08-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Despite the pictures that you are about to see, the evening didn't go off without a hitch. It started out quite a stormy sea. Brave didn't want to get dressed or take any pictures, True was complaining that it was her birthday, I was running around preparing all the food and trying to decorate, and Ben was stressing about something job related for today. Thus, we are not a perfect family and frustrations came. There was crying, throwing in of the towels, a bit of madness, and more crying. It was a rocky start to the evening to say the least, but I guess out at sea, sometimes things are bound to get rocky. It was all part of the theme, right?

With that, here are the only pictures I really got of Brave in her little getup. Like I said, she refused to take any pictures and only wanted lemonade at the start of the evening. It was madness. We were all madness. Nevertheless, we went forward and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening. The full outfit shot will just have to wait.

This is my sailorette getting lemonade for the umpteenth time. We eventually had to put the lemonade inside the house. Out of sight, out of mind. She must have been busy out at sea all day long cause this sailorette was mighty thirsty.

On this ship, dinner consisted of some salmon with couscous, grape tomatoes, roasted orange cauliflower all topped with lime and green onions, and all on paper plates because naturally that is what we use on our ship (at least for the night). Dessert consisted of "mini seas" made of blueberry jello and whipped cream. Not sure what sailors really eat (or how), but this is what I imagined.

The centerpiece of the table was the new pet goldfish that the girls happily named Yogurt. Not sure why, but that is what they chose, so Ben and I just said, "Aye, aye, captains!"

Doodling and crafting must also be done at sea, so there was coloring abundance and sailor hat making all at the dinner table.

Alas, the moment the little brave sailorette has been waiting for... the birthday song and candles. We did about 3 rounds of lighting candles, singing, and cheering all because she loved this part of her birthday. Naturally, we also had to do a round for True because it was her happy unbirthday!

After all the rounds of singing, the sailorette and her big sister had a fine time digging in.

It was a chaotic, but fun memorable time. I know crazy, frustrating times are hard when you are going through the moment, but when you look back, it is all so silly. I am glad my Brave enjoyed her birthday (see more pictures of the day here). She seem to happily chow down all the food and was content to go inside to get her presents, take a bath, and go to sleep. If she's happy, that is all I need.

Now, the birthday celebrations will continue as we head off with the sailorette and True on a special outing to Sea World. Ben has been reading them books on sea animals and aquariums, so this will be a real treat.

Brave's birthday day

2009-08-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

It was VBS week, so she had to wake up super early to get her birthday breakfast in bed. Nevertheless, she enjoyed every bit...

Papi worked on her birthday so during the day we indulged in some birthday festivities without him. Grammie and Grumpy met us at VBS to deliver Brave some presents and then we all had a hearty, probably super unhealthy lunch at B.J's...

The Navales family then went off for their family vacation in Palm Springs and I rushed home to put the girls to nap to get Bravey's birthday dinner ready.

I am so thankful for my Brave. She is absolute sugar... just so, so sweet. Though, when I first got pregnant with her, I didn't think I was ready, but God always knows better. Thank you Lord for being an all-knowing God!

babies and stuff

2009-07-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Now, I definitely thought that I would be recording this pregnancy more than the others cause after all, I blog about everything. But alas, I haven't really recorded much of this pregnancy as the computer makes me nauseous (along with wearing pants and skirts), so I don't blog all too often. My littlest seester gets on me for not blogging and so does Lin, so I will promise to get better, at least, try.

Pregnancy is good. Almost at 20 weeks, so halfway there. I can hardly believe it. Now, that we know it is a girl, we are preparing. Not that we need much as we have tons of stuff from the other two and I saved things that would be needed again (just in case), but just preparing mentally and prayerfully, especially getting the girls ready.

My little Bravey will be fine. She loves babies. That is an understatement. She adores babies. If we are somewhere where there is a baby, she will want to stay where the baby is. She even has this "baby" she takes with her everywhere. I don't think we will have any jealous issues with the new baby nor True. The one with the jealous issues will probably be me as I am going to have to fight to get Brave's attention off the baby and back to me. Seriously.

From the beginning of my pregnancy to now, I have only gained 3 pounds (I am sure I will pack it on soon though). I attribute it to my lack of appetite, my constant nausea, my vomiting, and my desire not to eat. The midwife said all should be well, so we aren't worried. I am guessing the weight I kept from my other two pregnancies are still there on reserved, so I guess I don't need to pack more on. I should be fine.

Randomly, a couple days ago, I suddenly craved chocolate cake. Warm and fudgy. I immediately told Ben, who was working from home, and True was nearby listening. True was very attentive as this is what she came up to me to say:

True (Puts hand on my shoulder as I am sitting on the floor whining to Ben about my need for cake.)

True: Mommy, you want chocolate cake?

Me: Yes.

True: I will get you chocolate cake.

Me: You will?

True: Yes, I will get it for you. Don't be sad okay. I will get it.

Me: How will you get it?

True: I will get it at the grocery (sounds like grow-sherry).

Me: Do you have money?

True: Yes. I have money in Papi's pocket.

*True saw Ben put $3 in his pocket earlier.

Me: You promise?

True: I get will get you chocolate cake. Okay? Don't worry. I will get it.

Me: Thank you.

True: I love you Mommy and the baby!

(We hug as Ben smiles.)

Later on...

True (Finds a quarter on the ground.)

True: See mommy! (Shows me the quarter.) I have money to get you chocolate cake.

It was sweet and so cute. And as promised, Ben and True came home with some petite chocolate ganache just for me! I was satisfied.

True: Mommy, I got you chocolate cake (as she hands me the box).

Me: Thank you. Who paid for it?

True: Papi did. He had money.

And here is the baby that is causing some sort of ruckus to my body...

Yeah. That blurry thing is her. I can't really see my feet. That's my belly alright, nice and round!

the verdict

2009-07-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

God must think Ben is really special because he now has THREE little girls to take care of!!!

That's right. We are having another, yes, I said another, girl!

True is going to have two little sisters and Brave will have one little sister. There will be a lot of hormones and PMS-ing going around in this house one day (and we thought it was bad enough with me). We will eventually have an 18 yr. old, 17 yr. old and 15 yr. old girl all at the same time. Their teenage years will be madness, but I am sure loads of fun!

I was so wrong again. I totally thought I was having a boy, but I thought I was having a boy with my first two and I was so wrong. Note to self: Don't trust my instincts. We were ready for whatever God wanted to give us. I thought a girl might be slightly easier cause we already have two, but I would like one boy, one day, should God bless us again. Though, I think I could only handle 1 boy. Two Bens would be a dream, but if we end up with 4 girls. Well, I would stop at 4. I am not sure if I could be a mom of 5. That is just crazy! But we will see whatever God wills...

Thank you Lord for blessing us with another little girl. We are so, so, so excited!!!

Now, let the name game begin...

can't wait

2009-07-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

We find out tomorrow if it is a boy or girl. My feelings say a boy, but I felt that way with the first two and I am obviously wrong, so we will see. Ben can see it going either way. We don't have a strong preference toward one or the other as we are just glad God is giving us these blessings, but I do think having a girl will be easier since I have all the things already. Whatever God wants.

We will see...

It is funny to go back and read what I wrote when we first found out our babycakies 2 was a girl, which we all know now as Brave. Read it here...

getting back to life

2009-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

We were so exhausted our first day back home that we were like zombies. We didn't answer the phone and napped all day long. Once we started feeling better, which was the next day, we started on our garden. We now have two beds full of veggies and fruits and we are ready to start attacking one of the planters in the yard. We don't know if we have green thumbs, but we are hoping...

Ben and I are enjoying this new found hobby together and the girls are loving having a backyard to run around in.

Please God help our plants grow!

road trip home: day one

2009-07-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bright and early, we said goodbye and got on the road again...

The girls were ready and excited for their road trip...

Though they didn't like it when sun was in their eyes...

Nevertheless, we had a plethora of things to keep them entertained...

So what is normally supposed to be a two day road trip, ended up being one, one really long one. Ben and I took turns driving and we did it in one straight shot, but of course with lots of bathroom breaks and time to give the girls to jump around.

The girls behaved the whole time and followed their regular nap schedule, even in the car. We all had snacks galore and had Dave Matthews, Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson, and Nelly Furtado to keep us company. We did have a 1.5 hour detour as we took a road to bypass Phoenix, but there were bad signs and that added 45 minutes and then in Palm Springs they merged all lanes to one, and it took another 45 minutes to get through a mile, even though it took longer, praise the Lord!

Finally, in the very wee hours of the morning, we all got home safe and sound all by the mighty hand of God! We were glad to be back home! We piled tiredly in the house and zonked out.

Thank you Lord for our San Antonio Summer '09, our four-niversary in New Orleans, and a wonderful day on the road...

san antonio summer: day six

2009-07-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Here we are on our last day in San Antonio. This was actually supposed to be our day to go home, but we extended the trip one more day. Part of the day was finishing up packing the car as the girls played with Auntia...

We were fully loaded with a basket of goodies for our road trip...

We made a stop to say hi and bye to Tia Paula...

And we had a celebratory and thank you lunch with Auntia and Grandmama...

We forget about the touristy things in San Antonio, but we decided to take the girls to see the Alamo. But it was super hot and Brave only wanted Papi, so taking pictures was a bit difficult...

Thankfully, we got all the pictures we wanted. Hopefully, we can compare these to when the girls are much bigger and we can take pictures here again when they are older.

Alas, here we are... the Bratcher four, but soon to be five in about 20 weeks. Half way there and half way to go...

The rest of the evening, Ben jam packed the car and then we all relaxed, Brave especially...

Brave loved the tummy rub from her Grandmama.

We very much enjoyed our time in San Antonio and we so, so appreciate all the love that Suzi and Mama constantly bestowed upon us. We truly are so blessed.

san antonio summer: day five

2009-07-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Most of the day was busy cleaning up and helping Grandmama get rid of things or we just animal watched in Grandmama's yard...

In the afternoon, we were able to see some of Ben's buddies, Ralph and Ernest, for just a little bit...

It was a nice day of resting from our previous road trip and getting ready for the next one and of course it was always a treat to see old friends. Our time in San Antonio always goes by much too quickly.

One more day left to go...

four-niversary in new orleans: day three

2009-07-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

The last day of our celebration was a long, long day. Ben first had to take care of some stuff for the car window in New Orleans, while I was cleaning and packing back at the hotel. Then, he came back and we made our way back out. It was a beautiful hotel and I am so glad we stayed there.

We headed out to eat in New Orleans one last time. Ben really wanted to have their red beans and rice again, so this time we headed to another local favorite called Mother's. This time I ordered jambalaya and we ordered a side of green turnip (I think)...

It was funny cause when ordering Ben asked, "How is turnip made?"

The waitress said, "Smothered."

He said, "What is smothered?"

She replied, "With butter."

Ben and I looked at each other and started laughing. Smothered. With butter. Not just with butter, but with loads of butter. Smothered with butter is such a clear mental picture of how it is made. I guess it doesn't hurt to try it once! haha...

Well, the food was all good and I love the strong spice in my jambalaya. That brings our food list to: boiled shrimp, barbequed shrimp, po' boys, beans & rice (twice), etouffee, jambalya, smothered turnip, and a whole bunch of beignets (for me).

Speaking of beignets, after lunch, we headed back into the Quarter to pick up one last bunch of beignets. I can't leave without having more. I will definitely miss Cafe Du Monde. Also, one last thing to see before leaving the city was stopping by a St. Louis Cemetery. It is an old cemetery fashioned after the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. All the tombs are above ground, supposedly because the water levels make burial difficult in New Orleans. The cemetery is an interesting site to see.

Then there we were on the road again, but not yet quite to San Antonio. We still had one last stop to make right outside New Orleans and of course pass over the Mississippi yet again...

Since we were in the South, we had to stop and see a plantation. We decided to visit Oak Alley Plantation. It was so grand and majestic. The house, the property, the tress were all just beautiful. We booked a little tour through the house and it was just as gorgeous as the outside...

Funny thing is that everyone got in the first room and started snapping away, but then right after everyone got in, they told us no pictures were allowed. Therefore, the above two pictures are the only ones that I got in the house.

Over 300 hundred years ago, the original owner planted 28 oak trees leading up to the Mississippi River. If you follow the trees directly to the end, it really does lead to the river, but I think they must have take out 4 trees on each side so they can put a road, cause the river is right after the road. Makes me wish we had grand oak trees leading up to our house.

The expanse of the property is so vast. I guess back then kitchens weren't made inside houses, just in case of fire, so this is where the kitchen used to be, but then a fire took it away...

I kept imagining what life was life for the those who lived such a grand lifestyle. It was once full of socialites of the time and lots of parties with ladies wearing antebellum dresses. If the house could talk, I am sure it would have lots of interesting stories to tell. Numerous movies and shows have been filmed here. The most notable of all is probably Interview with a Vampire as this was Brad Pitt's house in the film...

After tour, we had to skidaddle quick as time was going fast and we still had a long drive home. So Ben and I stole one more kiss in front of the house and then made our way back home to San Antonio...

'Twas a romantic way to end our four-niversary celebration in New Orleans. We had lots of fun, had full tummies, got tired and missed our girls dearly. We were ready to go home, then almost 8 hours later, at about 2 in the morning, we finally made it back to our beds in San Antonio.

We praise God for the time he allowed us together to laugh, eat, dine, talk, and just rejuvenate each other. I just love being with Ben so much. God knows exactly what you need. I would never have imagined that God would give me such a fitting partner as Ben. God always knows best. Every time I think about how much Ben and I work so well together, I can't help but think of God. Even before Ben and I knew each other, he was preparing each of us separately for the other.

Everything I desired and wanted in a man, God gave me in Ben. It really is amazing. I never imagined that I would get someone so wonderful. I get smiley just thinking about it. Sometimes Ben and I just love being together and doing everything together (and with our girls) so much, that it is easy to forget everything around us. We definitely have to make a conscious effort and remind each other that we aren't here on earth for each other, but we have to share lives with others. Share Christ with others. It is our prayer as we enter into our fifth year, that we continue to interweave our lives with others for the purpose of encouraging others to see and love Christ more. Please pray that we continue to seek Christ together in our marriage and our family. God is truly so good.

I loved our four-niversary and I can't wait until our five-niversary... thank you Lord!

four-niversary in new orleans: day two

2009-07-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

It was a restful morning as we left the hotel right about noon, just in time for lunch, but we grabbed some smoothies first so that we would have sustenance to do a little sightseeing before we ate.

We walked all through the French Quarter again, this time stopping in some antique shops along the way (and to take pictures)...

There is so much character and texture in the Quarter. All the old buildings were absolutely beautiful, but the most eye catching of all was my Benny...

We would sneak away into little courtyards between the buildings to explore and makeout...

We walked and admired everything until we got hungry, so we made our way to the French Market...

There was lots of fresh produce and touristy trinkets, but no food, so we headed to a local favorite and ate at Johnny's for some po' boys and red beans & rice....

Ben loved the red beans and rice, I thought it tasted good, but I am not a bean person. The po' boys was good, but kinda heavy since it was fried shrimp in a french bread sub-like sandwich. It was nice to eat and relax as it was so, so hot outside and super humid.

After a bit of rest, we continued onto get up close and personal with the Mississippi River and see the steamboat Natchez...

Each stop must be commemorated with a kiss.

Then, we did a little relaxing at Cafe Du Monde (yes, again). I wanted to make sure to get beignets everday. Plus, Ben wasn't saying no, so I took advantage. We also listened to some really good street musicians playing nearby...

The day was so full, we were so tired, but we trekked on. Next stop was Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, and the Cabildo, which was where the official transfer and ceremony for the Louisiana Purchase took place...

We took a bit of time in Jackson Square as our feet were extremely tired from all the walking...

After all that daytime sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel to rest a little. It was a nice break from all the heat. We relaxed and I took a nice nap, but soon enough we were dressed up (kinda) and ready to go out and officially celebrate our anniversary with a nice dinner at G.W. Fins, but only after our trolley ride on St. Charles...

We saw all the old beautiful houses and they were full of so much character and details. Made me want to move, but not sure I could deal with the heat or the hurricanes, but we probably can't afford it anyways. The trolley ride was fun, but so long that we had to change our dinner reservations twice!

Dinner was yummy, yummy to my tummy. I didn't take pictures as we wanted to relax, but I got to try ettouffee and Ben got some mouthwatering tuna, but too bad it was raw in the middle, so I couldn't eat it. I also loved the gumbo. We really tried to make sure and try out all the local dishes.

It was a blessing to eat at G.W. Fins as this wasn't our original plan, but Ben didn't bring slacks to go to Commander's Palace, so we didn't fit the dress code. Nevertheless, God always has a plan. Well, by the end of dinner we knew exactly why God sent us to this particular restaurant.

Our waiter, Scott, is a Christian. Not only that, but we found out he goes to seminary nearby. The conversation just kept going and it turns out he is part of the Southern Baptist Convention and a small church plant that just started in New Orleans a little over a year ago. His church is also part of Acts 29, which CrossView is part of too. We were so encouraged to hear how the believers in his church seek to reach others by sharing daily life with others. It reminded us so much of our church family and our goals in how to reach the community God has placed us in. We also learned that Scott and his wife have a desire to be missionaries in India to reach unreached people groups. We were just so blessed by the conversation we had with him and to hear what other fellow brothers and sisters are doing in New Orleans for the sake of the gospel. God is truly working in the lives of his children all around the world.

Following our most delicious (and encouraging) dinner, we headed back out to see Preservation Hall and to continue roaming through the French Quarter...

It wasn't Mardi Gras, but I got some masks to wear and bring home for my girls to put in their dress up stuff...

Gosh. I thought day one was full, but it didn't compare to day two. We were everywhere and did everything. It was just crazy fun, but we were crazy tired. Being here reminded Ben and me how much we love traveling. We just loved taking in all the new sights and sounds, especially new foods... yum. So far we have had: boiled shrimp, cajun barbequed shrimp, red beans & rice, po' boys, gumbo (twice), etouffee, and of course beignets (6 to be exact and all to myself).

It was a most wonderful anniversary day and we still had one partial day left of our four-niversary in New Orleans.

four-niversary in new orleans: day one

2009-07-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

It was our four-niversary and we celebrated by leaving the girls with Grandmama and trekking to a new city we both had never been. I praise God for giving us four wonderful years thus far...

We snuck out of the house very early and made our way to New Orleans. It was almost an 8 hour drive, but of course we got a bit lost at the end because Google Maps wasn't very good. Nevertheless, we found our way there. Before we arrived at our destination, we drove through Houston, Baton Rouge, and numerous other cities in between San Antonio and New Orleans. We also passed numerous bayous, swamps, and lots of rivers. In fact, I think we passed over the Mississippi River about 4 times. Let me tell you, that is one big, winding river. There was lots of laughing and singing as we drove. I just love being with my Benny so much...

This was my first view of the Mississippi. Little did I know was that I would be seeing it, or at least different parts of it, about ten times more...

Alas, we found our destination which was the International House. I immediately loved the hotel and was greeted by excellent service that they even upgraded our room. All blessings from the Lord. Then we freshened up and made our way into the French Quarter...

Our primary goal was to eat. We wanted to try the real deal of boiled shrimp and crawfish, just like Boiling Crab style. We followed the suggestion of the hotel and went to Deanie's and boy was it dee-lee-scious!!! So spicy and so good... and fattening that we are sure! But all so worth it...

After which we walked the infamous Bourbon Street and all we could say was, "Oh my!" It was a great reminder of how deprived and sinful we are. It made Ben and I so thankful that God saved us.

Of course, everyone who has been here or lives near here told me I had to go to Cafe Du Monde, so we made our way there...

For what you may ask, well, for beignets of course! I took my little treat and brought it back with me to the hotel.

We continued meandering through the French Quarter and just enjoyed being together...

Of course we must always take some sort of kissing picture...

We just love each other lots!

Finally, we came back to our hotel and enjoyed the rest of our evening together (and I devoured my beignets)...

I love my husband much more than I love beignets, but both are yummy!

Day one was so full and happy. We really thank God that He worked all this out so that we could adventure in a new place together. It is because of God that we are covenanted together in marriage and that we continue to love each other daily, even with all the trials of life. All of this would be vanity if it weren't for Christ.

Day one was good and day two got even better...

san antonio summer: day four

2009-07-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Golly gee. This day was busy doing things to help mama and prepare for our trip. In the evening, we went to eat out with Alberto and his girlfriend (and his girlfriend's friend). Dinner was so crazy because the girls were so tired, especially True, and they were wiggling and wiggling. It was the most difficult dinner out ever and it just reinforces to us how much these girls need naps during the day. We were both trying to eat and hold one wiggly child at the same time. Though, True did devour as much sushi as she could. She just loves that stuff.

It was nice to meet Alberto's girlfriend and just kinda catch up with Alberto. The wiggly girls made conversations hard. Nevertheless, good times with good friends are always blessings...

Somehow in the course of True's wiggliness, her zipper came undone, then I broke it, so we made the dress a halter of sorts, but by the end of the evening, it was all falling off. It was quite the spectacle or maybe this was her way with dealing with the San Antonio heat...

Our San Antonio summer is flying by fast and the next day's agenda is to make our way to New Orleans for our four-niversary....

san antonio summer: day three

2009-07-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Oh boy!!! So this day started off a cranky one for True. The day before, True hurt her arm while swinging (note to self and everyone who does it: don't swing kids by the arms, it can be dangerous), but we didn't notice it until Sunday evening when she was only hugging with one arm. Ben remembered throughout the day that she would say ouchy when he put her in her car seat, but thought nothing of it. It turns out she couldn't move her left arm at all without crying in pain. We couldn't even touch it. So we went to bed and she slept fine and we thought that it would all be better in the morning... nope.

Monday morning, we try to check her arm and she still isn't moving it. She was coloring with one hand, eating with one hand, and if she needed to use another hand, she would use her mouth to help. She was being quite resourceful.

Now we got concerned cause we thought it would be better by now. Anytime that I tried to look at it or put it in a sling, she threw a fit and would cry and cry. We debated if we should take her in as nothing was swollen, red, or looked out of place and thought it was just a strain, but seeing the amount of pain she was in we opted to take her. Since Kaiser isn't in Texas, we decided to take her to a pay out of pocket clinic and just get reimbursed later from our insurance. I made sure to give Grandmama her favorite dress to put on her, so that she wouldn't throw much of a fit when we had to move her arm. Alas, we made our way to Texas MedClinic.

Mind you, her arm was just completely limp at her side, she couldn't move it without crying and wouldn't let us touch it without crying, so we felt taking her to the doctor was the best thing to do. We get to Tex Med, sit down, and I am just filling out paper work. Ben is sitting in the middle of True and me. A little girl, maybe the age of 4, comes up behind True and wants to see True's little bag of goodies True brought with her. The little girl was quite friendly and True was just smiling at her. Ben looked at True and noticed she had turned her body to look at the girl and her left arm was back, resting on the arm rest.

Ben immediately elbowed me to look at her arm, we were both surprised she was able to move it back. We kept watching her as she interacted with the girl and her arm seem to do little movements. Ben got a brilliant idea and pretended there was a bug on her arm, so he kept moving it to try and get the bug off her, he even lifted it because he said the bug went to her arm pit. All the while, True was just focused on finding the bug and didn't cry at all at any of the movements. Dumbfounded at her arm's mobility, we decided to do the bug trick again, and once again no complaints or cries from True.

I stepped in cause she started playing with the girl again and this time I was helping her. We were all coloring together and then I took her left hand and started stamping the paper with it. Still no complaints. Ben and I asked her, "Does your arm hurt?" She matter of factly said, "No."

Ben and I kept exchanging looks of disbelief and we were completely at lost what to do. Should we go in or just leave? I got brave and started squeezing tightly up and down her arm and still no complaints. I kept saying, "Does this hurt?" and "How about this?" and she kept saying, "No." The little girl she was playing with then got called to the doctor and was walking away with True's stamp, and True put both arms out to reach for her stamp. True's number one concern was keeping all her toys together as the little girl kept taking them away, and she was using both arms to do so.

Ben and I decided to leave the office and not get seen because apparently, True didn't need it anymore. Then, the three of us praised the Lord together that True's arm was feeling better, in fact so much better that she had no problem raising both arms...

Once we got in the car, we immediately called both grandmas to let them know their grand-daughter was better than good. When we called my mom, True spoke to her on the phone:

Grammie: Hi True!

True: Hi Grammy!

Grammie: Is your arm feeling better?

True: Yes, a girl at the doctor tried to take away my toys!!!

Ben and I was laughing so hard cause that was all she needed to get her arm working again. The rest of the day we had a happy little girl who was using both arms, so the day went on as originally planned. Later in the afternoon, we went to help Grandmama go car shopping. Auntia Suzi is so good at playing with the girls and keeping them entertained so Ben and I can help Mama look for a car. Shopping for a car has become a whole family affair. It is fun because it allows all of us to spend time together...

The rain started to come in as we left the dealer. Texans are welcoming the rain as there has been a big drought. Still no car, but Lord willing soon, but just another fun day of being together in San Antonio.

Oh and another funny thing is at night, just before bed, True was running up and down the hallway waving both arms, saying, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! My arm feels better!!!" It was so cute and we all started laughing as it came out of nowhere. Praise the Lord indeed, as He is always in control of all things. He is the best doctor ever...

san antonio summer: day two

2009-07-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

The morning started off visiting the church family of one of Ben's good friend from high school. It was so nice to catch up with Cyndi and meet the rest of her family and we were definitely blessed by their growing love for the Lord. After gathering with Cyndi's church family, we all went together to eat at Jason's Deli. I absolutely loved the water there. It tasted so good to me.

Our Bravey made a special little friend. His name is Cameron. Cameron was so so sweet. If my girls had a big brother, I would hope him to be as loving as Cameron...

The McKays were such a blessing and it is good to see how God works in other people's lives. God is really so good. It is funny cause the little girls, Ava and Ella, did not want to take any pictures...

All of us together with Auntia Suzi in the middle...

And all the kids just being cool...

Thank you McKays for a wonderful afternoon. We pray that God continues to work through you guys for the spread of the gospel in San Antonio.

san antonio summer: day one

2009-07-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

True's first official seat in an airplane was quite an event. She was so excited to have her own spot in the middle of Mommy and Papi. I must say we were excited too cause this allowed us more room. She understands more than her last plane ride and was happily taking it all in at take off. She exclaimed, "Mommy, the clouds look like snow!!!"

We spent July 4th watching fireworks that were coming from Fiesta Texas, which is Texas' Magic Mountain, but boy did it take us awhile to get home after all the traffic of all the others watching. Plus, the show was a "Debbie downers" and it was only 10 minutes long. Praise God anyways because we got to enjoy July 4th together as a family in Texas.

picnic at the park

2009-06-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

This was just the beginning of our summer picnicking days. Though, soon enough, we will be able to have picnics in our own backyard. I am so excited! I will just open the back door and let the girls run loose. True already has plans about where her slide is gonna go and has her helmet so she can bike her tricycles in circles. Really, we are just so excited!!! And Ben, well, his vegetable garden is all mapped out and I will get one bed to grow flowers that I can cut and bring in. Like I said, excited and these little coming blessings are because of God. None of this backyard or enjoying our kids for His glory is possible without God.

Anyways, this was about a picnic, right? We went city park hunting and driving by and looking at all the parks in our area. Some are pretty cool and some are pretty boring. The coolest is by Owen's old house as that is a water park. We plan on bringing the girls there plenty to cool of this summer. After perusing a number of parks, we settled on one we thought was gonna be cool, but was alright. I was craving Panda Express, so that is what we got. Hey! You don't mess with a pregnant woman's cravings. Though, these days I don't crave much of anything.

There were these rock climbing sculptures that True loved and kept trying to climb. Who knew that I had a rock climber in my hands?!!

Of course, she couldn't get anywhere without the help of her Papi...

This girl kept going until she was at the very top. Fearless and brave. Well, she's not Brave, but brave. You know what I mean. She even tried scooching away from Ben!

Brave didn't want to rock climb, didn't want to swing, but just had fun running around...

I thought the swings were so cool and apparently so did True...

After a full evening of playing, we headed home, but with much contesting as they wanted to keep playing. I can hardly wait to see the three of our kids playing, but that will still be awhile. True and Brave are so cute when they play (and sometimes fight).

I love making memories with our little family!

they're hardcore

2009-06-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

So my kids, they eat tofu sticks. You know just regular tofu cut into sticks.. and with Ketchup! Yeah, I know. They are hardcore eaters. They learn from their Papi...

What can I say?!! They love them!

strawberry picking

2009-06-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Saturday mid-morning time out in Carlsbad to pick some fresh strawberries. The last time we came here was two years ago and it was just True and I was pregnant with Brave. Now, we come again with both and pregnant with babycakies no-name. It was double the fun of last time and we can't wait to come when it is triple the fun.

We picked. We ate. We searched. We laughed. We had lots of fun. We love being together as a family.

We came home with two buckets full.

Thank you Lord for making strawberries and allowing us to enjoy it and each other. Only by God's grace.

she's done

2009-06-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

Now all she has got left is 4 years of college.

Walnut graduations are schnazzy... doves and fireworks. Wow!

The next high school graduation in our family will be True in 15 years... yikes!

Congratulation RJ!!! We love you...

some funny things

2009-06-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ben says I am a little behind in recording some of our memories, so I am backtracking a bit. My tummy is growing while my girls are growing. Good thing is their growing doesn't make them sick, mine does. I guess it is all part of the package.

True is getting so big and funny. She's got a bit of sass and bossiness, which I am almost sure came from me or maybe the fact we both are the firstborn. Nevertheless, during the day she is quite the rebel, but at night that is when she is so sweet. She becomes quite the edible little girl. You just want to bite her arms.

Here are some funny things she said/done lately:

Brave and True running around while I try to get them dress.
me: (finally grab a hold of True)
True: (try to wiggle as I put clothes on her)
me: True you are driving me insane.
True: Mommy, I don't want to drive you insane.
Me: (burst out laughing)

Remember, I am pregnant and anything can make me cry.
It was a gloomy day, so I wanted to watch Finding Neverland with True and Brave. At the end, when the mom is dying, I start to cry, not just tear, but river flowing from my eyes cry and sniffling.
me: (crying my eyes out).
me: I am gonna cry.
True: Mommy, don't cry!
True: (begins to wail)
me: Okay, I am not crying anymore.
True: DON'T CRY!!! (wailing continues as she acts as if she lost her most favorite toy).

In the car, True and Brave always fight over the same thing.
True: Mommy, my flower fell.
me: I can't get it right now, you have to wait.
True: Mommy, I want my flower.
me: No. I can't reach it. The car has to stop.
True: No. I want my flower.
me: Don't tell Mommy no. You must be obedient.
True: (turns to Brave). Brave can I have your flower?
Brave: No.
True: Mommy, Brave told me no.

Oh the joys of mommyhood. I am sure having three will drive me more insane, but it will all be worthwhile! I love my babies!!!

a date with Papi

2009-05-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

True went on a special date with her Papi.

First stop: the dentist.

Verdict: I am told (cause I wasn't there) that she didn't want to open her mouth for the strangers. Once they left the room, she was her normal giddy self and opening it up for her Papi to see, but once the dentist strangers returned they pretty much had to pry her mouth open.

Next stop: lunch at Subway.

Verdict: She loved her sandwich and devoured every bit. She also enjoyed drinking out of the straw and a "big" cup. I think her smile in the picture above says it all.

Next stop: searching for the Consumer Reports safe toddler helmet.
Verdict: couldn't find it.

Papi and True continued their date throughout the afternoon on little errands. They had lots of fun together and True was a very tired little girl when she came home. I am sure there will be more father-daughter dates to come...

two years

2009-05-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is from our trip to Descanso Gardens two years ago...

Ben, me, True and a baby on the way, which we all know as Brave.

Here we are, two years later...

Ben, me, True, Brave, and another baby on the way.

We don't know his/her name yet, but we do know that come Christmas time we will be a family of 5. We are so so excited. God is truly so good. Really! Ben and I so don't deserve this. We don't deserve any of God's goodness, but we are so thankful for His grace that He so lovingly bestows on us. We are in awe of Him.

These past 11.5 weeks have been so yucky, for me at least. I have never felt so nauseous ever, well, compared to the other two. Maybe, this means its a boy! Who knows?!! We are happy with either. I think a girl would be easier cause we have all girls stuff, but we do want a boy eventually. Plus, the thought of two Bens... now, that is really a dream come true! Two Bens... so dreamy.

My house is a mess. I don't ever know what to eat. Sometimes it even likes to come out. I am tired all the darn time. Ben is working extra hard cause he comes home and takes care of everything, while I lie in bed or on the couch. I hate opening the fridge cause everything stinks. I hate changing diapers cause those really stink. Seriously, these super powers drive me crazy. I am waiting for this heightened sense of smell to go away. Please... go away! And I look 6 months pregnant (okay, maybe 4 or 5), I guess being stretched twice before really leaves its mark.

So, I am counting down. Next big thing is to find out if we are having another girl or a boy in about 8 or so weeks. Then, I can't wait until December 12th, my due date, but if I repeat like my other 2, this baby will come 2-3 weeks early, I hope. Hopefully not too early though, I want them to bake as long as possible to be healthy. I guess Ben's birthday present is an easy one this year, he is getting another baby!

Last week, we met babycakies. That baby was so wiggly that even the midwife was so surprised. She said that was good. My blood pressure is good, which I was worried about since I crave salty things, but have since tamed that a bit. True was a bit scared when she met baby as she clung to Papi and Brave well she kept wiggling to try and come to me. All is good and we are all in love and excited.

Now, if you notice my posts have been sporadic here, well it's cause the computer makes me nauseous too. I really hope this lets up. I can't live like this. My family can't live like this, neither can my house. Anyone up for some cleaning?!!

Please pray for continuous health for me and baby. As I type, God is continually forming my little baby. I love my new little babycakies.

To those who keep asking if it is official and telling me that it ain't official until I blog about it... yes, it is official! Babycakies is on its way! Ahh! We are so excited!!! Thank you Lord...

The Ultra-Appreciatives

2009-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

My mama's day continued on Saturday, when I was treated to my very own song and dance show featuring... THE ULTRA-APPRECIATIVES!!!

I stepped onto the set and was in awe at what I saw, I was very excited at what was coming...

Here is the song that was sung during the whole performance (sung to the tune of DMB's "Save Me"):

Ultra-Appreciatives, how grateful we,
For what U do, and what U be...
Never heard of us, heroes kinda new,
Our super-power is our thanks for U...
With these here U's, we call 'em Uuumerangs,
So vital to-us, the name's just slang...
Symbolizes-how U save us, Papi, Brave, and True,
And-what, would-we-do, with-out "U"?...

U're there for us in, every way,
Brave drops her blankie, U save the day
U save us, Papi, Brave, and True,
What's an Ultra-Appreciative, without their "U"?...
U save us, save us,
A big thank-U, from us three
U save us, save us,
A big thank-U-from-us-three
We're so lost-when-U-are-gone
It's a conclusion forgone...

Caring for True from womb to now,
Potty training her, I'd have a cow...
False alarms and all, you're still content,
Even wiping up, all those accidents...

U save us, Papi, Brave, True,
And-what, would-we-do, without "U"?...
U save us, save us,
A big thank-U, from us three
U save us, save us,
A big thank-U-from-us-three
We're so lost-when-U-are-gone
It's a conclusion forgone...

I need U to free our clothes and house of dirt,
You wake up so early just to iron my shirts...
When I think of your love, I wonder wh-y-y-y-y-y
But Papi thanks my "double-U" for saving me

Ultra-Appreciatives, how grateful we,
For what U do, and what U be...
Never heard of us, heroes kinda new,
Our super-power is our thanks for U...
Equipped. With these here U's, we call 'em Uuumerangs,
So vital to-us, the name's just slang...
Symbolizes-how U save us, Papi, Brave, and True,
And-what, would-we-do, with-out "U"?...

I loved the cleverly written song and play put together by the ring leader of The Ultra-Appreciatives. I was dying at how funny and cute they all looked when they first came out. It was quite the sight! Seriously, all of them in tights, especially Ben was so funny! Funny is an understatement, but it was so so hilarious! I LOVE MY ULTRA-APPRECIATIVES.

See more picture here. There were too many and they were all so adorable!

that's right

2009-05-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

My baby's a rocker...

Rock on Brave! Rock on!!!

my mama's day

2009-05-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful weekend. My Mama's Day started Saturday, when my parents took just me out all day long. I munched and ate pretty much whatever I wanted and they took me to do some shopping. I love shopping! Then, I came home to a little surprise from my loves...

It was a little treat from Anthropologie.

Sunday morning, they gave me my breakfast in bed. I didn't request pancakes like I normally do, this time I just wanted coco pebbles...

With a little fruit made pig...

In the afternoon, after a full day with church family, I got whatever I wanted. I wanted a popsicle, we stopped and got it. Then, I wanted shaved ice and we stopped and got that too...

All I can say is yum!

In the evening, we went to my mom's to celebrate our day and we indulged in shrimp and crab, Boiling Crab style...

It was such a mess, but my tummy was so happy. I was content.

The cutest thing is that when True would say, "Happy Mother's Day" she would say it like this:

"1, 2, 3... Happy Mother's Day!"

I guess she thinks her practicing with Papi and the counting was all part of the celebration. It was a happy day indeed. Plus, my day gets to continue on Friday when Benny says I get another surprise. Yeah!!!

I love them so much and I love being a mother, even with all the trials that motherhood brings. God is so good and continuously shows me that in order to be a godly mother I need only to look towards to the cross. I am not a perfect mother and I am learning so much everyday, but I praise God for all those mothers who give me a godly example (including my own mom) and spur me on to love God more through serving my family.

I love being a mama!

out with grandmama

2009-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

We went to visit Grandmama's sister, Tia Vita's grave and bring her some flowers. Then, we had a picnic next to her and flew some kites...

Then, we came home and they continued playing outside and blowing bubbles. The girls love bubbles...

In the evening, we went out to celebrate an early (grand) Mama's day. Sushi is always a good way to celebrate...

Mother and son together again.

Before we bid Grandmama farewell and took her to the airport, they had a bit of fun with pictures and roli polies. The girls made sure to never take their eyes off the tiny bugs...

Thank you Grandmama for the fun while you were here and all your help! We miss you lots!!! We love you very much!!! Hopefully, we will see you soon...

park day with grandmama

2009-05-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

True was all over the place...

Brave seem to be hanging in space...

Love from their Grandmama can't be replaced...

all in one weekend

2009-05-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Grandmama came in from San Antonio Friday morning and the girls were elated to finally be with her...

The reason for grandmama's arrival was to celebrate True's birthday. This time is was a little more people from our last celebration, which was just the four of us, though it was just a small family party. I think I will reserve big parties just for 1st birthdays...

There was plenty of eating, present opening...

Birthday singing...

Can you see who really wanted the cake?

She didn't want to blow out her candles...

Papi helped her from behind.

Sunday consisted of a full day with church family, then off to Aunt Loop's to do some water play with her and grandmama (and Uncle Alex too)...

I am totally beat after this busy weekend. I think the girls are too and I am sure they will sleep until 9 this morning.

Praise God for my Truey, she is growing so fast and oh boy does she got a personality! She is a bit territorial with all her new goods. We also thank God for all those who love her and showered her with love! We really are so blessed.

they keep me busy

2009-05-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

We have all been sick this week. I was stuck in bed for almost two days. We haven't left the house at all. Even still, with these girls there is never a dull moment...

Sometimes frustrating ones, but never dull. I love them.

a simple celebration

2009-04-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to do anything big, though we will have a small family one this Saturday. Plus, I thought she would enjoy something more intimate. Therefore, Goldilocks, also known as Truelilocks, turned three and celebrated with her friends, the three bears, also known as Papi, Mommy, and Brave. The three bears surprised her with a forest-garden-like picnic...

There were Goldilocks-sized cupcakes, made from a dairy & egg free recipe and bear bodies to build your own bear for each little girl (just True & Brave). They stuffed them, sewed little faces, and made them a heart...

Bear hats were also made...

Of course, there had to be story telling with some quickly made finger puppets that Papi requested...

Then, we all chowed down on some porridge of sorts...

I think the cupcakes turned out great, considering they lacked eggs and milk. Truelilocks was so excited to try her first real dessert, especially cupcakes. She took one bite and then spit it out. I guess Truelilocks ain't a fan of sweets. I tried... she really is her father's daughter.

Proof we let her have cupcakes...

Really, she didn't like it!

Brave, on the other hand, chowed down...

Actually, from first laying eyes on them, that was all she wanted. Now, she really is her mother's daugther.

Lastly, the brand new three old was given her gift...

A new tri-cycle because she is now three!!!

Papi Bear and Truelilocks then rode off into the sunset, with Bravey Bear following quickly behind...

That's right... Truelilocks is now three!!!

It was a simple celebration with just the four of us. Perfect for my Truelilocks. We wanted it to be all about her and what she liked to do. I think it was just that! It really was such a fun, lighthearted celebration.

In the midst of our little "party" True said, "I am so excited about my birthday!"

We are too my little love, we are too. I am so thankful to God for giving her to us. I can hardly believe she is no longer a baby, but our little girl.

Happy birthday to our Truelilocks! The three bears love you very much...

tradition

2009-04-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

True turned 3 and of course she gets breakfast in bed, with a little friend, the bear-mouse...

True was lovin' all of it...

Since April 1st, when she heard Martha ask, "Who has a birthday in April?" True has been talking and waiting for her birthday. All the time, very loud, she would sing the birthday song, but we tell her she has to wait until it comes.

Well, today, it finally came and she was simply ecstatic! She must get it from me because I absolutely, positively love LOVE birthdays and I make such a big deal out of it. From morning until night she was gleaming over her birthday and we had fun celebrating it, despite the fact Brave and I are sick that we even missed church.

More of her birthday to come...

long overdue

2009-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Our little Bravery is now 20lbs. and, well, almost 2...

Hooray! She is front facing! It is nice to see her little face when we turn around...