NOT Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Everyone! My husband does not read my blog, but I feel I still "owe" him kudos on this day! :) (BTW...the reason why he doesn't read my blog is because he doesn't know the link to it. He knows I write a blog. He knows I share stories/pictures/etc. on here. But I have not shared the link with him (or anyone that I know IRL (in real life) for that matter) because I'm scared that if I knew that people who I know IRL read this, I might not be as open and forth coming as I am! :) Weird? Perhaps, but either way, that's how I feel! :)

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary and I couldn't be more happy! It is no secret that I love my husband! And it is also not a secret that things have NOT been easy for us in the five years that we have been married. BUT I can type here today and say that I love him more than I EVER have and I truly can not imagine my life without him. His life is an amazing example of what God can do. Our marriage is an awesome example of the power of forgiveness. Our children are a beautiful example of the power of prayer, and the wonderful combination of God, forgiveness, love, hope, transformation, the ability to change and SO much more! Trust me, it's not been an easy journey here, by ANY.STRETCH.OF.THE.IMAGINATION but I stand firm in my belief that God did this. God stitched every single part of this plan that we live day in and day out and I am blessed.

About a week ago (because we can NEVER keep surprises from one another! :)) Manny gave me my beautiful anniversary gift (diamond earrings) so I wasn't expecting much today (OBVIOUSLY! :)) except for a card...I came into work today to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting at my desk. Manny (and Manuel) had hand delivered them so they'd be waiting for me when I came in (Manny had to pick up a job for his work, by my work, so they dropped them off. I had NO clue and was SO surprised! :))

He said I may or may not have more surprises coming! ;) We shall see! :)

And for good measure, two of my favorite shots of Manny and I (these have been posted before)...

Weekend Wrap-up

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! As Spring approaches (well actually Spring is here BUT you wouldn't know it by the 31 degrees I woke up to this morning! :)) but this time of year means busy, busy, busy for the Gomez family. Pretty much we "run" (not literally, of course! ;) from now until late summer, which is normally fine by me, but sometimes you just want to sit and smell the roses, so to speak :) But since this season of busyness is just now starting, I'm still okay with it! :)

And so it began...the 30th birthday parties. These first few months of 2011 myself and the majority of my closest friends will be turning the big 3-0. I have NO reservations about it...I honestly couldn't be happier where I am in my life and have SO much to be proud of. I have an amazingly wonderful family, a relatively successful career (although that could change at any moment, but we'll take it for today! :)) So I'm not one of those people dreading the big 3-0. One of my oldest and dearest friends turned 30 on Saturday. She is 8 months prego, so she wasn't up for any mass celebration, but we did manage to enjoy a nice surprise party dinner at Liberatore's. Manny stayed home with the kiddos (sometimes it's just not worth it to get a sitter, especially for a few hours). I enjoyed a delicious dinner with Kelli and some of our friends. Of course I spent most of my time talking about the kids (isn't that how it always is?) AND I didn't take a single picture :(

Then yesterday was church and teaching Sunday school. And then Mia and I headed to my friend Mary's wedding shower. Mary is getting married on June 10th and I am one of her bridesmaids. I take any opportunity I have to bring Mia along since my time is SO limited with her Monday-Friday. I asked Mary if she would mind if Mia came (it wasn't a surprise shower), and of course she said no. Obviously I would have brought Manuel too, BUT spending time with Daddy is WAY more fun than spending time with a bunch of girls! :) I'm not a fan of doing much on Sundays (other than church). I usually just like to relax at home with my hubby and kiddos, but Sunday was the only date all the bridesmaids were available (and actually still, one of them wasn't able to make it). Mary got a lot of wonderful stuff, and again, fun was had by all! :) I did take a few pictures there, but only of Mia and Seraphina (the Maid of Honor's daughter, who happens to be one of my best friends. She's an anesthesiologist. I am SO proud to call her a friend! :)) But anyway, I only took pictures of the kiddos and a self portrait of Mia and I :)

Now, here it is Monday, and I'm exhausted from a busy weekend, but I am SO blessed to have so many amazing friends in my life, all of whom I've been friends with since high school (and before).

Lots more showers, 30th birthday parties, 1st birthday parties, weddings, etc. coming up over the next few months. But let's not forget a VERY special 5th wedding anniversary on Wednesday....MINE! :) I'll definitely be doing a post about my wonderful husband and our marriage.

Oops, I almost forgot...

And for good measure...

 Mia and Seraphina (best friends forever, they just don't know it yet! ;))

 "Hmmm, I don't know about her?" :)

Being cute (what's new? ;))

Mommy and Mia self portrait

Out of the mouths of babes

I posted this on Facebook yesterday but since this blog has become a journal/baby book/place to jot down my memories :) I have to share this:

Last night was Pizza Hut night at Manuel's school (meaning we would go to Pizza Hut to eat and a percentage of the cost of our bill would go to Manuel's preschool). So we got, eat some delicious pizza and get in the car to head home, and of course, it's POURING down rain. I'm slowly driving along and have to stop as an ambulance goes speeding by us, then this conversation unfolds (there might be SLIGHT paraphrasing as I don't remember the EXACT words that came from his mouth):

Manuel: "Pray Mommy!"

Me: "What bud?"

Manuel: "Pray for those people that the ambulance is going to help. Every time an ambulance passes Daddy and I he tells me that we need to pray, so we do."

And then we prayed for those people.

I teared up. I find it SO amazing that my husband is raising my son to be such a good, well rounded person who is comfortable with prayer, knowing God, etc. I have no doubt that my husband will be a HUGE influence in Manuel's life (and Mia's too) and raise him (with my help, of course :)) to be a great person and one day husband and father. This is huge for me! Manny did not have a good role model growing up as to how to be a good person, specifically husband and father, should be. And actually, if I really think about, he had no good male role models in his life (he had a grandfather who I hear was pretty special but he passed away when Manny was relatively young). So the fact that my husband has already done so much in Manuel's life (and he's only 5) makes me so hopeful and excited to see the person we raise Manuel to be! :) One more reason why I believe the cycle of addiction has stopped with my children! I'm telling ya people it is a truly humbling, amazing thing to see God's grace EVERY SINGLE DAY in my reflection, in the eyes of my children and most wonderfully in the eyes of my husband!

And then a sweet thing Manuel said the other night at the dinner table...

I asked him what he loved about Mia and his response was so sweet:

"Well for 1, she's cute. And two, I love how she screams*. And for 3, she gives me hugs. And four, she has earrings."

*Mia started screaming at the top of her lungs a few weeks back (not in a fit throwing sense, just this high pitched, loud, happy scream and we made the mistake of laughing (because it was HILARIOUS!) and now she does it ALL.THE.TIME to make us laugh! :))

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope you are having a great week!

Wordless (almost) Wednesday

There are no words to describe how much I love these two little people! They are my heart, soul and everything!



I said "Yes!"

That sounds like the title of an engagement story post, but as most of you know, I'm already married (and will actually be celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary on 3/30/11 :) so my title has nothing to do with that. It has to do with a fellow bloggers post that I read a few weeks back and I was touched, moved and motivated to make change (as I often am when I read her posts)! Rachel at finding joy is SO inspiring. If you don't read her blog, you should. She is a mom to SEVEN children and just completely awesome! Her posts are inspiring, raw, straight from the heart, and her faith in God is constant, even in her struggles. Go visit and read about her life, you'll be inspired too. But back to her post a few weeks back...it was about making a conscious effort to say yes to our children when we are SO used to saying no. I'm guilty of this more than I care to admit. Anytime Manuel asks me anything, I feel like my first answer is always, "No!" Sometimes I don't even think it's intentional or that I'm evening listening to what he's asking, but yet the word "no" just flows from my lips before I've even processed what he's asked. That's sad, but the truth nonetheless. So the other morning we were up and at 'em early, like we always are Monday-Friday and he was feeling a bit sluggish (don't we all have those mornings?) and when I went to wake him up (he was sleeping in our bed with my husband because Mia had a bad night and I was sleeping in their room in Manuel's bed (while Mia slept in her crib)) and he said, "Mommy can I just stay snuggled up in here for a few more minutes?" Typically, "No!" would have shot out of my mouth faster than the blink of an eye (because he has to get to school, Mia has to get to daycare, I have to get work, etc.) but I stopped myself, "Sure buddy! You can stay snuggled up until Mommy's done her hair." You would have thought he had just won the lottery! :) He was very excited to relax a little longer and watch cartoons until I was done. He happily cooperated when I told him it was time to get dressed. Then he asked me another question that would, hands down, ALWAYS get a no response..."Mommy, can I eat my breakfast in bed today?" But as "no" was about to come out of my mouth, I stopped myself and thought, "UGH! Toast (which he loves and was having for breakfast that morning) can make a huge mess and get crumbs everywhere in my bed, BUT, ITS.JUST.CRUMBS! They can be cleaned up. They won't stain. They won't ruin my sheets. Christina, do you know how many parents would LOVE for their child to eat breakfast in their bed, but their child is sick in the hospital, or even worst, no longer with them :(" So I looked at him, smiled, and said, "Yes! Mommy will be right back. Let me go get your toast." Again, he was SO happy over something SO simple. With children, it's the little things. Sometimes we get so caught up in life, that we forget to stop and just "be".

I'm not perfect! I'm sure I've said "no" twenty times more then I've said yes since reading Rachel's post BUT I'm making and effort. I'm trying. If you're guilty, like me, give it a try too! :) And if you are perfect and wonderful and making no parenting mistakes ;), but still want to meet an amazing blogger go visit, finding joy. You'll be inspired! :)

Happy 14 months Mia Grace

Mia turned 14 months yesterday, but I was participating in the Day of Blog Silence for Japan, so that's why this is getting posted a day late! :)

I think next month, when Mia turns 15 months, I am going to stop doing the monthly updates. I mean, lets be honest, it might start getting to be a bit much! ;) (not for me to do, but meaning a bit overboard! :)) So I'll do it on "milestone" months...18 months, 24 months, (or maybe not quite so much time in between because that seems extreme too! :)) Either way, it won't be every month. Now, with that out of the way....

What are you up to these days...

-Mommy took you to see Dr. K (your pediatrician) on Tuesday, the 15th, for a follow-up to your pneumonia and you weighed 23 lbs 1 oz. You used to be SO good at the doctors...getting weighed with no issues, getting your temp taken with no issues, etc. but unfortunately you've been traumatized (by the DMSA scan) and now you flip out about everything. It is SO sad! :( Mommy tried to tell you it would be okay, but you weren't buying it. Poor baby! :( In time, I know you'll forget it, but still, it breaks my heart. As far as your height goes, Mommy isn't sure (and you won't stand still so I can measure you! :)) but we'll find out in May when you go for your next well child check-up.

-You have REALLY gotten good at walking. Last time Mommy posted you preferred crawling, but not anymore. You are a lady on a mission and get where you need to be via your chubby little legs! :)

-You are still in size 4 diapers.

-You are wearing mostly 18 month clothes All of your Spring stuff is 18 months and is a tad big, but come time for you to actually wear it on a regular basis (once the temps get warm and stay warm) I know they'll fit you perfectly! :)

-You continue to spend your days at Linnie's while Mommy and Daddy are working. You LOVE it there and that makes my heart so happy! Of course I'd love it if Mommy could work part time and spend more time with you (and Manuel! :)) but that's not a possibility right now, so I'm glad you have someone who takes SUCH amazing care of you! :)

-You managed to climb up about 5 or 6 stairs the other day before your brother screamed and alerted us to the fact that you were climbing the stairs! TOTAL MOMMY/DADDY FAIL! I don't know how we forgot to make sure the gate was up.

-You are back to sleeping through the night, for the most part :)

-You STILL only have two teeth. I asked my dentist a few weeks ago at what age we should start worrying about the number of teeth you have. She said, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about right now. We typically wouldn't start worrying until about 2 or 3." Sheewwwww! :)

-You are a chatter box, that's for sure! :) You love "talking". You have several words that we understand, "Mama", "Dada", "Gaga" (thats what you call Cheerios! :)), "Rara" (what you call Robert, Linnie's son), "Go", and "Bye" (there are more, I'm sure, that I'm forgetting).

-You can point to your ears, hair, teeth, and belly when asked.

-I'm still amazed at how easily you transitioned off the bottle on your 1st birthday. You are still going strong :) and drinking your milk from a sippy cup with no issues. And you still LOVE your water!

-You still eat baby food, Stage 3, along with "real" food. (which the dentist said is great because although you can "gum" food, if it's not chewed then it's easily digestible (is that a word?) and can cause gas, indigestion, etc. which you already have issues with. So yes, you are a 14 month old who still eats baby food! :) But that's okay.

-You are HILARIOUS! You keep us on our toes and laughing constantly. But oh boy are you getting a stubborn streak in you! :) You are in a throwing fit stage (head back, arching your back, the whole nine yards!) I know it's just a stage, so I try to remain patient with you! :)

-You love giving hugs and kisses to your daddy and brother. Your new thing, when Mommy asks you for a kiss, is to shake your head no over and over again and smile! You little stinker! :)
I love you my sweet baby girl!

And for good measure (pics from our St. Pattys Day photo shoot! :)

 Manuel's serious face ;)

 This would be PERFECT if it wasn't blurry!

For Japan With Love

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