Fun pics!

We have been staying so busy I haven’t had much time for blogging. I am happy to say that I have the first two sections of my dissertation now completed and will be starting on the data analysis portion in a couple weeks. Things are moving right along and I am ecstatic! We have done so many fun things over the last few weeks and I can’t wait to get some pics up on the blog. For now though, here are a few that I found as I was uploading pics.

Sammy and I stopped by to visit Sam one night while he was working, Sammy loves to help his daddy turn on the lights and sirens to “keep dem peoples safe”

 

He loves when I make him smoothies and every single time he ends up with this same “happy” mustache, he looks like one of the 3 stooges

Hannah & Sammy enjoying popsicles on our steps!

Sammy and his buddy Nicolae are too cute together

Here they are talking to David & Daniel’s baby brother Reagan. Sammy looked at me here and said “I want have him mommy, at my house”. Someone may be ready for a sibling….. I’m just saying…

We bought some flowers for the flower beds in front and Sammy was a great helper for all of 10 min and then he was into everything. So, I busted out his old baby pool and he had a blast splashing around and was contained AND entertained, it was perfect!

 

Technorati Tags: Sammy,Hannah,pool,summer

A little step of faith…

 

Sam and I were talking about some of the funny conversations we have had with our little gang of kids recently and it got me to thinking of all that we would be missing out on if we hadn’t taken that first little step of faith in trusting God with our relationship with Hannah. We have all come a long way throughout the last several years and it is amazing to look back and see what God has done and is doing through it all. I wanted to share a little bit about how God had to really work on me and hold my hand if you will to get us to the point of hosting 4 kiddos in our house each week. I strongly encourage you to step out in and trust Him in whatever way God is challenging you in your own life. I read something today that resonated with me in a big way and is so very true “ a lot of things the Lord asks us to do will not make sense to others..,even those who love you will shake their head and say “She is nuts!” when this happens it is almost confirmation that you’ve heard from God”.

A lot of baby steps were involved to get to the point where we are when the above picture was taken. I would have thought you were nuts if you would have told me a few years ago that I would be taking this particular group of 4 PLUS my wild toddler to church each weekend. You see, just the thought of taking Hannah out of my house in to a store, restaurant, the movies, or really anywhere was honestly a little frightening. The girl had many issues and to say she that she was difficult to control at times is an understatement. Some of you probably remember hearing me tell of the day long ago when she and I were actually kicked out of Kmart. That’s right.. we were asked to “kindly not return- EVER”. Thankfully I learned what works and doesn’t work with her and her behavior is much improved, to the point that there are hardly any traces left of those early behaviors. Then came Sammy. I was pretty scared to take Hannah and my newborn out in public, alone. Yes, with just me and them. I was still getting the hang of caring for a newborn and then to throw Hannah in the mix, well, it was daunting. What if he cries and I have to nurse him and she runs away while I’m nursing?? What if she causes a scene and he starts crying?? I decided we couldn’t stay cooped up my house forever though and thankfully we ventured out and I became confident when having them both out. Sure there were times when I wanted to pull out my hair but there were many more of the amazing,tender moments.

I often would let Hannah pick a sibling to come along with her on a visit usually as a reward for something she accomplished. Very rarely would I bring all 4 kids along and on the few occasions when I did, I felt the most appropriate thing to do after their visit was over was to drive myself straight to the looney bin because I thought I was going to lose my mind. The kids would all fight with each other and they were loud and out of control. I became so burdened for them though. Sam and I began to pray for God to use our family in their each of their lives too, in whatever way possible. As we prayed together I began to see each one of them in a new light. My patience grew and I felt like God gave me some great ideas of how I could handle having all for of them at once. The next time I picked all 4 of them up I sat them down and had a serious talk. I explained that we loved being with them but the way they behaved was unacceptable and I simply refused to expose my own child to that sort of thing. I would not be a good mommy and would not be taking good care of Sammy if I allowed him to be around such chaos. They responded very well to our talk and even helped to come up with some rules for when we are all together. I changed my way of dealing with their disputes and set some firm rules/consequences for the breaking of those rules. Most importantly I always prayed while driving to pick them up  and once we were all together and I started praying with them. Praying with them and having a time where they all all take turns talking about real things and praying for each other has made all the difference. I try to help them realize that the four of them need to stick together rather than tear each other down but of course they are only kids so who knows how much actually sinks in. I want to strengthen them as a little family unit because regardless of what life deals them in the future most likely they will all be together somewhere. Sure they still fight and some visits are better than others but for the most part we all have a great time now and I miss them when they aren’t here with us. 

I don’t really think anything of picking up the whole gang anymore (unless we are going somewhere with admission, tickets for 5 kids= ouch!) and that my friends is a “God thing” all the way. He has stretched us and grown us and just like we found with our experiences in Guatemala, WE end up feeling just as blessed or more than these we set out to help. We get so much more back than we invest in them. It reminds me of the verse 1 Corinthians 2: 9, “Eye has not seen and ear has not heard… all that God has prepared for those who love him”. You never know all that is waiting for you when you take that first little step of faith.

Here are some pics of the kiddos on our car wash day!

Mark wasn’t too interested so that is him on the scooter in the background..

They had a water hose fight with our neighbors Joe & Gloria who were washing their truck, so fun!

 

 

These are pics of the little man who started the car wash.. That’s right, Sammy sprayed us all down, he giggled and squealed as he drenched each one of us, thus since we were all wet, why not wash my car?

Technorati Tags: faith,trusting God,car wash

Big Brothers Big Sisters Match

Check out this article that was posted about a match down in the Central Florida program. I love reading stories about other matches and hearing about the true LASTING difference this program makes in at risk/ troubled kids’ lives. The little boy in this story has a much brighter future because of the time his “Big Brother” has invested in his life. He has a great role model and some one he can trust and confide everything in. He knows his life matters on this earth and he can DREAM big goals and REACH them!

The article is not long at all, check it out if you have a few couple min. If anyone reading this is interested at all in becoming a Big or wants to hear more about what it is like, please free free to contact me/ leave a note in the comments below.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100516/LIFE/5160311/The%20bond%20between%20brothers

Technorati Tags: Big Brothers Big Sisters,Volunteer

Wanna pway Cousins pweas!

 

This my friends is a phrase that I am growing quite weary of hearing these days. I typed this in Sammy language but it translates to “I want to play with my cousins please”. We were so excited that my cousin Karen and her kids Cole & Shelby came down from TN to celebrate Shelby’s birthday and as an added bonus they brought Julie down with them too! Sammy hadn’t seen them since last summer but he looks at their pictures a lot and was a very eager beaver on our way up to Aunt Sandra’s house.

I was so very impressed with how well behaved both Cole and Shelby were, they were so sweet with Sammy and really doted on him. Both had grown and matured so much since I last saw them. Cole showed Sammy many magic tricks that wowed Sammy each and every time and Shelby was a little mama helping with every aspect of Sammy’s day. They read to him, encouraged him to eat all his food, played cars (a must if you are to be buddies with this kid), swam, and even taught him how to run races with them. Unfortunately our visit with them came to an end much too quickly and ever since, literally EVERY day, he asks about his cousins. He really grabbed hold of that word and loves to use it.

Julie or Julz as I call her also came down and I just can’t believe how grown up she is! It is so weird to see my little baby cousin as a little lady. We used to live a few streets away from them so I would pick her up all the time and hang out with her. She was just the sweetest little girl and even when she was just toddling around I would have a blast with her each time we had our girl time. She is just too cool for me these days that I can’t keep up but I sure wish we had more time together. She is such a stand up girl, strong in her faith with a kind sweet heart for others, and she can sure crack me up!! She has always been like that,  so it is cool to see her evolve into this beautiful young lady. I know she will leave a big mark on this world in one way or another. You keep on shining Julz, I love you so much!

Their trip down here totally sealed the deal on us taking a trip up to TN at some point this summer. I miss my family too much and it isn’t right for Sammy to barely see his cousins. So.. all you TN folks, get ready, the planning of a trip is in the works!!!

Oh and as a side note.. the other phrase we are hearing often and a little too much of is Sammy’s replacement of the tried and true phrase “thank you”. Our child has chosen to say “gracias, porfavor, AMEN!” each and every time he would typically say thank you. It was cute at first but now, not so much. We’re working on it though and hope to have it phased out soon.

Here they were teaching Sammy how to do a “cool” pose, he clearly embraced it

 

He “wuvs” his “Shwewlby”

She lost a tooth while we were there which blew Sammy’s mind, he couldn’t believe it and still retells the story to anyone who will listen to him

Happy birthday Shelby! We love you!

I love this pic b/c I have several pictures of me sitting in that very chair with a cake all lit up with candles and a toothless grin. Warms my heart!

Here Cole was teaching Sammy how “men” pose… Sammy was instructed to stand with his arms crossed and look tough, ha ha

He would literally do everything they said which was a little worrisome. Here Cole was teaching him to do a trick and on Cole’s cue Sammy was to fall over which he did about 7 times in a row until I cut Cole off b/c I was scared Sammy would have a bruise, silly boys!

Blown away by the good ol’ penny out of your ear magic trick

Shelby with my mom, so sweet!

Nicole and Julz the coolest teens in the whole world!

Sammy followed Jamie Lynn and Shelby around like a little puppy it was so funny

 

She not only changed his diapers but also brushed his teeth and helped bathe him!

Technorati Tags: cousins,Sammy,Cole,Shelby,Julie

The Bonfire

Our awesome friends Micah and Amy invited us out to their place for a super fun bonfire a few weekends ago. Let me just brag on this amazing family. Sam and I have LOVED getting to know them. We are just so thankful for them and their family. Not only do Sam and I love hanging with them but they happen to have two little boys, Nicolae and Gabriel who are Sammy’s good buddies. He and Nicolae are only a few months apart and it is so great to meet up with Amy at the park and let the boys run wild while we chat it up. Now let me tell you why I think they are extra super cool… they love our Flores kiddos!!! Most reading the blog prob know by now that Sam and I have a 4 kids that we have fallen in love with and have in our home every few weekends. They are great bunch of kids but they have had some rough spots along the way and although they are quite resillient they can be challenging at times. Needless to say, we don’t get many offers to hang out when inviting us includes 5 children that in rowdiness and decibel level seem more like 9 or 10 kids. Micah and Amy have really taken the time to get to know them and they kids ask almost every time they are here if we are going to see Micah and Amy.

Sam was working so he had to miss out but the kids and I piled in the car and headed over to their house and what a fun night we had! Many have asked me how I get them all plus Sammy & his car seat in my little car. The answer is VERY CAREFULLY. To be honest they aren’t able to wear seatbelts and one and half of them always end up on the floor board but we just say a prayer together before we head off to our many destinations and so far so good. Once at Micah & Amy’s the kids played and we roasted hotdogs and made smores. Mark especially had a great time helping Micah throw things in the fire and he had never made smores before! They all got along wonderfully the entire time (no small feat with this bunch!) and we all had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves. The little boys, Sammy, Nicolae, and Gabriel ran around pant-less in an attempt to speed up the potty training and I really think it helped! He has had a complete turn around and has kicked his potty training in high gear since that night but please excuse his nakedness below. We were in the country in my defense, so nobody saw (Mom, I put that just for you).

The car ride home was really sweet. One thing that always surprised me with this bunch is how much they want the baby experiences for themselves. When I first had Sammy and they watched me interact with him they wanted me to rock and sing to them, read them stories in my lap rather than all piled on the couch or bed, tickle their feet and talk in baby voices, even wanted to drink of out bottles and sippy cups! Given that they are so old and so big and there are so many of them, and some of these things would just be weird most of these haven’t been possible. One thing I do indulge them in is listening to Sammy’s baby praise and lullaby cd. They begged for it on the way home and so we cranked it up. They asked me to pray with them some more and we just had a very sweet car ride home. My poor Sammy passed out before we got on the main road so he missed it all but I really enjoyed those sweet moments with them. I try to always remember I never know just how much time I will have with them so I am very thankful when we can have extra special fun memories like this night as opposed to the not so great visits where they are fighting and misbehaving.

Thank you Johnson family for showing us a great evening!

 

Samantha had fun entertaining Sammy in the baby pool, they sang several silly songs together

My Banana is so big now, check her out! This picture just makes me really see just how LONG she is, and she is getting so skinny, I need to fatten her up!

Krista was a great little mamma that night, she really tried to help a lot with the 3 little guys. I got her reading the babysitter club series for a reason, but shhhh.. don’t tell her that

Here is the gang minus Amy and me

gathering sticks with Micah

They loved picking Mulberries off the tree and eating them, I did NOT love working for several washes on getting the stains out of their clothes, Amy.. maybe try an apple tree next.. just a thought

Its smores time!

Me and my girl

Can’t see it but right at this moment Krista’s marshmellow burst into flames, so funny

The little boys had a blast running around the yard all night but they sure were filthy and sticky so we piled them in the tub. I had envisioned a cute pic of all three smiling with spiky soaped up hair covered in bubbles.. yea, not so much. This was my best attempt when will I learn?

Technorati Tags: Hannah,Sammy,BBBS,bonfire

A little humor to brighten your day

Had to post this! Sam and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary last month, that’s right, we’ve been together for a total of 13 years now and are thankfully more in love than ever (say awwww here). More on that to come soon. The funny part occurred when Sammy and I were in Target shopping for the perfect card to give Sam. I was engrossed in reading my umpteenth card in search of just the right wording and my little one had decided to “help” me by reaching out of the cart and picking out cards himself. The first was of an obnoxious dog with bug eyes, the second was of a strange frog with a long tongue. He loves frogs and dogs so it made sense that he chose these. I explained why we had to put them back and asked him to please not touch the cards again. I had returned to the card I was reading when I suddenly heard his shriek of excitement…. “OOOOHHH MOMMY!!!” I turned and saw his big “o” mouth and raised eyebrows and he held the below card up and exclaimed “I want DIS ONE fo daddy, pweas mommy. Dis my favor-wit one! I weally wike it!!” I burst out laughing.. check it out !

I explained that this wasn’t the right kind of card, it wasn’t the card to give for a wedding anniversary and poor thing started to cry. He pleaded again on how his daddy would “be sad if not got card”. So, I couldn’t resist, yes I reinforced his behavior and totally bought it. It was just too funny that this of all cards this is what my sweet innocent little boy picked out for his daddy and declared was his favorite. To top it off, inside it read “we’ve reached the age where we just can’t function without our glasses, especially if they are empty, Happy Birthday!”.

He colored a picture of a cow and an elephant on the inside for Sam and he even asked if he could buy daddy some flowers. We headed up to the nursery and Sammy picked out marigolds, that were so stinky! He was just so proud of himself as we got the gifts arranged nicely on the table. He looked at me and said “daddy weally gone wike beauful card mommy” and he grinned. Sam was a little shocked when he opened it and then couldn’t stop laughing.

Sammy just beamed when Sam opened it and he told him all about the elephant and cow he drew inside. They were apparently eating a popsicle together, can’t you tell? Sam on the other hand cracked up and did a great job telling Sammy how he picked out a perfect card.

Technorati Tags: Sammy,anniversary,card