Bella Sinclair Award

The Bella Sinclair award was created by CES in honor of her sister Bella Sinclair, an exceptional woman and brilliant artist who epitomizes the concept of the artist as inspiration, of sisterhood, caring and sharing. It is symbolized by the Valley Oak Tree a handsome and graceful tree with a sturdy trunk.It was designed for those whose friendships and influence inspire us to be our best. So today I want to pass this lovely award onto a few people in my life who I feel deserve this award

I received this award from my dear friend Krystal--whom I admire and love. I will pass the award onto a few of the people in my life who I feel deserve the award, and I only ask that they pass it along to a few people who inspire them as well! That's sisterhood right?!

To Sara Fultz (twin sis)--You have been tossed into the deep and stood your ground with faith and hope trusting on the Lord. I admire your sturdy trunk and only hope that I can one day be just as sturdy as you have been. Amidst your heartache, you have tended to my sorrow first and foremost, above your own. Who does that? Sara--who loves and cares for others more than herself.

To Cindy Rae (me...twenty years from now!)--I don't know how you have done it, but you spent many nights in my company into the wee hours of the morning discussing the the events of life--the things we did understand and all those things that left us speechless. The catch is that you do this for so many, and then you rise--bright and early--the next morning with a smile and a determination to guide someone else for the better. To me, you are the handsome grace of the oak tree, yet sturdy all the while!

To Michelle Otero (Mom)--Your weathered hands have reached into the ground time and time again nurturing other trees along the way. My Gardener--I admire your strength. As a mother I am learning of the sacrifice and sorrow that I once saw you go through. It is a hard road to walk, as you give of yourself day after day. Thank you for showing me that a strong tree can be grown one day at a time.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

So we went outside to play last week and I thought to myself, "Let's go fly a kite". I asked the boys if they wanted to and they were excited, so we got out the kite. We tried flying it earlier in the summer with no success. This time started out pretty good while flying the kite low, but as you can see by Aiden's ring, we were doomed from the beginning. That is only a three leaf clover so luck was not on our side.

By the look on Connor's face, it appears that he had something up his sleeve. Most likely, he is just being a boy. When it comes down to it, it was obviously my fault that the kite landed where it did. The wind got stronger and I was able to let it fly high after the kids had played with it for an hour or so. It was flying perfectly and then, all of the sudden the tension went out of the string. So, where did that kite end up....
Way up high in the oak tree. I tried forever to get that thing to come down and then all of the sudden as I had predicted, the string broke. Luckily the boys took it well, especially Aiden, whose kite it was. It makes a good tree ornament. Aiden later tried to get it down by flying his cousin's Dora the Explorer kite up to save Optimus Prime. Unfortunately we had to put an end to that one to prevent having two stuck kites. It was a fun day in the end and we will have to get another kite which we will likely fly somewhere else, like Valley Forge Park. Best of luck to all of you kite fliers out there. I hope you get to take yours back home with you.

Brainwashing!

Get the point? I love brainwashing my Lydia to say Mama! Well, the constant Mama that she hears from me sometimes comes out like "Baba"...see, now I'm brainwashing you!

Back in Time

Often, I wish I could go back in time...to a more simple life. I often find myself wondering how it would have been to hang my laundry on the lines in my cute little 1950's style dress, while the homemade bread baked in the oven, ready for Daddy and the kids when Daddy came home from work. Yep, we'd live in a tiny cottage--not a mansion of sorts--we would treasure the small cozy rooms that housed reduced electric bills and necessities. My day to day grind would be centered on the home, the children, and Daddy of course. Yet, I live in a time when the day to day grind is far different than that above. Family meal time? When both Steve and I are in and out, family meals are best served with a bowl of cereal...not homemade bread! I won't go into the laundry thing--those living with me know how devastating that sight is! Dresses...well even a modern woman can't give that one thing up! I am grateful I can reach far and wide, expanding my knowledge and skills, but my mansion--I am hoping--will be a quaint little cottage where children are plenty and homemade bread bountiful (cookies and cake too!). My mansion will be a place where Daddy comes home to us daily with a full heart from the great work he is doing rather than a heavy heart, burdened by the world. I will quilt and read to the children without the distractions of modern conveniences, and the worries of time and deadlines will be a thing of the past--literally! Sounds like a mansion worth striving for...to me it does!

Finally, I'm Happy With It!

Well, I had good intentions with my attempt the other day to post a new banner picture for our blog. If you didn't see it during this rough transition, then you didn't miss much. I have been exhausted lately from staying up too late and getting up too early, and I think it was effecting my focus. So, today I just started fresh with the whole blog image and I'm finally happy with it. Krystal, thank you for your comments. I am glad you liked the picture. I was just not happy with my work and I am a perfectionist. It is something that my dad has ingrained in me when it comes to construction type work as well. I am never happy unless my finished product looks perfect. So, I let my sweet wife pick out a new free background and then I made a banner to match. Everything I used was free so it doesn't get better than that. I changed all of the font/theme colors as well and we ended up with what you see. I hope everyone finds it even more appealing than before and will enjoy visiting and catching up with our family. We are grateful for all of our friends and hope all is going well in your lives as well. Please let me know what you think of the new banner and overall look and we will be updating you soon (probably with pics of our little princesa).

Due on the 4th, Born on the 5th

Connor was due on the 4th but held out and was born on the 5th. Our oldest little boy just turned 6 years old today! He has been anticipating his birthday ever since Aiden had his back in May. He graduated from Kindergarten this year and his teacher even sent him a birthday card. This picture is from yesterday as he grew even more anxious for his big day! He is getting so big and I suppose will even be taller than me someday.

After church today we went to Valley Forge Park and took some cute pictures of the our special birthday boy. He was happy to do it which was a surprise and another sign that he is growing up on us, too fast.





Here is Connor in his special homemade birthday hat, made by mommy. He was so excited to wear it and it is easy to see how special he felt.
This is actually his second breath and it took him another one after this to get all six candles blown out. It's a new technique; see if you can hyperventilate before they are all blown out.
Here is our king for the day sitting in his thrown outside. He was served cake and ice cream just as he requested. He is so into Transformers lately.
So, Mr. Connor, Connor Dude, #1, I hope you had a good day and truly felt how special you are to us. We love you! It was the perfect way to end our break from school. Happy Birthday Connor! You are officially 6 years old and you will be getting baptized before you know it. I look forward to that day as I know you do too. I don't wish time to move any faster though as I want to cherish every moment I have with you as my little boy. You are such a good boy. Sleep tight. Sweet dreams!

Fourth of July Family Fun

I will try and make this one brief as I'm sure was for the most part ordinary, but that is what life is mostly full of; ordinary moments filled with ordinary people. We took a trip in the morning to the church only to find that we had arrived too late for breakfast that was being served at 9 (we got there at 10). After that we got some last minute things for Connor's birthday since it was on a Sunday this year and then headed to the cemetery. We were trying to get some nice Independence Day family pictures, and taking what has become a traditional trip to visit our little baby Shane's grave. It is a special place and a good reminder for the children that they have a little brother waiting for them to hold him again someday. There is no way they could forget with all of the pictures we have in the home though. After that we went to the YMCA outdoor pool to go swimming. I dare not post any of those pictures for fear of permanently embedding scary images in your brain (me without a shirt -- not good!). Then we came back home for some good old family barbecue and fun. We ended with some of the only fireworks that are legal to purchase and everyone had a good time. The kids cheered my brother and I on as you can see in the pictures below. They loved it. We caught some "lightning bugs" and then ended the night with cupcakes and some trick candles. We had fun and we spend the whole day with family. It could not have been more perfect. I hope everyone enjoyed their day of celebration as well.