Bonding

I'm so thankful for the relationship my husband has with his sons. He has been an active, hands on dad since day one!  I think it is so sweet to watch Shane and his dad refinish Shane's bedroom furniture together. It certainly has been some quality bonding time for the two of them as they have planned their days, shopped for materials, and worked on this project. It has taken a couple of weeks, as they only work on Agustin's day off. Shane has made practically all the decisions concerning his new room in this house.


Ideas of Shane's which we've used:

*use lime green/black/silver for decor
*refinish his existing furniture rather than buying new
*paint said furniture black
*attach new hardware
*chose contemporary brushed nickel handles
*picked out new brushed nickel lamps
*chose black lamp shades instead of white
*brushed nickel ceiling fan/light

Ideas of mine which we've used so far:

*purchase thermal draperies to block out some of this hot Florida sun! (his bedroom window gets full morning sun and by the afternoon his room is too warm to enjoy)
*use black floating shelves in lieu of a bulky two piece cabinet/bookshelf

I can't wait to get it all pulled together with lime green accessories. I promise, I will take pictures to share here!

FYI: This furniture has been in our family for many years. It was used throughout the childhood of my cousin's son, Ted. Ted grew up to be an Army Ranger. After returning from his tours in Iraq, Ted accepted a position as instructor at West Point!!! Yeah, awesome I know! :) After a few more years in Germany, Ted has now retired. We have used Ted's furniture for both of our sons. It has been an honor!

Here is the cabinet and bookshelf that is part of Shane's bedroom furniture. I'm going to steal use it in my kitchen I think.

This is one of the small drawers of the above shelf. Can you read what it says?  My cousin Ted must have been saving money to purchase a frog?? I just shared this photo on his Facebook page, asking him to indulge me by explaining. I think it's a nice little piece of his youth.

Shane's First Karate Lesson

Well, we're back from our 2 month long vacay in W.V. where Shane enrolled in Karate lessons. My cousin opened his school in the small town of my birth. We've had many wonderful experiences this summer. I'd like to share them with you here on my blog in small doses. I took photos ad nauseam (Latin for "to the point of nausea")!

For starters, I'm posting the below photos for family members who have been begging for pictures of Shane in his "Gi". So now I proudly present to you my handsome son, Shane Rios!

First Night of Class. Instruction on proper way to tie the belt.

Stretching.

Instructor G. Justice




Sensei Justice welcomes his cousin John.


Some of the head gear Shane looked forward to using.



Below, some of Shane's drills a couple of weeks into lessons.

(before earning his gold belt.)

Two Prayer Requests...

I would so appreciate it if you could please keep my son Josh and four of his friends in prayer as they travel throughout this evening and all day tomorrow, heading to Houston, Texas. (Wed. & Thurs.) They begin work on Friday morning. While there, they will be building a huge furnace for a glass factory.

Also, my Shane is so sick again! He had about two weeks relief from an ugly virus and terrible cough. Sunday he started with another sore throat and now his poor little nose is runny and his cough hurts his throat. So far, we're trying various home remedies. He slept well last night. I trust he feels better soon!

BROTHERS-Josh and Shane

BUSY December!

I always find it hard to keep up with posting during November and December. I always fall behind. WE have so many functions and birthdays during these last two months of the year.

We had a wonderful but different Christmas this year. With my husband in Mexico and my baby brother in West Virginia, things felt a little "off" or "strange" this year. Nonetheless, we had a warm, cozy time of breaking bread with loved ones here and opening lovingly wrapped packages. Then of course there was plenty of laughter! You can't have my son Josh, his cousin Josh, and my youngest son Shane in a room together without loads of antics and laughter. That was all on Christmas Eve.

Christmas day was spent with my parents in their home. Nora, a friend from church joined us for another delicious meal which started off with my father reading an account of the birth of Christ from the gospel of Matthew. Then we watched family videos starting back in November from my birthday, Thanksgiving, Shane's birthday, mine and Agustin's anniversary. November and December sure are busy months at our house. It seems we have so many things to celebrate! But culminating our year by celebrating the birth of our Saviour is top of the list!
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Here are some photos from Shane's 13th birthday on Dec. 5th. I'll post Christmas photos soon.

Happy Thirteenth Shane!

Opening Birthday Gifts!

Oh what after dinner fun! Watching videos on You Tube which gross you out. I recall this one showing a woman popping/draining a boil on her husband's back! Now who would think to video and upload something like that? Now WHO would think it's fun watching something like that? You're looking at the three of them!

Grandma & Shane eyeing her homemade chicken and dumplings he requested fir his

birthday meal.

Shane also requested corn on the cob!

Grandma made the cake Shane requested for his birthday. Weight Watcher's orange diet soda cake topped with mandarin oranges!

In Children's Church

The embarrassing "Mom kisses son in front of people" kiss.

"Now look here woman!"

We do share lots of laughter when together. I love this kid.

In church

What Delilah does for several minutes each time Shane or Agustin leave home. So cute.

Agustin's gift to Shane-a trip to the shooting range!

There's nothing quite like a boy and his dog! Shane telling Delilah goodbye before heading off to shoot stuff.

THIRTEEN YEARS...How can it be?

Today, Sunday, is my youngest son's 13th birthday. Don't ask me where the years have gone because I have no idea! What I do know though, is that God sent this child to us just when we needed it most! Our first and only child, Joshua, was ten years old when we found out we were going to have an addition to our little family. I was thirty-six! We had arrived at the point where it was so easy to just pick up and go anywhere. We hadn't used car seats, diaper bags, diapers, formula, wipees, binkies for several years now. Anytime we wanted to jaunt off to a restaurant, store, or to visit friends, our only prep was to notify Josh to jump into the car and buckle up. Boy, did things change after the birth of our Shane! It seemed to take forever to go anywhere! Well, at least the preparation to go seemed to take forever! You know exactly what I'm talking about. "Where's the diaper bag?" " Did you make a fresh bottle?" " Does he have his binkie?" "Should I feed him first?" etc. Of course, I'm not complaining! He has been such a blessing not only to us but to many others. Always a lovable, affectionate type and a great cuddler; even as a baby, he had an infectious laugh which he still has today.
Let me tell you a few things I love about this kid! At thirteen, he is still affectionate and loving; very considerate. He enjoys surprising his dad and I with fully prepared breakfasts. Without being told, he bathes our dog weekly. He cleans up all the dog-poop in the yard twice a week. He is consistent with his trash duties. He is a very good student. Shane has great comprehension. He's a gentle giant! He ministers by serving in our Children's Church. I could go on and on, but instead, I'll post some photos!

Shane shows off his Captain's award from Patch the Pirate Club- 2nd year in a row.

Josh and Agustin visit newborn Shane in nursery while I was recuperating from the C-section.

Agustin and I during Shane's dedication service.

a Proud Grandpa during the dedication service.

For my baby shower, my dad painted the little baskets by hand. We filled them with homemade chocolates as favor.



My first time to lay eyes on my little blessing. He was blowing bubbles!!

Dr. Bruce Shephard visits us in the hospital the day after he performed the C-section.






Me at 9 months,

Our first ultra-sound of baby Shane!

Thanks for indulging me!

Here's a video clip of Shane's birthday last year. We were so happy to have my nieces and nephew (Josh & Naomy, Jewel, and Jackie and her girlies) with us. Notice Jackie's baby bump. This was before the arrival of little Lexi. I love how much fun the 3 siblings have singing together - breaking out in a multi-cultural celebration!!! Poor Shane was not into it! He had a friend stay over the night before and hadn't slept!!!

CAUGHT IN THE ACT!!!

Yes, it's true. My husband caught me kissing another man. He snapped this picture for proof! *tee hee*
What better way to break the ice after such a long absence than to put up silly photos, taken at International Mall a couple of years ago? I sure hope I made you smile!
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Life has been so unusual for me this past year. Can you believe it has been an entire year since Agustin's job upset? Thankfully, we learned and grew through a very negative circumstance. He is coming upon his first year anniversary at his new job, and tonight the regional director informed him they were reassigning him to a different location starting Wednesday. This will make his commute a tad longer, but we think the new location closes for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. That makes us smile!





Shane and I have been knee deep in school and such. He has grown so much this past year! And is such a good and pleasant boy. I can't believe he turns THIRTEEN in December!





Josh has been having a blast working at Busch Gardens for the past six weeks. You'll never guess what he is getting paid to do? He thinks it's a great thing to receive money for SCARING PEOPLE!!! He has been a Werewolf character for the Howl-O-Scream hours at the park this year. He gets to wear an amazing costume and walk around his zone scaring the wits out of big boyfriends who almost jump into their sweeties arms! That's Josh's favorite reaction to see.





Guess whose birthday is coming up soonm? MINE! I turn the BIG 50 on November 8th! A friend is flying in from Michigan and others are meeting up for a reunion in Arcadia next weekend. It's a small town where my parents and I taught school. I have many wonderful memories of fun people and fun times there.





Well I just wanted to post a little something before I started visiting some of my favorite blogs. I know my cousin Ronnie checks here often and seems so very disappointed when I don't update enough! *wink,wink*





Have a great weekend everyone!

Shane's Birthday Continued

Notice Shane's peaked look? His friend Jacob had spent the previous night with us and those fellas didn't go to sleep until about 4 a.m.!!

We had a simple cookout for Shane's birthday dinner, his choice. Agustin had to work that evening, so my nephew Josh operated the grill.

This was Jewel's first day in town, on college break.

Earlier that morning - Shane and Jacob in their own little world. I love catching this age group when they let the walls down and some of their remaining inner child escapes!

My crazy nieces and nephew serenade Shane!

Can He Really Be Twelve?

It has happened folks! My little gummy bear now becomes embarrassed when I call him that nick name in front of others! He prefers I only hug him in the privacy of our home! His voice is deep, deep, deep! Where has my little teddy bear gone?

I'm actually pleased to report that my little bear has grown up to be a wonderful young man. He is thoughtful, considerate, kind, gentle, funny, witty, compassionate, smart, a clean freak, and well on his way to becoming a wonderful, godly man and leader!

December 4th, I loaded Shane and his buddy Jacob into the SUV and off we went to celebrate the happy occasion of Shane turning another year older. We had planned an evening at Grand Prix. (PuttPutt golf, arcade games galore, and go carts) but it was a crazy, stormy night with bucket loads of rain. So off to plan B we went. Q-ZAR laser tag! Indoor fun with a good sized arcade, and best of all---PIZZA!

Jacob then spent the night with us to culminate the celebration.

Shane and Jake take aim. Poor little deer!


Poor ME!!

Jacob in the vesting room.

Click to check out Dracula!!

You can always tell if little boys are in the house!

I stood in the snipers cage while the boys played lazer tag.

Shane is wearing the stripes in the video.

Once Again...Prayers for My Mother

ETA: GASP!! I just accidently removed my entire list of blogs! Do you know how long it took me to concoct that list? AyAyAy! For those blogs I "FOLLOW" it's no problem but many blog owners don't offer that feature. I have some work to do! I also need to apologize to many family members who visit my blog first and then use my links to visit other family members. I'll be working on getting my favorite ones up and running as soon as I have some spare time. Does anyone have a suggestion on a quicker way to get them all back?

I'm asking prayers for my mother. She recently had extreme back surgery (four things done in one surgery). She recently had lasik surgery on each eye. She now is facing yet another biopsy on a lump found in her breast this week. God has brought mom through so many surgeries so we have complete faith that this biopsy will show the lump to be benign. Mom has a history of breast cancer which had infiltrated many lymph nodes. Seventeen lymph nodes were removed. Her history includes uterine cancer, ear surgeries, I could go on and on. We have the understanding that Satan wants her down but God has great plans for her still. She is a pastor's wife and a very involved mom, a caring grandma, and a great-grandmother. Please remember her in your prayers. She kiddingly said to me the other day that she might as well set up a mailing address at the hospital, as it seems she is there more than she is at home!

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It's been a dreary, rainy, stormy day here in Florida, so I'm in the mood to share some of last weeks beach photos with you!

We think these "turtle" showers are so cute!

My nephew David in Latin soccer form!

Having been born and bred in Argentina, David had never been to the beach. Here he is on his first trip to the Beach! He was quite impressed!

(The two bobbing black heads to the right are Agustin and Shane!)

"Tia" Pam con David!

(Such a sweet young man!)

Agustin with Shane and David. Clearwater Beach, 2009

I really enjoyed watching the guys play some soccer in the sand. Watch their awesome moves! In the second video, make sure to note that my hubby still has his moves! He's wearing the dark shorts.

Watch the feet!

Oh and one more thing- please pardon my humming in the background!!!

"Feliz Cinco de Mayo!"

You can tell Shane is thrilled to have his mom videoing him! (*sarcasm*) But we do truly hope that y'all had a great Cinco de Mayo. The French were defeated in battle by the Mexicans in Puebla, Mexico. That is what the big hullabaloo is all about!

Check out this happy little video!CINCO DE MAYO

This is what I fed my finicky husband for lunch before he rushed out the door to manage an Italian Restaurant! It was my stab at making the day special for him! LOL

Hey, they're actually pretty good. You can find them in your freezer section at SAM*s!

Note: I'm all for border control, but my husband is Mexican, so I think we can celebrate this holiday for him and to instill part of my husband's culture into our sons. We do this in our home. We don't demand the American government to recognize Mexican traditions. True, many places of business use it as a big money maker-which I think is loopy. I mean, I don't recall ANY business making a big deal out of "Fourth of July" while I was living in Mexico. By the way, my husband came here legally 22 years ago (1987) and was finally sworn in as an American citizen on August 4, 2000.

MY LIFE IS "A DAY AT THE BEACH"!

Well at least it was on Thursday! My hubs had two days in a row off, so he wanted to do nothing but relax his first day. "Let's hit the beach tomorrow!" were his words to Shane and I when he got home from work Wednesday night.

We did a small amount of school yesterday a.m. then off to Clearwater where we stayed at the beach until 5:30 p.m. It was a grand and gloriously sunny day with a gentle breeze, not much humidity. On the drive home my hubby mentioned how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful state. After arriving back into our small town, he ran into Publix for steaks. Once home, Agustin cooked while I took a shower then a long bubble bath! We then ate our delicious supper. We ended the evening watching a good rented movie. Went to bed around 1a.m. beat!

Today, after breakfast, Shane and I did some schooling then we went with Agustin to the Army/Navy store looking for things to finish decorating Shane's military theme bedroom. Found some hollowed out grenades and some digital camouflage handkerchiefs which I plan on using to make a valance for his window. Then over to Home Depot, gardening and yard care supplies, home to plant a couple of flowers in my mailbox container. Agustin fertilized the entire lawn, (yep, we're late on that! We decided to not renew our contract with the company that usually takes care of all that kind of stuff.) I swept the driveway, sidewalks, and porch. Now, Agustin and Shane are gone to play soccer and I'm having a moment to myself, enjoying the peace and stillness! I'm so ready for Agustin to return to work tomorrow! (said jokingly, somewhat) Maybe I'll get some cleaning and organizing done!

I am thankful for a wonderful opportunity Ihad today, allowing me to share with one of my neighbors how I have peace during these troubled times and am not overly alarmed about the hype of this "Swine Flu". I never cease to be amazed at how God gives me the words to say when necessary. I trust the Lord will continue to use me as a mouthpiece to share His love and goodness.

Enjoy some photos from our beautiful area!

Remember to click on photos to see more details!

These photos were taken the first week in April when we were at Clearwater Beach. I meant to post them back then to torment my bloggity friends who were still living in frigid areas! The skies were just as pretty yesterday as they are in these photos. In this photo, I wanted to capture the kite, the sky, and the new hotel being built on the beach.

Click on photo to enlarge!

Driving back into Tampa, from Clearwater, we pass the Hyatt where hubby once was a Sous Chef. Oh and they have a wonderful restaurant here called "Oyster Catchers" with Alligator on the menu! It's delicious, alot like chicken, trust me!


Going over a bridge leaving the beach.

This is a "MUST CLICK" to enlarge. Enjoy the American Flag in all it's glory!
I took this in the city of Clearwater. I loved the huge American flag waving boldly in the breeze. I wanted to include a few palm trees in the shot for my blogging friends who may have been experiencing cold weather back on April 2nd when I took these photos. (I had planned on posting them that night, but procrastinated. Sigh*what's new?*)


I love the street signs in downtown Clearwater and I love the architecture of the hotel on the right. (Remember, all photos are clickable for better viewing.)

Doesn't this bungee jump swing thing remind you of a huge spider or web?

My guys! I love 'em!

Coming home, driving onto the causeway back to Tampa. A few years ago, Agustin took this route to work each day and often saw dolphins swimming here!