Climbing Mountians....

laura , Gabi and i went mountain climbing, we made it to the highest point:o)

Park fun...

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do. ~Jean de la Bruyere

Laura and the girls had fun at the park....

More Park Pictures....

and more fun....

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe...

I took the girls , Betsy , and laura went to their friend Laylas 5th birthday party at "Young Chefs Academy" a fun cooking place for children. They made little pizzas and frosted birthday cupcakes..

peanut butter pie... one of our favorites to make(very easy and fast) and eat:o)

1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 cup confectioners sugar, 4 oz. cream cheese, 8 oz. partially defrosted cool whip and graham cracker pie crust.

Mix the first 4 ingredients and then add cool whip , put in the graham cracker crust and refrigerate for a couple hours. It is extra yummy to put more cool whip on top before serving...:o)

More Vegas.....

more Vegas fun .....

Vegas Laura!!

We took Laura to Vegas for the day..... Showing someone Vegas in 5 hours was crazy .. but frank and i with Gabi and Neyvada showed Laura as much as we could and laura was just thrilled and amazed with everything!!! We started out at Ceasers Hotel. We were suppose to get a translator but it did not work out, so unfortunately we could not communicate everything she was seeing. She saw the statue show at Ceasers and the very cool mall and extraordinary statues and fountains, the awesome shark reef aquarium at Mandalay bay (very impressive) we went to the Bellagio and ate at the buffet. After lunch we went to Venician where we went on a gondola ride and walked through that hotel. the other hotels she saw as we drove by....we needed a few more hours.. maybe next time laura comes back we can show here the rest. We were at a fast pace from the time we left in the morning until we got back at 7:00pm..Everyone had a great time.

laura and the girls at the zoo..:o)

Gabriela, Anabella, Matteya, Neyvada ,Laura, Betsy(our awesome baby sitter) and our friend Mike having fun at the zoo....

Laura's big smiles!!!

Laura has been with us for 10 days now and is enjoying every new experience of every day!!

Laura was amazed with Toys r us and could not believe that there is a big store just for toys...

We have been to the zoo, shopping at the mall, Guatemala stores that we have close by, She has had a pedicure and manicure . Laura has also been to the health club with me and was on a tread mill for the first time.... and she loves to swim and now our pool is warm and she is able to swim every day....

Laura's first few days...

Neyvada's foster mom Laura arrived in the United States from Guatemala on Friday.... She is so very excited and and has cried tears of gratefulness everyday... Saturday I invited Maritza (our Guatemalan baby sitter) and her whole family to our home for a Gautemalan welcoming party, laura was very touched. Having her here made Mother's Day extra special. (Saturday is Mother's Day in Gautemala) . The girls and I went to work out at the health club while laura slept in, we opened gifts from the girls, went to church , then out to eat(laura had her first hambuger and first frozen custard) then we spent the rest of the day at the health club pools . Laura loves to swim and before we left.. Betsy and Gabi took her down the huge water slide. I think she liked it, they all went again. Laura's other first since she has been here were going to Target and Walmart ..She is so thankful for everyday here and Neyvada is having fun with her and Frank , Gabi, Bella Teya ,Vada and I are truly enjoying having her here. It fills my heart with so much joy to be able to make Laura's dream of a life time come true. I want every moment she is here to be nothing but special....

" Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all the beings with eyes of compassion." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to my mother!! I love you and thank you so much for your patience , guidance ,support and your forever love and hugs . I am the mommy I am today because of you.

Happy Mothers Day to all my family and friends.Happy Mothers day to the foster moms who with their big hearts take care of precious children waiting for a forever family. A special Happy Mothers Day to Neyvada's foster mom Laura who is here with us from Guatemala for mothers day and will be here for a month. Happy Mothers Day to the birthmothers who will always be connected heart to heart to the child that was a gift to us, through God. I thank God for Gabriela, Anabella, Matteya and Neyvada and I thank God for the most amazing gift.....of being a mommy.

one of my favorite poems, is a poem i get from the girls homemade gifts from school ...

Sometimes i might upset you, just because I'm small By leaving fingerprints of mine on a table ,chair, or wall. But everyday I grow a bit and i'll be big one day, when my all my tiny fingerprints have long been cleaned away. So keep these prints of my two hands to help you to recall just how big my fingers were that time I was small.

No Fear....

Gabi loves rock climbing & being tomboy , she has no fear. She climbs all the way to the very top. We will see if her sisters will follow her to the top when they turn 5:o)

Life is....

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it. (au)

Guatemala Families...

Our family has been so blessed to have met many beautiful Guatemalan families when we moved. They all have become our extended family. Lidia and her husband had another baby boy, Matthew. They have 2 other boys, Brian and Johnathan . We got to meeet their new baby boy and the older brothers spent sometime in the pool with Gabi, Bella, Teya and Vada.