where does she come up with these things??

seriously don't let your 9 year old dress themselves!

her first swim meet and she kept making all these weird faces at me.

see what I mean? the girl has issues! must get that from her dad =0

two words for you.........

SPRING BREAK. I know I bet you cant wait to hear about our trip to the beach in our new slender bodies and of course we will be taking the nanny's (yes that is plural hello we have 4 kids) so the hubby and I can enjoy nice blended fruit drinks with umbrellas in them as we stare into to each others eyes..............

YEAH RIGHT!!!!

reality is I will be here at home with the kids while they are out of school for 5 days, I will be cooking breakfast lunch and dinner and listening them argue over who won at guess who and how so and so cheated. ahh the joys of motherhood! who named this week spring break anyway because according to me there doesn't seem to be a break for me! or a new slender body!

Seperation Anxiety and not much more

apparently I have been on a blogging vacation and I didn't even know. Funny a lot of the blogs I read haven't been blogging much so I guess that means I haven't had motivation lately. or maybe it is I don't have that many exciting things happening. I guess i will catch you up on the weekend

• Friday night we went to a awesome talent show at my kids school, or maybe lame is a better word. All I can say is too bad I didn't let my kids participate because apparently talent was not required by any means. David wanted to do the robot and Liz i am not sure but I talked them out of it, they would have been so good. oh well.........
• Saturday I went and picked up my abundant harvest vegetables, then my friend Dani and I went to a local babyfest it was fun they had some fun stuff for the kids like a mini petting zoo, bounce house, and pony rides, along with vendors. I did get a few donations for our upcoming silent auction for MOPS. here is a quick funny story from the day: when I was watching the kids play in the petting zoo Jeremiah(Dani's son) kept saying "cow come here, cow moo moo", I said Jeremiah those are sheep not cows and the girl who was in charge (who was like 11) says (after she looks at me like I am a idiot) "these are goats!" oops I knew what I meant =0
• Sunday we went to church after the I think 3 weeks of not going and Jake cried and cried in the nursery. they didn't call me out of service but I guess he cried anytime they took him in the room, so they walked him around. after church we watched or tried to watch the race which never happened so we took the kids to dinner and I ran into Target to get David some pants because his are all so short.
• Monday was MOPS it was a good day except for the nursery that didn't go so well we were short quiet a few workers and Jake cried and cried, now I am certain it is not good when the coordinator's kid doesn't stop crying!!!! oh and hold on to your seats this is so exciting John and I went and got life insurance..... I know you can hardly contain yourself with excitement.
• today the boys and I (Johnathan and Jake) went to the grocery store and stayed home the rest of the day.

oh in other bits of business I started a new diet and I am doing really good I haven't had a Pepsi in 6 days! I repeat, me Raquel has not had a Pepsi in 6 DAYS!!!!!!!! and actually so far I don't miss it too much. The diet is going well and I am drinking lots of water so hopefully I will lose some weight.

toddles for now

P.S. yeah the spell check works!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE.......

Sorry I haven't been around much other than being busy I have not been feeling well. I have been having some gallbladder issues and I am having it removed on October 19Th so if you all could pray that everything goes OK. I am a little higher risk during surgery because I have had a abdominal surgery so i have a higher risk to have to be opened up again. i have a good surgeon who thinks he can do it laporscopicly with out incident so I pray he can. Also I am VERY anemic, I always have been but they cant seem to get my levels up, so I will have a blood transfusion before surgery. anyhow all that to say I haven't been feeling my greatest so sorry I have been neglecting the blog.

so I will give you a update on the kiddos:

Liz is rocking it at soccer, she is becoming so aggressive. and anyone who knows Liz knows she couldn't hurt a fly she is just too sweet. She is doing great in school, she loves school this year (she loves school period, but especially this year) she has a great teacher and of course we love our school. soccer only has about 4 more weeks and then she will be joining a swim team. She receiving a award at school this week during chapel. she ran for school secretary but did not win but she did run against a 6Th grader and as a 4Th grader she did great!

David is also playing soccer and he is doing really good. he scores so many goals and constantly running. He may be starting swimming too when Liz starts in November. As far as kindergarten goes he is doing really good he loves school. He is adjusting great and I am amazed at how much he has learned already.

Johnathan is not playing soccer you have to be 5 but he tells me all the time " when I am five I can go to kindergarten and soccer right mommy?" Johnathan still loves to sing and he is definitely a otter personality, he is always wanting to be the class clown... but he is doing REALLY good in school! like scary good maybe he is growing out of that difficult stage, can I get a HALLELUJAH?!?!?! Johnathan has a great, fun, and crazy personality

Jake is ADORABLE! He is getting huge, I swear he has to weigh close to 20 pounds already and he will be 4 months on Thursday. He goes for his check up next week. he laughs and squeals now it is so cute. He is recognizing a lot more people and is just such a good baby. Definitely mellow but when he gets mad he gets MAD! good thing that is not often. and Praise the Lord he still sleeps a lot, about 12 hours at night and 2 2-3 naps.

so all in all everyone is doing really well. John is working hard, and enjoying soccer (he loves to watch his kids, he is a AWESOME dad!)

that is it in our house for now. I am trying to make myself remember to blog more often

Blessings,

Raquel

Liz

David

Johnathan

Jake

Labor day....

We had a fun but busy day, it started at 1 am when David (5) woke up I guess he had a bad dream and was going in the garage... not sure why but I put him in bed with us, now imagine my husband and I (we are not skinny people!) and a 5 year old who weighs 55 pounds, in a queen size bed. needless to say I did not sleep great. but when everyone got out of my bed this morning I slept great, so great I did not get up until 10!!!! 10! I haven't slept until 10 since...... I don't know maybe high school! Jake got up at 7 so it woke everyone up and John laid him down with me and he slept until 11:30!!!! a 2 month old slept until 11:30 crazy things happen here on labor day.

I took Liz (9) and my niece to watch a movie, my mom went to so I ditched them and went to the mall bought a gift for a party and went to the book store to buy a new devotional! I am so excited it is a study on James, I have read James before but I love it so i cant wait to see what this study shows me. after I picked them back up we came home, then I took my boys (4, and 5) to a party at the park for my friend Tara's kiddos, and I was kind of thinking it was going to be sweltering, but it wasn't too bad. and the boys had a great time, they came home nice and tired and everyone was asleep by 7:30- that my dears was a successful labor day!

Tomorrow I am starting my holiday grand plan schedule I am going to track all my progress here, I am doing it with a good group of friends from a yahoo group I am in and I am excited. we are doubling up this week because we are a week behind. I have a Christmas Notebook I have made but never filled so i cant wait to do that notice the countdown on the sidebar. he you may think it is too early to think about Christmas and I think it is too late to still be 110 degrees so whatever. I know you cant wait to read my post tomorrow about working on the front porch, cleaning the living room, and making lists.......

School Time Already?

this summer has flown by! we had a great vacation and have been busy getting ready for school since we have been back.

I cant believe it, i know i have said it before but I will say it again, I can not believe on Monday i will have a 4Th grader(Liz), a kindergartner(David), and a preschooler(Johnathan). 3 days a week it will just be Jake and I! I am excited for the one on one with Jake but also sad that the kids are growing up way to fast!

I REALLY love this time of year! I love back to school, it seems like get back into a more "normal" routine, the kids are n school, definite bedtimes, MOPS starts, the weather begins to change (kind of it is still hot here!). I love routine and schedules, so I love school time. I have a busy fall I am going to be David's room mom, in Liz's class I will be the PTF Representative. Liz and David will both be playing soccer, so they each have 2 practices a week, plus a game on Saturday. all this and MOPS it should be fun. I am in the midst of planning my fall schedule which i will post, I would love to see all of your schedules too, do you all do schedules?

I am going to be working on my cooking blog this week and try to start posting some recipes, our family favorites, ad some new ones I plan on trying

Summer Vacation!

we are going on a date.....

that would be my son and I. Today we are going to spend the day together, we are going to get up take Johnathan to school and him, Jake and I are going to do whatever his little 5 year old self wants to do. You see God has really been speaking to my heart regarding spending times with my kids on a one on one basis. I tend to do that with Liz because she is older and a girl, but my boys need that time just as much as Liz does. so since David will be starting kindergarten in less than 2 weeks, I felt it was time I did it now. so far he wants to go to the bookstore, golfing, the movies, to lunch, ice cream, and to Walmart to look at toys(which is funny because if there is one place i cant stand it is Walmart, and we rarely go there). not sure we will do all of those things, actually I am sure we wont do most of those things but we will probably do a couple. you see it doesn't matter what we do, or how much it cost as long as he feels like mom took time and planned a day to spend with him. it can consist of coming home having lunch on the couch , watching a movie, or reading books, as long as we are together. David is actually quite a homebody so he may end up wanting to come home and hanging out we will see. anyways, what are some one on one things you do with your kids? is God speaking to you about setting some special time to just spend with one child, whether our kids are 1,5, 9, or 15 they still need that time with us.

too much sugar......

Have I ever mentioned that my daughter Liz has the sweetest personality, of probably anyone I have ever met. Now I am not just saying that she REALLY does. she always helps with her brothers, she is patient with them, teaches them things and reads to them, oh and she lets Johnathan sleep with her most nights. she always does her chores, never talks back, and really loves to help out. so yesterday I had my tooth pulled (yes on a Saturday), and Liz was so concerned about me, she asked if I needed anything, kept the boys occupied, and helped her dad out. well my mom came out to watch QVC because she doesn't have cable and wanted to buy some Birkenstock's, anywhoo back to the story.... Liz wanted to spend the night and came in and woke me form my divorced induced nap and said "Mom would it be OK if I spent the night with grandma" "sure sweetie, whatever.." "well mom will you be OK, you know with your hurt tooth and all?" "oh yeah I will be fine go ahead" so she left and called me approximately 45 times, OK it was more like 8 but still when your on darvocet you don't know what your talking about. see isn't she sweet? kind of makes you look over the days that she says things like this:

"mom today at school we were learning about nutrition, and how God wants our bodies to be healthy" "oh yeah" I say, "yeah, and do you know what Mrs.L said" "what Liz" " she said if you eat a lot of sugar when you are little you will get fat and have a big belly" "oh really what did you say?" " I raised my hand and said my mommy and daddy must have ate A LOT of sugar when they were little"..... isn't she sweet!

4 years ago.....

Johnathan and Matthew were born. my beautiful boys were born 8 weeks early weighing in at 5lbs. 8ounces. and 5lbs. 10ounces. they both lost over a Pound while in the hospital but were so strong. this day is SO bittersweet probably why I waited so long to post this, because although it seems like it has went by so fast, it seems like so long since I have held Matthew. If I would have known then I would only have him for 11 weeks I Would have kissed and held him more, not worried about schedules and nap times. I would have held him all day. I can still smell his sweetness if I think back. he was so cuddly and had these big ol' cheeks. we had the worlds worst camera so I have very few pictures, if I only would have known..... I bet he had a awesome birthday today with our Saviour, and all the angels singing to him. I cant wait to hold him again!

But back to Johnathan, today he turns 4! he is so sweet and so funny, he loves to sing, and he is so loud! he is becoming such a fun kid. he loves his big brother David and Liz so much, and even likes Jake too :) we are excited to see all the things God has planned for this little boy!

Five years ago today!

David was born....and it was a great day!!!!

We love you David you are turning into a great little boy.

of all my kiddos David's delivery was the scariest one, I was due in 2 weeks and went into labor, I began to bleed BAD!!! and they had to do a emergency c-section. John did not even get to be in there with me, from the time they said c-section to the time he was born was less than 5 minutes. the doctor said my placenta abrupted so bad my stomach was filled with blood if they would have waited 5 minutes longer David would not have made it, and possibly me too. it was scary but he was so healthy a whooping 8 pounds 9 ounces.

I cant believe it has been five years since that Saturday afternoon, time has flown. soon you will be in kindergarten and it seems like you were just a newborn........

Who's your baby!

alright people! dcrmom led me to a great tool, called Picasa, it is through Google, and you organize, enhance, and do lots of fun things with your pictures! I am so excited I had to show you a picture of my future Star! I see rapper in the future???? I think not! oh yeah that is a pacifier, on a gold chain, you know you like the bling! N-I-C-E!!!

I bought that onesie at oldnavy, love it!

He's HERE!!!!

I know the anticipation has been killing the like 5 of you who read my blog to know that Jake is here!!!! he was born a week ago today and everything went great! the c-section was seriously a 100 times easier than the other 2 I had before, i am recovering and feeling great. Jake is beautiful and such a good baby so far (he sleeps!!!!! I mean really well so far form about midnight to 6 in the morning) OK so all the details, Jake was born on Monday June 4Th at 4:27 p.m. weighing in at 9 pounds 11 ounces and 19 and 3/4 inches long,, he has a TON of hair (just like the others).

all is going really good, I am sure I will have have lots of good stories to post but for today only the good one. God is good!!! he gave us another baby to love and care for and the kids all like him :)

3 days to go!

Jake will be born on Monday at 12:30 is when I am scheduled for. The time has flown by, everyone is ready, and everything set up and looking cute. The house is clean, and I have everything in order for the kids as far as sitters. Hopefully I don't forget anything important :)

The kids are so excited they can not wait to meet there brother, especially David. Today Liz said "I was sad to be having a brother (she really wanted a girl) but now I cant wait!" I feel the same way I am so excited about Jake coming into our family, I am a little sad for the pregnancy to be over, except for I will be able to sleep at night, on my stomach and will have a little more energy.

This will be a busy summer Liz has swim team beginning Monday, the boys t-ball games start this week and we will have the baby. Life is busy but good!

Baby Shower Blessings!

With only 5 days to go (I can not believe it) until the baby is born, I was thinking how blessed I am my friend's Lindsey and Rossie threw me a great baby shower and a lot of my friends came. Now of course baby showers are fun and you get nice things but it is nice to visit with friends and to know they are so excited for you! We got some great baby stuff and I cant wait to use it all! God is so good! a couple of years ago we were not sure if we wanted anymore kids after Matthew died and now we are getting ready for Jake and it is all so bittersweet, and exciting. and it is sooo nice knowing you have friends and family there to help you. Thank you all!!!!

Is it wrong of me?????

my daughter Liz is 9 years old and for her birthday we had a slumber party. now I have no problems with slumber parties, the girls had a lot of fun.I have no problem with the kids friends coming over I actually encourage it. well this week my daughter got invited to a slumber party. I immediately told her she could go to the party but not spend the night, i do not know her family well enough for her to be there all night long.(Liz did not question my answer I could tell she was disappointed but she did not ask) I immediately felt guilty but knew it was the right thing for our family. My daughter goes to a great christian school and I like all the parents BUT I am not going to let my daughter spend the night at there houses. we do allow our kids to spend the night at grandparents, and my daughter can spend the night at my brothers with her cousin but that is about it. I used to let her stay with a friend until i found out that the mom was letting her boyfriend stay there too without telling me, and she has spent the night with a friend who I know the mom and grandma very well but I still am not sure about that. so was that wrong? I hope not because that is the rule here.....