Jake Story

This morning, around 5:00 AM, I was downstairs getting ready for my workout. I looked up on the staircase, and there was Jake and his pillow. I carried him back upstairs, letting him know it was too early to wake up. I put him in our bed, so he would at least be able to fall asleep next to Sandra. I laid him down, covered him up, and laid next to him. He then tells me, "go downstairs". I was apparently bothering him and he wanted Mommy all to himself. I fully understand- I was the same way.

Jake in the Shower

Last night, Jake was having a great time in the shower. I grabbed the camera and started taking some pics. He really hammed it up for me. The pictures turned out wonderful.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MisterBill68/JakeSHourInTheShower

Sandra's Mom

I am pretty sure I have never, in my life, met someone as giving and loving as Sandra's mom. The Bible says that we should "live to serve". She takes it to another level. I secretly think she thinks we are poor, because whenever we visit, she sends us home with food, clothes, and candy. :)

I wish everyone could see the dresses she makes Sofia. You simply can't find dresses like this at a department store- they are so beautiful. I can't remember the last time (it's never happened) that we visited and she didn't make me one of my favorite dishes. Her stuffed peppers are amazing!

She has dedicated her life to helping others. The world would be a different place if everyone were like her. I love you, mom!

Billy and the Phillies

I can't quite explain it, but there is something about taking your son to a baseball game that is just great. Last night got off to a rough start, but once we got there, we had a great time. With Billy, half of the experience of the game is seeing how much food he can jam into his mouth. He had a hot dog the size of his arm, Cracker Jacks, some cotton candy and a big Diet Coke. The game was a lot of fun too. Fightin's 7, Astros 5. We used my company's tickets, so we were right behind home plate. Billy had his Phillies hat on and got heckled for the first time. Welcome to life as a Phils fan.

Our Friday Night Date

Sandra and I had a great date Friday night. It wasn't the typical dinner-movie thing. We left the house around 6:30, went to Windrose Golf Club, and hit balls until around 8PM. It was a blast. Sandra actually has a great swing and if she ever devoted time to it, she would be really good. From there, we went out to eat. I think the best thing about all of it is that we got to talk with no kids interrupting us. She is as beautiful as ever. I am more in love with her than ever.

From the day I met her, I knew Sandra was the one I would marry. She is the only girl I ever flew home to meet mom. Mom loved her from the start as well. Heck, everyone loves Sandra.

The fact that she likes golf, U2, and Pappasitos on a Friday night is just icing on the cake.

Billy's Last Day of School

Today was Billy and Sofia's last day of school. Because I spend so much time at my job, I am not able to go by there as much as I want to. Anyhow, I dropped off some cupcakes for their classes. When I saw Billy's teacher, she pulled me aside and told me that he had a meltdown. "I am never going to see Anna again" was what he told her. Anna is a girl in her class and he LOVES her. It broke my heart, but also made me really happy that he is like that. By the way, she goes to church with him, so he will see her on Sunday.

Sofia ran up and jumped in my arms. It's always good to see my kids during the work day.

Tonight is special night with Billy. Golf balls at the driving range and then dinner at "the wings place". I can't wait. I pray these days will last as long as possible.

He Woke Me Up

I traveled this weekend to New Jersey for my Uncle Frank's funeral. It is always difficult leaving the kids, but for some reason it was really hard this time.

It was around 10:30 Saturday night and I am sound asleep. My phone rings and it is Billy. He told me that he missed me and he wanted to call and say hello. He sounded like he was 10. That phone call made me feel so good I had a hard time going back to sleep. Billy is an amazing kid.

He also has a memory that is unbelievable. He told me a story today about the time we went to the gym by Chic-fil-a and we had to leave because he was crying. Billy was two and a half when that happened. Even I had forgotten about it.

He has matured into quite an amazing young man. Whenever we pass an accident, he begins to pray for the people involved. While we taught him that a while back, it really shows his maturity that he wants to do something like that at age 5. I couldn't be more proud of him.

One more thing- the Phillies snack cup helmets were a huge hit. I was in Philly this weekend and bought all the kids Phillies stuff (Sofia a pink Phillies hat, Jake a Phillies monkey, and Billy some snack cups that look like baseball helmets). He loved them. He took them to school today and ate his snacks out of them.

Jake loved the monkey. Sofia, well, maybe one day she will like the pink Phillies hat.

Airshow

On the way to church on Sunday, we noticed airplanes on display at Hooks airport. The kids were excited, so after church, we spent the afternoon at the airport looking at airplanes. Billy and Sofia's interest level was high for about 10 minutes, until they found a tree to climb on. Jake, however, had a blast looking at these things up close. Until now, he has only seen them up in the sky and he always points to them.

We had a great time. We ate lunch at the grill there and the food was excellent. I believe Jake's love affair with airplanes has begun.

Check out all of the pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/MisterBill68/March2008 .

The Last Two Weeks

I doubt I would need a blog entry to remember the last two weeks, but what a trip it has been. On March 14th, Jake had his tonsils removed. He had been having a really hard time breathing while he slept, and every doctor we saw agreed that the tonsils were needing to be taken out. The initial surgery went really well. He had no issues and bounced back very fast. Immediately we saw a tremendous improvement in his breathing. He is now almost silent when he sleeps- very strange.

Anyhow, on the 21st we had probably the most terrifying night of our married lives. Jake's scabs had come off (just like they were supposed to), but what we didn't know was that the blood was draining into his stomach. Sandra woke me up around 2am with one of the scariest calls for help I can remember. Jake had vomitted at least 2 cups of blood. We had no idea where this was coming from. Luckily, it was blood that was in his stomach, as we would later find out.

Jake was great at the hospital. He spent Saturday and part of Easter Sunday there as the doctor did another procedure on him. Jake never once complained and before they took him back for surgery, he had a big grin on his face as if to tell us, "lighten up mom and dad, it's no big deal. Our God is a big God!"

Our neighbors once again came through in a big way. Sheri spent the rest of that night and part of the morning with Billy and Sofia. Of course, she took great care of them. Kari put Easter eggs in our yard because she was afraid the kids would not have a "proper Easter". We have it really, really good.

Dinner tonight

I am beginning to figure out that I can get nothing by our children anymore. We go out to eat with our neighbors every Friday night. Tonight was the Texas Road House. I would usually order ribs, but with my marathon on Sunday, I stuck with the salad. Anyhow, Sofia, as usual, has to go to the bathroom just as my food arrives. So, I took her to the bathroom. And, as usual, she takes FOREVER. After about 5 minutes, I tell her "Hurry up Sofia, my food is getting cold." She promptly replied, "Your salad is supposed to be cold."

There is not a comedian on the planet that makes me laugh like my kids.

"Training" and "Catorce"

Training! Talk about something that has taken on a life of its own. “Training” started probably 2.5 years ago. Sofia was on our bed running in place, and someone, probably Bill, said “Sofia is training”. From that point on, “training” meant running to the bed as fast as possible and jumping and wrestling like animals. It is more fun than you can imagine and the kids love it almost as much as I do. We go “training” every night.

Last night, we were wrestling in the living room. The kids take all of the cushions off of the couch, put them on the floor, and then jump off the couch onto the cushions. Billy is so big that he often times rattles my cage. Once, I was lying on the floor, not even knowing he was in the room, and he cannon-balled me in the back. I thought I was going to the hospital.

Another thing we do is “catorce”. This is another silly thing that has taken on a life of its own. It is taken from the U2 song “Vertigo” when Bono opens the song with “Unos, dos, tres, catorce”. The kids will go to the door, I will say “Unos, dos, tres, catorce” and they run and tackle me. They love it, especially Sofia.

I am going to miss these times terribly when they get older.

How Do I Become a Christian?

How Do I Become a Christian? Follow this link and find out more:

http://www.championforest.org/about/jesus/

That’s it! If you want to know more, email us. Have a great day.

Our Photo

Our picture.......It may look like you are holding me captive, you have....captivated my heart, that is. I'm in my favorite place, the blanket of your arms.
S

Puedo ir a McDonalds, por favor?

This afternoon, on the way home from Church, Billy asked me out of the blue: "Mom, how do you say...Can I please go to McDonalds, in Spanish?" Bill and I looked at each other. We just finished talking about our lunch plans....leftovers. So, I responded "Puedo ir a McDonalds, por favor?." he thanked me and there was silence. After a few minutes, I couldn't resist any longer so I asked him why he wanted to know. He said "Next time we go to San Antonio I want to talk to grandma in Spanish." My heart was instantly filled with love. Billy, what a sweet boy you are.

S

Story time

Sofia, Jake and I lay on their bedroom floor reading stories. I turned to Jake and asked him if he wanted something to drink. He jumped to his feet, turned to me and dinstinctly said "I'll be right back." No one believes me of course except Sofia. Her and I giggled with joy.
S

Hitting Golf Balls With Billy

Before I became a dad, I would think about all of the really cool things my son and I would do together. One of them was play golf. I love golf, so being able to play with my kid was a dream come true.

Billy and I went to the driving range today. It was 80 degrees here today on January 6th. We have been many other times, but today was especially fun. I just like to watch him. He is actually pretty good. He know how to stand, hold the club, and swing the correct way. What is really fun is watching him copy things he has seen on TV. Today, he was posing like Tiger after a shot he had hit. He didn't twirl the club though- we will work on that. When we putted, he would lay on the green and line up hit putt. I think he got that from someone else.

Finding Jake

I was woken up this morning by Sandra saying "I can't find Jake. He is missing". Try waking up to that bit of news. Medically, it takes two years off of your life.

Anyhow, we ran upstairs, looked in his bed, and he was definitely not there. He wasn't in any of the other rooms either. However, when I looked underneath Jake's bed, I saw two little feet. What a relief. God is so good. The feet I saw were moving around, so not once did I think anything bad.

Putting Jake to Sleep

Jake finally listens to us when we tell him to lay down and go to sleep. For what seemed like an eternity, he would get out of the bed and run around. Pure Jake. Now, we sing him songs and that usually does it. He is officially tired of "Shortnin' Bread". Whenever I sing it, he tells me "no". His favorite right now is "The Little Drummer Boy".

Jake's Footsteps

Before my run this morning, I hear the patter of foot steps upstairs around 6AM. I thought it was Billy, but it was Jake. He is getting so heavy he is beginning to sound like the older kids. He walked downstairs and I gave him the "it's too early to wake up" talk. He cried a little, but when I took him upstairs and put him in mommy's bed, the whole world became perfect again for him. He was still sleeping when I left for work at 7:45.

Sofia woke up around 7AM. She was crying in her bed. I would guess she had some kind of a bad dream. I took her downstairs and put her on the couch. I covered her up and she went back to sleep. She woke up before I went to work and told me about all the fun her mom and her were going to have today. She was so happy.