Great giveaways!!

Go check out my friend Kelly's blog at Me and you Girl and enter all her wonderful giveaways she is having in honor of her birthday!!  Be sure to tell her I sent you!

Time for a change

I'm back.......  Yes I know it's been almost a month and I am a bad blogger.  I do love it but it seems like everything else is getting in the way.  Funny, that seems to be my excuse for everything lately, the messy house, the piled up laundry, the lack of home cooked meals.  These things really don't bother me.  I can live with toys all over and dishes in the sink.  I have enough clothes that I feel the laundry can wait.  I am just as picky of an eater as my kids so nuggets and fries always sound good to me!  However my husband is a totally different story as you will read below!

I could go on and on.  I feel overwhelmed and I am not sure what to do about it.  I guess I should change that, I WAS not sure what to do about it, after this mornings message at church I am now ABSOLUTELY sure what to do. 

I attend MOPS, or Mothers of Preschoolers, at a great church on Friday mornings.  I love the fellowship with other Moms, and my kids love playing with new friends and learning about Jesus.



We had a guest speaker on Friday and she gave her testimony.  I loved it.  She sang some songs, a couple country!, and told us how she got closer to Christ.  I have been thinking about what she said, about how just being obedient to God did not mean your were automatically going to be blessed.  You had to sacrifice some things and leave your worldly life to follow him.  Now I listened, at least I thought I did.  It impacted me a little but I think I was ignoring God.  He must have really wanted to drive home the thought to me so He had Pastor talk about it this morning again.  He knows me well enough to know I don't always get it the first time!

I am sitting in the cafe at church; we usually enjoy church there, it's easier on my husband who seems to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and Pastor Diego starts talking about sacrifice. I thought to myself I have heard this message before, I told you it usually takes me a minute.  I am really listening and following a long in my Bible and I promise it was like God was speaking to me.  I felt like He was telling me it was time to make some personal sacrifices in my life in order to get closer to Him and then in turn become closer to my husband and make this family stronger.  That is what I live for.  I want to raise these wonderful boys in a God centered house where they see a God centered marriage where we sacrifice for the Lord.  I am glued to Pastor's words this morning and he starts talking about sacrifices you have to make in order to be closer to God and I am taking notes as fast as I can write, he is talking about how you have to make sacrifices in every aspect in your life with things that are important to you.  In my head I am saying yes I know, stop eating out so you have more money to spend on the boys birthdays and your trip for the anniversary; stay up late at night so you can finish school so you can contribute to the family with a decent income so your kids have more when they get older; you go without so your kids can have what they want.  I am thinking, wrong move, I know all this. 

Then he starts to talk about the sacrifices you have to make in your marriage if you want to make it work.  Ok, he really has my attention now.  Marriage is not easy let me tell you!  I should start out by saying, as no surprise to my friends, I am VERY strong willed, read hard headed.  Cesar and I seem to butt heads a lot on a lot of different things, most of them aren't even that important.  So Pastor starts by telling how he wants his wife to check in with him during the day, he wants to make sure she is safe and she doesn't like that but she does it because it's a sacrifice she makes for him.  He goes on to talk about 5 or 6 more things they sacrifice for each other.  I know you might be thinking that this is a no brainer.  It should be but for me I was more worried about losing my independence then submitting to my husband.  My marriage was more based on worldly values than God's values.  Then it hits me like a ton of bricks............I want to make my husband happy and so that means giving up or sacrificing for him.  So I go home and make a list of things that I know makes my husband happy that really don't matter to me.  Things we have argued about over and over.  See above list, that pretty much sums it up!  So I then pray to God to help me find a way to make these things happen and I ask Him what I need to give up to make it work.  I am taking a break from everything that does not directly benefit my family, face book; I didn't realize how much time it takes away until today, I might be addicted; PTA, a huge issue in my marriage.  It really does take up A LOT of my time and it is not worth it.  My husband needs to feel that he comes first and so I will sacrifice to make sure that happens. 

I know that this will not be an overnight change, heck it's going to take a week just to get my house under control!  I am asking that if you read this that you pray for me and my family as we struggle through this.  Pray that I have the will to submit and give up this life in order to live the life I was meant to live.  Pray that I get a little better at being a homemaker, well a lot better.  Pray that I will continue to sacrifice in order to make this work!  Pray for strength for me please!!

I will be bloggin a little more now that FB is on the way back burner so I will keep the 2 people that read this blog informed on my journey!  Now I am off to bed to rest up.  Tomorrow starts day one of operation: sacarifice for the Lord!



This momma is worn out!!!

So the video of Isaiah dancing and the baseball post is coming soon, I promise!  School, PTA, baseball practice, and sick babies are taking up all of my time for now!

I love being a part of the PTA at my son's school.  It gives me a purpose and makes me feel part of the adult world even though I am a SAHM.  That being said it takes a lot of my time, especially when you are the fundraising person and it is fundraising time!  I have been blessed to meet a lot of great women here and I am thankful for each and every one of them!

I am currently taking classes to get my teaching degree in CA.  I HATE SCHOOL!!  I does not come easy to me and I am struggling right now with it badly!  So, if you find it in your heart, please pray for me and this struggle in my life.  I LOVE TEACHING! So I will struggle on!

Baseball practice is EVERYDAY!  I am worn out.  I am so thankful to my father in law who takes Z to practice when Cesar can't.  It allows me to stay at home with the babies and get things accomplished on the home front.

Sick babies are no fun!  Noah has not been feeling well since Wednesday and now Isaiah is getting it too.  To add to it all we lost "blankie" today. 

The green blanket, it belongs to Isaiah, it's the only picture I could find!

Isaiah sleeps with it and he was miserable all day without it!  It was finally recovered from Grandma's house and now all is well!

Now I am off to enjoy a bath and a glass of wine, maybe even a good book!  The hubby is gone out of town for work and I am going to enjoy some me time!  I will post again tomorrow, I have been taking pictures galore I just need to update them!

WILW

So here is what I am loving today.....

1. My in laws, I am truly blessed to have them, they help me soooooooo much with the boys and the never ask for anything in return!  I love them so much!

2. This dessert that we had on my birthday last year and my friend made Friday in her kitchen!  Who knew Nutella tasted so good!

3. These rain boots, hint, hint for my husband

4. This catalog, just hosted a party and can't wait to get my stuff.  Love that this company is Christian based and for women to realize their worth in the Lord!

5. My CA friends, they have truly been a blessing to this KY girl so far from home!!  I am missing one, but I dont' have a single picture of the two of us together!!  Terry, I love you too!

Cupid's Ball at Zachary's school

Friday night the SLE PTA hosted Cupid's Ball for the families.  It was super fun and free for us to go to!!  That is always nice.  They were able to get a lot of donations from the community and we had plenty of food, with lots of leftovers!  They were selling flowers and even had a professional photographer!  It was really nice.  Zachary did what most boys do, he ran around all night and didn't dance at all.  Isaiah on the other hand was tearing up the dance floor!  Look for the video later tonight!  He was too cute!  Z was not letting me take a lot of picturess so here are a few of the good ones.

One more thing, when we were in the car on the way to baseball this afternoon, Z informed me that he thought it was time to ask someone to be his girlfirend on Tuesday!  Look for the video of Isaiah and a baseball post coming soon!



WILW

I saw this on my friend Kelly's blog and I thought I would join in too.

Today I am loving.....

1. These wild and crazy boys, did I even need to say that?!

2. I love this view, I live in one of the best places ever!

3. I love this book, it has helped my marriage a lot and continues to help it.

4. I love this store!  I like to look nice, but not too young and this store is great for me!  I only shop there for sales and special occasions but I love it all the same!

So what are you loving today?!

Family Dinner....what is that?

Family dinner is non existent in this house.  I am sure that one day when everyone's schedule settles down and the kids get older and can actually sit at the table that things will be different.  Until then this is what dinner looks like here in the Sanchez House.....

Noah usually goes first, he isn't one to miss a meal!

So glad we bought the bigger kitchen table.

Meanwhile the other two are doing there own thing.....

Next comes Zachary for his dinner, once again this bigger table has really come in handy!

Then mommy drinks her dinner

Isaiah skips dinner for this night and Daddy is still at work.

One day in the Sanchez house family dinner will return, but until then we will make do with what works for us!!



This is why I blog......

Cesar Isaiah Sanchez

You can not leave this boy alone for 5 seconds without all heck breaking loose!  I am alone most nights with the boys and bed and bath are a little challenging.  So tonight I need to put Noah to bed and I leave Isaiah in the playroom/kitchen with Zachary.  Now putting Noah to bed consists of walking up the stairs and laying him in his crib, 2 minutes tops. 

I come back down the stairs to this.....

I guess he was thirsty and just couldn't wait 2 minutes.  Not surprising, not surprising at all!  How can you resist this face.....

I can't and that is half the problem here in the Sanchez house!!



Celebrating a good friends birthday and maybe a girlfriend is in Zachary's future?!

Today we headed to the bowling alley to celebrate one of Zachary's friends birthday.  Aneesa turned 9 today and she has become a good friend of Zachary's and her mommy has become a good friend of mine!  We all had a great time having cake, cotton candy and popcorn and hanging out with friends.  Zachary wasn't sure about going to the party, it was a Justin Beiber theme.  He thought his friends would make fun of him!

On another note, this morning Z asked me to put gel in his hair before school.  What?!  He has never cared about what he looked like before today.  I did, he went to the bathroom to see what it looked like and requested I do it different, like maybe get the hair dryer and make it spike up more!  I swear, I thought that having boys would meant that I was not fixing hair in the mornings!!  I think there may be a girl in the picture, I hope not!  He is still to young for that in my eyes!

What a great weekend!!

I am so blessed!  I realize this more and more each day as I grow as a wife and a mother and in my faith.  I am learning, sometimes slowly, to take each day and cherish it.  To let the little things go and spend time on the big things, my boys.  We had a full house this weekend with Q, R and K over and we headed to John's Incredible Pizza for some good fun a fun with Grandma, Papa and Dina.  Life is good when you get to spend the weekend having fun and playing hard!

I LOVE living out here in CA, but........

I am reminded when I get an invitation to an even I can not attend back in KY what I am missing. 

Being an Army wife means moving, sometimes far away from where you grew up and far away from your friends and family.  This is the case for me.  I love being out here, so much I would stay if it came to that.  I have friends out here and family out here that I love.  I am blessed that I get the opportunity to fly back to KY to visit at least twice a year.  That being said when one of your oldest friends, read little sister, is getting married and you get an invitation to a Stock the Bar party at a GREAT place in KY and you know you can not attend, it makes me a little sad.  I love this family so much.  They lived down the street from us growing up and they were my second family for sure.  Heather is like another little sister to me and when she called to tell me she was getting married I couldn't have been happier for her.  I am so excited to be in this wedding and to fly back to KY in July for a weekend of parties and happiness, but today I am a little sad I will not be celebrating at the Stock the Bar party, at least not in body, but I will be there in spirit!!!

Wonderful weather out here!!

The weather has been awesome out here, well except for the winds!  They have died down today and we are heading to the park after school to play for a while.  Daddy is getting off early and the grill is getting fired up tonight for dinner!  I have cleaned the house and finished the laundry.   We are getting ready for a weekend with my two nephews and one niece that will include, I am sure, video games and a trip to a pizza place!  Can't wait.  I will post some pictures of our park outing later tonight!

Enjoy your weather, whatever it is!

Wow, time flies!

I really like blogging, I just can't seem to find the time like I used to when Isaiah was a baby.  There always seems like so much is going on here that sitting at the computer for an extended amount of time usually doesn't happen.  I am going to make it a goal this year to blog more.  Not for others to read but to keep the memories for me and my boys! 

So here we go again, the crazy life of the Sanchez Family!!  Hang on, it's going to be wild!!

Zachary's Thursday Night ballgame

This baseball season has been a little bit of a struggle.  Zachary has moved up to what they call farm and the kids pitch to each other.  There have been a number of kids hit by the pitcher, Zachary included, and a lot of them are now scared of the ball.  You can see at least half of the kids backing out of the batter's box scared to death.  Zachary has not had a hit since his birthday back in March and he is really dissapointed in himself.  He has a hard time when he doesn't excel in things.  We were on our way to the game Thursday night and he was really quite.  I noticed that the closer we got to the field the quiter he got.  I asked him waht was wrong and he started to tear up and say that he just wanted to hit the ball.  My heart was breaking for him and all I wanted to do was hug him, but he is way to big for that!  So I started telling him about Granddaddy and his love for baseball.  That this should be fun for him and it was always fun for Granddaddy, when he played, when he coached, when he was at the field, or watching the Reds on TV he was always happy with baseball.  I told Z that this should be fun or we shouldn't be doing it.  He said ok mom and got out of the car to join his teammates on the field to practice.  I sat in the car, had a good cry for my baby and prayed to God and asked Granddaddy and Meamaw to watch Z's game and cheer him on to a hit, at least one.  The game starts and he is first to bat, I am sick at my stomach and I can hardly watch.  I am praying over and over, please let him hit it, please let him hit it.  He swings and connects.......foul ball.  I breathe again.  The next pitch, ball 1, again I breathe.  The third pitch he swings, connects and it goes right past the pitcher's mound!!!!  I am up off the bleachers running to 1st with him!  He is thrown out but the look on his face told me that he was ok, he was so happy to have hit it!  I go back to my seat and try not to cry.  He gets back up to bat 3 innings later and again I start my prayer.  He connects on the first pitch and again is thrown out at first.  This time he comes skipping off the field.  I am so proud of him my heart could burst out of my chest.  I leave then to get the little ones and I am crying the whole way home.  I am so happy he is out of his hitting slump, but I know that my Granddaddy and Meamaw were cheering so loud up in Heaven Thursday night and I know that they played a big part in his two hits!

My MeaMaw

While it was great to have my parents out here, there was some sadness along with their trip too.  My Mom's mom had to go into the hospital on the Monday after Noah's birthday.  She had been sick on and off for a while.  She had been in and out of the hospital since my wedding.  She passed away on Thursday, April 22nd.  I thank God that my mom made it home to see her before she passed.  My Meamaw was a great woman and she will be missed by a lot of people, my Paw Paw especially.  They had been married for 64 years and he is lost with out her.  While it is sad to have to say goodbye, it's not really goodbye, it's more like see you later in Heaven.  I am happy that she is free now, no more oxygen, no more wheelchair just her.  I am happy to be able to picture her like that again, it's been a long time.  I am also glad that she now has a front row seat for all of my boys things.  She got to see Zachary play ball Thursday night for the first time in a long time, I am a firm believer that you can check in on us from Heaven.  I know her and granddaddy were cheering him on big time.

Birthday Pictures

Photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Noah's 1st Birthday!

On Saturday April 17th we had Noah's Birthday Carnival!  I was so much fun.  It's hard to believe that my baby is already a year old.  Time passes so fast with children.  In the blink of an eye they are grown up and doing so much.  I have said before that things are a little sad with Noah.  I know that he is my last baby and I am fine with that, but I am sad that there will be no more 1st birthday's.  My parents flew out to help us celebrate and that was awesome.  It's nice that they are still such a big part of my boys' lives, even if we do live across the country.  We had a lot of friends and family celebrating with us.  There were carnival games and a popcorn and cotton candy machine.  We had a face painter and the chance to win a real goldfish.  A Big Top cake and pinata finished the night.  I was exhausted at the end of the night but it was all worth it.

Noah is an awesome baby.  He is so laid back and go with the flow.  Nothing really ever bothers him, except when he is hungry and then look out!  He walked at 9 months, he climbs on everything.  He has a big attitude in that small body.  He will scream at you when he is mad, he claps his hands at you to get your attention, he loves his brothers!  I think he is a little scared of Isaiah but he loves him nonetheless.  He eats anything that you put in front of him, but he is true to his Mexican heritage!  He loves his beans and rice.  He sleeps alright, better than Isaiah but not as good as Zachary did at his age.  He loves his paci but he doesn't have a lovey like my other two do.  He likes a blue blanket but is not as attached to it as Zachary is to baby and Isaiah is to blankie.   I love having boys and Noah is no exception.  Happy Birthday my little one!

Easter and Family Pictures

Happy Easter, a little late!

Easter was a lot of fun here in the Sanchez household!  I hosted it for the first time ever.  Let's not kid anyone, it's the first holiday I have ever hosted!  I am no Martha Stewart, but it turned out ok.  Cesar's parents and the girls came over and Sgt. F and his family also joined us.  Sgt. F recruits with Cesar and they are from SC so they have no family out here.  I am still getting used to the mexican Easter!  We grilled out carne asada and chicken and had beans and rice, tortilla chips, salsa, ect...  It was great and the weather was great too.  We had an earthquake here, a 7.2, center in Mexico but Papa was the only one who felt it.  As a friend posted on FB, He has risen and the earth has shaken!  I am still not sure if that's a good thing or not.  The kids had a blast hunting for eggs, but Isaiah was really scared of the Easter Bunny.  Enjoy the pictures of Easter!

Noah's 1st Haircut!

On Saturday we took Noah for his first haircut!  It was getting a little long around his ears and getting like a mullett in the back.  It was bittersweet for me.  I was excitied to see him expirence another "first" but sad at the same time because every "first" for him is a "last" for me.  This is my last baby and while I am ready to be done with the baby stage I am sad at the same time.

Noah before the haircut

Noah after his haircut looking so grown up!