18 months and counting

Have you ever seen a cuter boy wearing a Barbie helmet on a princess bike?
Samuel is 18 months old now and continues to steal our hearts day after day after day.
He weighs 27 pounds.
He is 32.5 inches tall.
At his 18-month check-up his ears looked clear for the first time in too long!
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Samuel Jose. He is such a joy to our souls and we praise You for the blessing of him in our lives.

What are you choosing?

Monday we went grocery shopping.
At Walmart.
Enough said, right?
I have said before that I make a 10-meal menu for our family that lasts us about 2 weeks.
Well, yesterday was Walmart-day.
We had a huge grocery list along with a decent-sized list of other essentials for the house so I was prepared for a long trip to Walmart.
We arrived and found a good parking spot.
I slipped Samuel's chupi (pacifier) into my purse, anticipating the need for it about 1/2-way through our excursion, and we set out for the door.
I decided to get the cosmetic products we needed first.
As we were deciding on a hair gel for Pancho Katrina informed me that she needed to use the bathroom.
Now!
So, we grabbed the closest gel and started speed-walking to the restrooms in the back of the store.
There is a family restroom back there that I prefer to use.
We made it and she was able to go to the bathroom.
Lately she has been getting bad belly aches before and after using the bathroom so I put her inside the cart and we continued to the grocery section of Walmart.
I tried to be as quick as possible grabbing milk, butter and cresent rolls.
White corn tortillas were the next thing on my list.
I could not find the corn tortillas anywhere in Walmart.
I looked in the dairy section and in the bread section (because we have found them in both places before).
I re-looked in the dairy and bread sections which I dislike doing very much during these big grocery shops but I had no choice.
I even asked a dairy guy and he said they don't carry corn tortillas anymore.
Why?
Who knows!
So, we went about the rest of our list and while we were in the jell-o aisle Katrina began to cry and say that she wanted to go home.
She had been fine but then her belly started hurting again.
Now, let me remind you of our situation:
The cart is half-full and Samuel was given his chupi a long while back (meaning my time is limited).
There is still at least half of the grocery list to go and at the rate we are going, we are going to need at least another 45 minutes.
I stopped the cart and asked Katrina, "What do you want me to do for you, Katrina?" in a kind voice.
She said she wanted to leave and I told her that unfortunately that would not be an option.
Then she said she needed to go to the bathroom again.
Ok.
Last time she needed to go NOW.
This time she needs to go NOW!
I put her back into the cart (she had wanted to get out) and we went running this time, not speed-walking, to the same restroom.
She cried the whole way.
I will spare you the details of what happened in the restroom but let's just say we made it, both shed some pretty heavy tears and exited.
We returned to the grocery section of the store and hurredly finished our shopping.
As I approached the check-outs I scanned to see if I could find one with a short line.
No.
I don't know about you but by the time I get to the check-out after these big grocery shopping trips I am exhausted and the worst part is that the job is only about 1/2 over.
I still have to unload everything from the van and then put it all away, which is more difficult than it sounds because the kids are either starving for food or starving for some attention.
So, we got into a line that had 2 people in front of us and I began to think.
I was super tempted to leave the cart there and go home.
Of course, I did not do that!
As I stood there thinking, though, I started to think about having a thankful heart.
Katrina has a CD that has a song that says that a thankful heart is a happy heart.
Boy is that ever true.
So, I started to review our entire excursion...
I chose to be thankful for the good parking spot.
I chose to be thankful that Samuel has a chupi and that he stayed calm the entire time we were there (which was nearly 2 hours!).
I chose to be thankful that Katrina could use the bathroom.
There have been so many times when she is blocked up and cannot go.
I chose to be thankful that I do not have a job outside of the home and I can do this with my kids and have a fun time in the process.
Katrina and I had fun making up songs and she learned some new fruits and vegetables she was not familiar with before.
There were so many opportunities for me to choose to be thankful.
And that is the key:
choosing.
When I got home I had another opportunity to choose thankfulness when I looked at this:

I chose to be thankful that I am capable of putting it all away.
I chose to be thankful that we have a deep-freeze and a pantry that will store all of this food.
I chose to be thankful that Pancho works so hard so we can have good meals.
I have a notecard on the bathroom vanity that says,
"I may not always feel thankful. But I can always choose thankfulness."
Thank You, Jesus, for helping me to choose thankfulness. It is true that a thankful heart is a happy heart.

Chimichurri

I have heard that word before but I never really knew what it was.
Chimichurri.
Well, let me tell you,
chimichurri is my new favorite word.
Why?
Because chimichurri is my new favorite sauce.
Ooooh, was this delicious!

If you want the recipe, follow this link:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/pork-tenderloin-with-chimichurri.html

Please bear with me ...

... as I get a blog makeover.

I am not a computer programmer.

Pancho is.

Therefore, when I find something that I want to do on the blog,

I need his help.

We are toying around with some things so please bear with us.

In the meantime, I hope you like all the new look possibilities!

Wisconsin Valley Fair 2010

We went to the fair today.
We forgot the good camera...
Hence, two decent photos of Katrina doing one thing.

Thanks to the Sterkens, we have a picture of Katrina holding a chick!

Today was family fun day at the fair.
We met up with some friends, the Sterken's, and hung out for an hour an a half at the fair.
We did some crafts.
We met a therapy dog, Austin, that Katrina fell in love with.
The owner gave Katrina a picture of Austin that she has not put down since we left the fair.
She would like to frame it and I am trying to talk her out of it.
Katrina played a beanbag toss game and won a free ride voucher.
We saw the Wisconsin Valley Fair princesses from the last 10 years.
Katrina got a tiara and Samuel got a bead necklace from the princesses.
Definitely a highlight.
For Katrina.
We ate some good fresh parmesan cheese.
Katrina and Abby held some chicks.
We took a stroll through the cow and rabbit barns.
The Sterken's had to leave and we had some fair food to find.
Pancho and I had a yummy (AKA greasy) lunch from the fair that cost WAY more than it should have.
Katrina and Samuel had happy meals from McDonalds because we figured they cost way less for way more food and they came with a toy!
Overall it was a fun outing.

What is this a picture of?

A successful afternoon of playing at Grandpa's.


* rendido = totally sacked out (Spanish)

K.A.S.H. Round 3

We have been to KASH Park a few times already.

But every time we go, we always decide it is worth the 30-minute drive.

Yet again another successful trip to KASH Park.

Waiting

Pancho and I have always said that waiting is one of the things that we want to help our children learn.

Why?

Because we have waited so much during our lives, individually and as a couple, that we realize how important it is to know how to wait.

Sounds silly.

Sort of.

Learning to wait.

On Tuesday I was filling out some paperwork when I realized I needed something from our fire-proof safe.

I went downstairs into our office and was troubled to find the safe locked.

Normally this would not be troubling.

You simply find the key, open the safe, take out what you need and close it back up.

Here is where the troubling part comes in.

We keep the key right in the lock of the safe.

And it was not there.

I did not panic.

I figured it had to be in the office somewhere.

I mean, I am not the type who takes the key out and does not remember where she put it.

I always know where things are.

I pride myself on this very thing.

I am known for this very thing.

If you cannot find something, ask Kristina.

She will know where it is.

And if she doesn't know, she will find it.

So, after a few minutes of casual browsing for the key my looking became much more frantic.

I tried a few different sets of keys that I found lying in places that the keys for the safe should be.

Not the right keys.

I dug through the computer desk.

I dug through the dresser drawers.

I dug through the filing cabinet.

No keys.

Where in the world are those keys?

I skyped Pancho at work and asked him if he knew where the keys were.

He suggested all the places I had already looked.

So, I looked in those places.

Again.

No keys.

That morning I spent 2+ hours looking for those blasted keys.

To no avail.

That evening after we finished some yard work both Pancho and I looked again for the keys.

In all of the same spots I had looked, hoping for some oversight on my part.

No keys.

At this point I didn't even care so much about getting the things out of there that I needed.

I just wanted to get it open.

Or so I thought.

We began to brainstorm ways to get the safe open.

We considered buying another safe, bringing it home, and trying the new safe's key.

I called some friends who we think have the same safe to see if we could borrow their key.

Maybe that would work.

I called Ace Hardware to see if they had any suggestions.

"Call a locksmith," they said.

I called a locksmith.

He said he might be able to get it open and that it would be at least $35.

I checked online to see if we could get a replacement key.

We can.

It would be $24.

I could simply not let this idea go.

I kept thinking...

I am not the type to lose things like keys to a safe.

I mean, a safe.

Are you serious, Kristina?

You lost the keys to your safe.

Of all things, you lost the key to the safe.

As God would have it, my time with Him on Tuesday focused on His thoughts of me.

I began to concentrate on what God says about me and none of those things that I was thinking were from God.

They were all what I have conjured up on my own.

I was shown to consider that my sense of self is derived from what God thinks of me, that I can be delivered from my fear of the opinion of others, including myself.

I tried desperately to stop beating myself up for losing the key and to try to focus instead on what I could gain through this little experience.

(Among other things He showed me more areas of pride in my life. Aghh! I am such a work-in-progress!)

On Wednesday I continued my search.

I was still so frustrated that we could not find the key.

I claimed Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You."

I tried to not think about the safe and the key any longer.

Didn't work.

I went to the website and put the replacement keys in my cart.

But, I just could not go through with the purchase.

$24 for a replacement key?

Really?

OK, by this point you are probably wondering two things:

Did you find the key or not?

and

What does this have to do with waiting?

The title of the post?

Right, back to that...

I gave up on the safe for the afternoon and focused on getting dinner ready and playing with the kids outside.

Don't get me wrong, I still had part of my million-miles-a-minute mind thinking about where that key could be, but that part was getting smaller and smaller.

Just before dinner was ready Pancho came out onto the deck (I was grilling) and said,

"You should go downstairs."

"Why?" I asked.

Well, this post is getting rather long so I will just tell you.

He got the safe open.

Yup, that's right.

He got the safe open.

How? you ask.

With a screwdriver.

I was happy.

I could finally get out what I needed.

I was relieved.

Or was I?

This morning as I spent some time with the Lord I was taken to Isaiah 40:31

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles,

they will run and now grow weary,

they will walk and not faint."

The key is to wait for the Lord.

Do you see that?

For. The. Lord.

Not for the thing, or the keys, in my story.

Because you know what?

When the safe was opened, what I claimed I wanted, I was not satisfied because I still didn't have the key.

Yes, I have what I needed out of the safe.

But I am still wondering where that key is.

Waiting for the Lord is the key.

(no pun is intended here but it is a good pun, if I do say so myself)

Waiting for Him.

Not for the solution to the problem.

Because when we wait only for the solution and then we have the solution, it seems like there is always something else to wait for (like now I am still waiting to see if the real key appears).

Yet, when we wait for the Lord we receive a treasure that only He can give:

peace

and

contentment.

"Learning to wait teaches us that our joy doesn't depend on whether we get those things for which we've waited." Jennifer Rothschild

This is why we want to teach Katrina and Samuel to wait.

This is why we all need to learn to wait.

For that joy.

What are you waiting for?

Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.

Katrina has been wanting a 2-wheeler for a few months now.
Every time we go to Walmart she begs to show us that she is "strong enough" to pedal a 2-wheeler.
Then she went to vacation Bible school and came home saying,
"Mama, if I take a friend, they are going to give me a bike."
Needless to say she was a little confused about the concept of a drawing!

So, I was sharing that humorous story with my mom and she said that Nana and Grandpa wanted to buy Katrina a bike.
On Saturday afternoon we went to Walmart, after Pancho did some research online to see reviews, etc. and Katrina picked out her bike.

She rode the bike from the bike area to the check-out, proud as could be.
She rode the bike right through the check-out lane, dismounting only so the cashier could remove a special barcode from under the seat.
She rode the bike to the van (with Papa's hand on the handle bars, much to her chagrin).
She wanted to ride the bike inside the van on the way home.
We put our foot down.

When we got home she found her helmet and rode around in the driveway.
She eventually put on her elbow and knee pads and rode around a bit in the cul de sac.
Unfortunately she took a nasty fall shortly after a brief rainstorm and the bike riding came to a close for Saturday. Do not fret, however, at 8 AM Sunday Papa, Samuel and Katrina went on a quick bike ride before breakfast.

Thank you, Grandpa and Nana, for the bike.
It has quickly become one of her most prized possessions.
We had two of my college roommates over for lunch with their families on Sunday and she showed them all how she can ride.
Sunday afternoon when Uncle Shawn and Aunt Leanne were over for a bit, Katrina tried it out for them.
And, funniest of all, today on the way to a splash pad party, Katrina screamed out from her seat in the van,
"Mama! Did you see my bike in the garage when you backed the van out?"
I replied with a simple yes and she calmed down...
Only to yell out,
"And my pads?"
Pancho may have to install a surveillance camera in the garage so she can monitor her bike's status at all times.

Happy Belated Birthday, Pancho.

Pancho celebrated his 31st birthday on July 16th (hence the "belated" birthday title).

Last year, when he turned 30, we were blessed to have his parents here to share in the celebration and his mom made his favorite meal: paella.
This year we were blessed to have his sisters and our niece here with us.

Pancho/Papa,
Feliz cumpleanos!
We are so blessed by the Lord to call you husband and papa.
We love you more than words can express.
We are looking forward to spending this 31st year of your life with you (or is it 32nd that we will be spending with you?).
Te amamos mas que nunca!
Kristina, Katrina y Samuel