Pool boy

Work Weekend

This weekend was deemed a work weekend at the Duran home.

Friday at 4:30 we went to rent a bobcat.
Pancho drove the bobcat home while I followed him in the Neon with the emergency lights on.
As soon as we got home he picked up the first load of dirt and delivered it to the backyard.
Then he parked the bobcat in the garage.
A dream-come-true for Pancho: having a bobcat parked in our garage!

Earlier Friday morning Fanny, Katrina, Samuel and I watched as two different loads of topsoil were delivered.
Katrina was intrigued by the dumptrucks.
Samuel was scared of the noise and was pulling away, trying to get back inside instead of standing in the doorway.

Then, early Saturday morning the work began.
Katrina joined the workforce and came to the front door looking for some "work gloves like Dr. Grim's."
I eventually found her some.
It didn't matter to her that they did not match.
Samuel stayed inside with Tia while the work commenced.

Later in the afternoon Samuel headed out to the deck to be a tiny bit closer to the action.
Katrina got to ride inside the bobcat (much to the chagrin of her nana) with Brian, a licensed driver and close friend.
Pancho grabbed a rake and worked hard to spread the topsoil evenly throughout the yard with Dr. Grim and my dad at his side.
Brogan, Brian's son, began mowing by faith.
That is what we continue to do;
Trusting the Lord for the increase.

If you don't have a smile, I'll give you one of mine.

author unknown

Katrina-isms for May 19th, 2010

Everyday Katrina says things that are quite funny.
Today I happened to jot them down...
Katrina: Mom, sausage is sauce for adults, right?
Katrina: I just love his eyelashes (speaking of Samuel). They are like girls' eyelashes but they are boys'.
Katrina (crying): Mom, she stole my doll (speaking of her best friend, Taylor, while they were playing with pretend dolls at Qdoba where we lunched today). Me: What doll? Katrina: My pretend doll. You know, the one with the pink dress. And now she threw it in the trash.
Katrina (this morning after I shared with her our plan for the day of having lunch with her best friend and her family): Oh, that's great. I just had a dream that we did that.
Katrina, you are a character and we love you so much!

Another day in the life

Just another day in the lives of Katrina and Samuel.
Just wanted you to see how big the kids are getting!

Dirt cake

Or not...
NOT!
Samuel is a boy through and through.
This evening after dinner we were all involved in various activities.
Katrina was upstairs playing several games in her room (which she was later told is not a good idea because it takes too long to pick up!).
Pancho was talking with his parents via Skype on the computer in the living room.
Samuel was on the deck (we have a gate on the deck stairs so he can go in and out the patio door of the house as he pleases to play "outside").
Fanny, my sister-in-law who is here staying with us for 2 months, was on the phone in the dining room.
I was in the process of mopping the kitchen, dining room and entryway as well as cleaning the main floor bathroom all the while chatting with Pancho and his parents during Veronica's (our niece) birthday party there in Venezuela.
Pretty soon Fanny says, "Uh oh."
These words mean the same thing in Spanish and English, mind you.
I looked out on the deck and saw Samuel with a mouth full of soil.
Katrina had taken two little pots that we were given as a favor from a shower we attended on Saturday out onto the deck to water and she left them out there.
Unattended.
Samuel decided that he was the perfect person to attend to them.
Oh boy!

Hiding

Katrina has been hiding God's Word in her heart all year long.
Wednesday night she was recognized for doing so.
Katrina, Papa and I are so proud of you for working so hard to learn Bible verses.
They are the most important things you can and will learn in all of your life because the verses that you learn are going to keep you from sinning against God (if and when you treasure and apply them to your life).
That is our prayer for you, little Katrinita.
Now you have Jesus in your heart and you are choosing to live for Him.
Keep learning the Bible verses and using them in your life.
Psalm 119:11
"Your Word I have hidden (treasured) in my heart,
that I might not sin against You."

How comfortable is your sofa?

Well, I guess there is just one thing left to say...
Welcome home, Duran family, welcome home.
Have you heard this before?
If you like to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition and that is Ty Pennington's line at the end of every makeover.
Tonight Pancho said this to me!
We finished a mini (VERY mini) makeover in our living room.
We simply made some cosmetic changes to the living room.
We changed the pillows.
Put up some curtains.
Got an ottoman.
Hung up a piece of artwork.
Today I was sitting on the sofa reading some books to Katrina and I realized that we have a really comfortable sofa.
Do you know whether or not you have a comfortable sofa?
We have had this sofa for about 6 years and today was the first time I realized it is super comfortable.
Do you know why I didn't know the sofa is comfy?
Because I never sit down.
I am not bragging.
I am confessing something here.
I am ashamed to say that I rarely sit down, even to snuggle and read with my kids.
Well, the past few weeks that has changed and I have realized that I need to make deliberate decisions to sit down and enjoy time with Katrina and Samuel.
Most of the time I am running around like crazy.
Doing.
Doing.
Doing.
The Lord has convicted me in the time we have spent together that He does not want me to be a do-er.
He wants me to be a be-er.
Since I was a very little girl I dreamed of being a wife and a mom.
Now I am one and I am missing out on the joys of being because I am doing too much.
Don't get me wrong.
You can't be a wife and a mom without doing stuff and yet it is important to just be sometimes.
So, do you know how comfortable your sofa is?
Sit down and see.

Sand Play is Serious Business

Sand between the toes

Yesterday we filled the sandbox with sand for this year.
Samuel was excited to get in and get his hands dirty (and the rest of his body!).
He really enjoyed himself in there.
In fact, he was so covered in sand that my mom and I stripped him down to his diaper outside, wrapped him in a blanket and carried him inside and then upstairs for a shower (we hosed him down in the tub).
I am sure we will be spending many hours in the sandbox this spring and summer. Thanks, Papa, for buying the sand!

This is Katrina in the sandbox when we bought it for her in June of 2007.
She is a girl.
Hence, a white shirt in the sandbox!

Again, I think they look so similar at this age. Don't you?