Not a little boy anymore...

I'm not a little boy anymore...
I sit at the table now using a booster seat instead of a highchair.
I can tell Mama and Papa what I want or don't want
and they understand me.
Sometimes Mama lets me walk in the store instead of riding in the cart;
I have to be extremely obedient, though.
I go to the 2-year old class for Sunday School and Children's Church.
I know how to put on my boots when we are going to leave the house.
I'm not a little boy anymore...
In fact, I am a big boy now.
I'm a big brother...

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Today, January 19, is Samuel's 2nd birthday.
We had a family party on Saturday.
Here are a few highlights...

It was a cowboy theme and Samuel thoroughly enjoyed the
s'more brownie! (thanks, Rachel!)
Uncle Nick and Aunt Amber gave Samuel a tee and a bat and ball.
Uncle Shawn and Aunt Leanne gave Samuel a sweater and pants
which he insisted on wearing immediately
(sound like anyone we know?).
Nana Dawn and Grandpa Stuart gave Samuel a new book, some cars and a few outfits
which he has already worn since.
And Nana and Grandpa gave Samuel a front-end loader.
Whoa!
Let's just say it's a good thing we saved that one for last!

This morning we celebrated the true birthday
with cinnamon streusel muffins.
Samuel enjoys anything that looks like cake!

He even helped us sing to him.
He sings Happy Birthday so well!

Katrina wanted to get in on the festivities even more
than simply participating so she asked if
we could re-light the candles, sing again and if
she could have some candles too.
I obliged.
She graciously asked for "4 candles" since she is not officially 5.

Happy birthday, Samuel.
You have been a gift from the Lord from the moment we
learned of your presence.
God has used you to teach us to trust Him completely and
it is our prayer that you trust Him completely as well.
Tu papa y yo te amamos mas que nunca.

How do you rate?

My dad has a saying that I can remember him
mentioning countless times when I was young (er).
Usually he would say it in regard to us getting to
have pizza on a night he worked
(he doesn't even care for pizza).
Or if our mom would make a special meal and he
did not get to have it because he was working
that particular night.
He would say,
"How do you rate?"

I couldn't help but think of the saying when I
saw this in our living room earlier this week.

Samuel has been shafted to the mock pillow-pet as
his horse while Katrina rides Black Beauty
(well, Brown Beauty, but you get the idea).

And yet, Samuel is just happy to go riding with
his big sister.

Lord, help me to have the same attitude as Samuel
is displaying in these pictures.
He is simply happy to be riding.
I want to be happy riding too and to not be
looking around at all the other horses, wondering why
those people "rate" so much better than me.
They don't.
You love me and the test of Your love for me
is the cross.
PERIOD.
Thank You for the cross.

Hosey-Ho

When we were little we had a rocking horse
that we absolutely loved to ride.
My brother Shawn coined the phrase,
"Hosey-ho!"

Grandpa and Nana gave Katrina and Samuel
a rocking horse last week.

Friday morning Pancho put it together
while two very anxious horseback riders
waiting as patiently as possible.

Once "Bullseye" was fully-assembled and safe
for mounting, Katrina got on to show
Samuel how to ride.

It did not appear as if Samuel really needed lessons!

We are still working on the concept that
it is better to wear clothes while riding
with this little cowboy!

Growing... Like a Weed

Samuel's hair grows fast!
Saturday marked the day of his second haircut.
Grandpa gave it to him this time.

Dad was surprised at how fine his hair is,
even though he has quite a bit of it.
It has been too many years since he cut Shawn
and Nick's hair when it was as fine as Samuel's.

Samuel sat like a very big boy and actually
seemed to enjoy all the attention and eyes on him.

* The pictures are snapshots from a video that we took
so please excuse the poor quality.

Girl's Best Friend

If you know Katrina at all you know that
she is a collector.
Rock collections.
Shell collections.
Sticker collections.
Worm collections.

Not long ago we were at my parents
and Katrina discovered a moth inside the house.
She quickly asked Nana for something to put it into.
Nana grabbed the closest thing around,
a quart-size jar.

Perfect, right?
Right.
Unless it has a little water residue in it
from when it was last washed....
Poor little moth didn't know what
hit her when she fell into a pool of water
at the bottom of her new home.
She was dead before she knew what
she landed in.
Needless to say, Katrina was devastated.
She has not had a pet discovery since
Lily Ann and her second-cousins twice-removed.
We brought the jar home
as she was so hopeful that her newest pet
would make a recovery.
It never did.

Well, today Nana made up for that grave error.
Today at our family Christmas gathering
Grandpa and Nana gave Katrina something
even better than a real moth in a jar.
They gave Katrina a "My Pet Butterfly."

It is an ingenious invention.
It is a very real looking butterfly inside of a
plastic quart-size jar.
And when the jar is tapped, the butterfly flies around
inside the jar.
Her eyes were as wide as saucers when she figured
out what it was.
She named her butterfly "Jingles."

Our only concern is that she is adament that we
feed "Jingles" and she is asking everyone
she sees if they know anything about butterflies
and what they eat.

For now, we have her convinced that they eat air
and that there is enough air in the jar to last her quite a while.

Celebrating with the Gehring Clan

Today we went to Shawn and Leanne's house
to celebrate as the Gehring family.

Katrina and Samuel were captivated by Aunt Leanne's
singing gingerbread house, tree and snowman.
Katrina enjoyed dancing to the music
while Samuel made the rounds turning them all on at once.
Pancho spent some time playing with the dogs: Ginger and Kyah.

After enjoying Mom's homemade egg nog
we headed to the lower level to exchange some gifts.

The kids enjoyed opening a few more presents.
Each year we try to do something a bit different among the adults.
In the past we have done gifts based around the
theme of "my favorite things."
This year, however, we decided to give one another consumable gifts.
It was great to see the creativity among the couples.
We made the jar-filled items pictured on the silver chargers.
(all-purpose spice rub, hot fudge, individual jar pies)
Shawn and Leanne gave everyone a different meal that they prepared.
Nick and Amber gave each couple something consumable perfect for each
couple's likes and demeanors.
Dad and Mom made homemade ice cream, homemade pesto and then gave us each a bag of shrimp along with another VERY generous gift to use toward "family betterment" as they call it.
After the gifts we took some pictures.
Samuel was getting hungry and was not
happy about yet another picture, but we turned out ok.
The rest of the family looks great!

After the pictures we moved back to the main level
to finish preparing the pasta bar for lunch.
Each family contributed something and we ate like kings and queens.
We had:
pear and cashew salad
penne pasta
thin spaghetti
GF fusilli
marinara sauce
alfredo sauce
pesto
meatballs
grilled chicken
steamed shrimp
parmesan cheese
garlic bread
We had to wait several hours in order to eat the two yummy
desserts Leanne had prepared.

Thanks, Gehring clan, for the fun-filled day.
We love you tons!

Handy Manny Meet Handy Trini

Katrina has enjoyed spending much of this week
with her papa, being handy.
Pancho has been wiring different areas of
our basement and his right-hand woman has been Katrina.

She does everything in style, even being Miss Handy.

los Duran 2010

Here we are.
Nearing the end of 2010.

Samuel will be 2 years old in less than one month.
Katrina will be 5 in less than two months.
We will just let you guess how old Pancho and I will be in 2011!

We have had an incredible year.
Incredible highs.
Incredible lows.
God has been faithful throughout.
Just like always.

GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS.

BEST Christmas to-date

We enjoyed the BEST Christmas to-date.
We had already experienced gift day and
worked hard to prepare our hearts to marvel
at God's GREATEST gift to us:
Jesus, His Son.

I found the perfect balloon while we were purchasing our
birthday party supplies.

Katrina helped me decorate the dining room for
Jesus' birthday party.
She made place cards for all of our guests
and helped decorate the cake.

We prepared Italian burgers and homemade french fries
for the birthday dinner.
Grandpa, Nana and Uncle Nick were able
to join us for the delicious down-home dinner.

After dinner was served we quickly
cleared the table and brought the cake over.

Katrina and Samuel sang their loudest to Jesus.
"Happy Birthday" is the one song that
Samuel can actually sing and well!
We enjoyed the yummy cake together.

Nana cuddled up with the kids on the sofa
while Pancho and I cleaned up and she
read them the Christmas story for
the 100th time that day.

It was an absolutely wonderful day
rejoicing in the fact that Jesus was born to die for us.
We could not have asked for a better day.
It was not about the gifts or the food.
It was all about Him.

It is all about You, Jesus.
Thank You for preparing our hearts
to grasp that message so clearly this year.
Happy birthday and we love You!