My Nephew, David Sanchez

So nice to finally slow down after such a busy day but the tears come and the sleeplessness. My heart is breaking for my family and for my nephew David. So Many emotions. Sadness for what my family is having to endure. Gratitude for having David in our family. Regret for living so far away and having to miss special days like graduations, birthdays, weddings, and just making memories. Blessed to have such a wonderful family. Struggling to understand why my little nephew has to go through this pain and this trial. Amazed at how brave and strong he has been through so many years of battling with cancer. This will be the hardest trip I'm gonna have to take. I imagine David embracing his Grandma Sanchez. I imagine him being pain free and I imagine him being able to serve a mission on the other side of the veil. I love you David, you are my hero. You have taught me so much through your actions and your example. I want to be a better person and to focus more on the things of eternity. Families can be forever and I know that we will be together again. I want to say don't forget us but I know you won't. We will never forget you and you will leave a huge whole in our family that will never be filled. You have set the bar very high for all the other cousins. I want you to know how special you are. Your dedication to your family. Your sense of humor and always wanting to make others laugh. Your quick wit and even when you lost your temper and got so angry that you had to go for long walks you could never cover up that huge tender heart. You are handsome, funny, kind and very loyal. I admire how obedient you are to your parents. I know that I don't know you the way I would have wanted because of the distance that separates us but I know the things that matter the most in life and those things are what you have. I know that you go to prepare a mansion for our family you are pioneering into the other side of the veil. Never lose your faith, never lose your hope. Stand like a rock to the truth. They say that it will be harder to learn and grow in the spirit world but I don't believe that. If you know what is true and you have faith then I believe you will be able to continue to grow and learn and you will be able to understand the mysteries of God better. So don't stop growing, continue to learn the gospel and you will make a difference there and here. The place where you go to is only a little veil away and that veil can be very thin at times. I know you will be our guardian angel. And when any of us are struggling and in the midst of our trials you will be there for us. My dear nephew I have a testimony that God lives. I hope that even through your significant trials you have been able to see the Lord's hand in all of this. I pray that in these last moments of your life you will be blessed to see mighty miracles. Not in the way that others would want but in God's own way. Reach out to your guardian angels who are waiting to lift and sustain you. I don't know who my guardian angels were during my times of trial a few years ago but I know without a doubt that they were there. They lifted me, I felt them like I feel the wind or the way you feel the sunshine on your face. Don't be afraid, don't be scared. Everything will be ok. Your mom and dad and brother and sister and your wife will all be ok. I love you.

 

 

A Quick Update from back in September of 2012 Haha!

So I've been neglectful.  I know!  I know!  Too many things going on at once, not a good idea.

So here's what we've been up to since March 2012:

Dylan is back performing with the Fox Pack Swingin' Ukes this school year.  He started October 2011 and he's been lovin' it.  Mr. Hunley is an awesome music teacher and we're so blessed to have him in our school. Dylan says he wants to learn to play all the instruments like Mr. Hunley.  It's cute. I know how important teachers like that are in the life of a kid. I remember Mr. Mendoza at Cooper Upper Cycle School in Chicago. He was our art teacher and I loved it and have always loved art because of him. We painted Aztec murals in the school.  And my Dad made some wall exhibit things for us.  So it was awesome when Mr. Hunley asked someone to help make the uke racks and Harvey volunteered.  Dylan and Harvey worked on those racks for many months and finally got them done earlier this year.  They look amazing!  I can't find the picture I took of the racks but I'll keep looking.

Dylan at the Uke Performance April 2012

Anna is now 9 months old. Where has the time gone? And can you say Adorable! She has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old and only now has her bad nights because of her teeth.  But all in all I am a happy Momma. And Juju is turning out to be an awesome big sister. She is enjoying all the perks and privaledges like teasing, taking things away and making baby cry, and all sorts of things like that.  Juju carried Anna up to my room one day.  I about fainted.  But she didn't drop her down the stairs so all is good I suppose. LOL!

Hood to Coast 2012

Well I tried my best but I couldn't race this year. I got injured and had to go to physical therapy but I'm good to go now.  So I wasn't able to find a replacement but guess who filled in for me?  My wonderful hubby!!! And he survived! What a trooper and I guess he really loves me :-) I asked him if he would do it again and there was no reply so I guess that means no. lol!

Angry Birds Birthday Party

Ok, I researched and found some awesome ideas for an Angry Bird birthday party.  My 10 year old had to have one and I'm glad we did because it was so much fun and the boys really enjoyed it.

For invitations this is what I did.  I found some clipart on the internet, tweaked it on Photoshop, made the invitations on Microsoft Publisher, and printed them out on 4x6 photo paper.  I'm posting it as a .jpeg but if you need me to I can send you the .pub file.  Just comment or send me an e-mail.  I found the clipart on the internet, I think on angrybirds.com or just on the google.com website some images come up and I just clicked on them.  Also, the Angry Bird's font is named Feast of Flesh and I found it on www.dafont.com

I also did two banners.  The first one I put in the dining room where we had the cake and stuff.  The second  one I put above his bed on the wall the night before and I put streamers on his doorway so when he woke up his room was decorated.  Christian loved it! And he felt so special.  Later that day for the party it was too windy so instead of putting balloons outside the front door I put that banner and taped it on the door.

We had pizza and instead of a birthday cake we made Angry Bird cupcakes.  I got the directions from the following YouTube video:  TCO 341 How to Make Angry Bird Cupcakes.

Here's how ours turned out:

I didn't plan this party well at all so I didn't have any cool activities planned for the kids to do.  They played video games for a while and then (fortunately I hadn't had time to do the balloons) so I let each kid do their own balloon and it was a big hit!  They really enjoyed putting their balloons together and they got to take them home.  I got the directions and the print-outs for the balloons from this cool website:  The Party Animal.

I forgot to take pictures of the party bags I made for each kid.  They were just paper bags that I got from Wal-Mart in Angry Bird colors like blue, green, red, and yellow.  I then printed some cool Angry Bird clipart and then put it through my sticker maker machine and stuck them all over the bags with each kid's name printed with the Feast of Flesh font.  I also bought the plates, cups, napkins using the same party them colors.

Finally, I made each kid their own Angry Bird T-shirt.  I bought regular white T-shirts from Wal-Mart and I had some printer paper that you can iron on the shirts.  This is how I made them and you have to make sure you flip the image so that when you iron it on the shirts it will be the right way.  Play with it and test it on regular paper before printing it on the iron transfer paper.  I messed up with not flipping the image and wasted a few sheets plus I didn't have as much paper as I thought to begin with.  I didn't want to go back to Wal-Mart because I was short on time so I printed a small image with each kid's name to iron on the shirt.  I will definitely make t-shirts again as birthday party gifts and I will make sure I print a bigger image on the front and back of the t-shirts.  The kids really loved their t-shirts.

 This is how the shirts turned out:

I would suggest that you go on the The Party Animal website and look at some of the cute activities they have and some party gifts to make for the kids.  If Dylan or Nolan want an Angry Bird's party I will definitely be better prepared now.

For gifts I bought each kid a Beyblade.  Yes it was super expensive! But like I said I didn't plan very well.  But it actually would have been the same as if I bought each kid an Angry Bird stuffed animal and bracelet which is what I was going to get them.  The Beyblades were about $7 per kid.  So it was actually cheaper I think.  The boys LOVED them!

All-in-all it was a HUGE SUCCESS.  Christian loved his party and I heard about it from the kids' Moms.  I'm so not into making huge parties for my kids and I definitely do not spend a ton of money on gifts for them but spending money into their parties and party gifts for their friends is a better way to spend the money.  It is something they will remember and all the kids have so much fun.  I'm also getting better at planning parties.  It seems to get easier every year.  With a little planning, time management, and DIY skills the parties turn out great!

On Being a Mom

Being a Mom is hard work.  The sleepless nights when you're trying to get your little baby to sleep but she's wide awake.  Rushing from basketball to scouts to some other activity.  Running something that your teenager has forgotten to the High School, even though you reminded him the night before.  Yelling at your kids because they were running around and screaming at each other and they just woke you and the baby up 45 minutes before your alarm is set to go off.  Sounding like a broken record when you have to tell your 4 year old to leave her baby sister alone.  Cleaning the bathroom door knob that's full of some mysterious sticky substance.  Being a detective in your kids bedroom trying to find all the dirty clothes that are either stuck under their mattress, under their bed, in the closet under the toys, or in the drawers with the clean clothes!  Never enjoying your clean floors for more than a few hours.  Doing loads...and loads...and loads of laundry that never seem to end.  Having to organize the books in the bookshelves AGAIN because a certain 4 year old (and I suspect a 10 and an 8 year old) keep pushing them to the back of the bookshelf.  Asking every night if they have brushed their teeth.  Having your teenager throw his stinky shoes, his school backpack and 2 handfuls of clothes on the floor as he walks in the door.  Waking up to see empty glasses of milk and bowls of cereal next to the computer because your teenager refuses to pick up after himself.  Then you walk upstairs and see empty glasses of milk in the bathroom and in said teenagers room!  These are but the few things that can drive any Mom coo-coo for Coco Puffs.

But then you have the moments when you're laying next to your little tiny baby and you look into her face and she has this tiny cute little nose and she looks at you ever so lovely and gives you the biggest little smile and it just melts your heart.  When your 4 year old says a prayer and keeps her eyes closed the whole time and says "please keep us saved" instead of "safe".  So cute!  When your kids tell you that dinner was awesome because it was made with LOVE.  When you wake up to see that the house is still clean! What?!  And they are all sitting down quietly watching a program..together.  Looking at baby pictures of your 10 and 8 year old and remembering how small they were and you wonder where the years went.  When you eavesdrop on your kids and they are being silly and giggling.  When you can't throw any of their artwork away because it is so beautiful and they are SO talented and you just know they will be famous some day.  Caressing your little baby's soft toes and she smells wonderful, like baby.  Seeing your 4 year old run up to the TV and dance to Fresh Beat Band's Rock Star song.  Eavesdropping on your 4 year old talking to her imaginary friends.  When you're angry and ask your child "Who did this?!" and he says "I did Mom" even though he knows he's in big trouble.  Or when your 10 year old gets up and bares his testimony in Sacrament.  When you get to come down and pray with your teenager before he leaves to seminary.  Or when your teenager texts you for no reason other than to say something funny that doesn't require you to run something to him.

Being a Mom IS hard work but it's extremely rewarding.  I love being a Mom!  

Make Your Own Cute Cards

So I've been doing cards for a while.  I don't have time to make super elaborate cards and I don't like to make them too busy or foofy-looking (is that a word?).  I like to keep them simple, cute, and classic.  Here's a few of them.  Happy Card Making!


These are the two most recent "Thank You" cards I made for some baby gifts I received.  The tools I use for all my cards are ribbon, Cuttlebug, round stamp cutters, Cricut machine, scrapbooking tape, stamps, inks, scrapbook paper and some embellishments.  If you have any questions about how I made something just post a comment and I'll try to answer you quickly.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having cards already made and just pulling them out when I need them.  It's such a time saver and i love giving my friends special one-of-a-kind cards.

These are some cards I made for Valentine last year I think.  I made them on the Cricut.

These were some of the first cards I made using the Cricut.  Not my favorite but it was fun making this one.

These are cute and they are so easy once you get the circles cut on the Cricut.  I made these at my friend Michelle Hamilton's house in California using just her scrap pieces of paper.  Actually most of the cards are just using scraps.

These are definitely my favorites.

Cards for Baby Boys.  They are not so cute, but again, I wanted to use up all the scrap papers I had.  I can't wait to use the cute scrapbooking paper!

These are the Baby Girl cards I made.  I LOVE THEM!  Girl stuff is always cuter isn't it? :-)

This one could be for either a boy or a girl. The colors are so cute and I NEED to find this scrapbook paper.  It is one of my favorites so if anyone knows who makes it, let me know.

Thanks!

I will post more cards as I make them.