La Casa Garcia

Snowstorm 2010

2010-02-23T16:42:00.000-06:00

So much has happened over the past month, that it will take me hours just to get the photos and posts up. In the meantime, here are some fun shots of the kids (including the biggest one) playing in the few inches of snow we got today. Gigi and Claire are begging to go outside to enjoy it again!

Nesting Place

2010-01-12T17:04:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite new websites is Nesting Place. The Nester's motto is, "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." This is my new rule when it comes to decorating our home. I tried to follow all the rules, but in the end, Nester's carefree, use what you love attitude toward decorating won me over. I now have mistreatments on my windows, and I am not ashamed.

Today Nester is having a wonderful giveaway for a $50.00 gift certificate to the Dayspring-Danielson Design Studio. Awesome. This is just one of their lovely personalized designs.

Don't forget to check out Nesting Place, and be prepared to fall in love.

Deacon Nelson Garcia

2010-01-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

Looking back this has been one of the fastest years of my life. I can't believe our sweet boy is already a year old. It seems like yesterday he was fighting his way out into the world and I was holding him for the first time. Having a boy in the house has added so much joy and laughter to our family. He is an adventurous and good natured boy, always smiling as he finds trouble.

Happy birthday to our sweet Deacon!

January 2009

March 2009

May 2009

August 2009

December 2009

January 2010

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

The first bloody lip

2010-01-02T21:23:00.000-06:00

and he took it like a champ.

We are able to give because He first gave

2010-01-01T13:26:00.001-06:00

And, boy, were we blessed this Christmas. Of course, it is most fun for us to give to the little ones. We all had a great time, because they were old enough to appreciate the activities. We woke early in the morning, then woke the kids and let them annihilate the living room. Later that afternoon, 20 or so of our friends came over to enjoy dinner with us. The house was full with adults and kids running around, and it was such an enjoyable Christmas.

by the chimney with care

Parisienne playhouse

finally... boy toys!

Is this the face of a future doctor?

the destruction

They'll hate me in the future, but this was too cute!

We're now slightly into our new year.

New year, new projects, new happy times.

We wish you much love and many blessings during this new year.

If you're happy now

2009-12-31T23:04:00.004-06:00

I love these kids.

I can't get enough of him

2009-12-21T21:34:00.000-06:00

He's so cute that I could just eat him up!

Deacon's blankie is his lovey- it must go everywhere with him. He is so attached to it that he will place it in between his teeth to keep his hands free while he walks around. There have been many times that we've seen him with blankie in his mouth and hands full of toys.

The boy knows how to work the blankie.

Messy Marvin

2009-12-21T21:14:00.001-06:00

Tonight after dinner. He was so pleased with himself.

Where's...?

2009-12-18T22:44:00.005-06:00

Can you find Mr. Kung Fu? I don't know where he could be in this MONSTER MESS!

No luck?

How about now?

There he is! Stinker.

He keeps me busy...

2009-12-11T21:48:00.005-06:00

The boy is on the move- and he gets into EVERYTHING! He's still the cutest boy I've ever seen...

(Please ignore the messy house. I've spent so much time toddler chasing, that I've fallen behind on cleaning.)

Crowe's Nest Farm

2009-11-04T20:01:00.001-06:00

In Gigi's preschool class, there are three field trips that they make. The first one, in the autumn, is to Crowe's Nest Farm. This is a local farm that rescues and takes care of animals that cannot be released back into their natural environment. They also have hay rides, pumpkin patches and gorgeous gardens. The Texas fall weather had set in a few days prior to our trip, but on this day summer decided to have one last hurrah. It was the hottest day in over a month! We were sweaty and smelly, but, boy we sure had fun!

milking the cow

hay ride

baby ostrich (very rare!)

Deacon with his friend JWP

longhorn

peacock

tortoise

owl

pig

Gigi's class picking out their pumpkin

Mr. I Am Hot And Sweaty And I Am Not Amused

School Bound!

2009-11-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

One of the ways we have been incredibly blessed this year was through the local First Baptist Church. They have a Wee Ones Preschool program that we were able to get Gigi into (after spending many months on the waiting list). During our walk-through at the school, I happened to ask about being a substitute teacher to see if there was a possibility of getting a break in the tuition. As it turned out, the school director had been praying about hiring a new teacher's aide for the infant classroom, and felt like I was God's answer to her prayers. Wow! We were able to get all three of our children enrolled, I pay for their (reduced!) tuition from what I make, and I still bring home a few pennies! The best part is- I love my job! I love the environment; I love the gals I work with, and I know my kids are getting a good jump start in their education.

Like I said, we're incredibly blessed.

First Day of School

Steve's Birthday

2009-11-04T19:12:00.003-06:00

In August (yes, two months ago, sorry) Steve celebrated his 35th birthday. Apparently the hot Texas weather was too much for him, because he decided on ice skating as his celebration activity of choice. The cold ice was actually a refreshing change from the warm, sticky air outside. We left the kids with good friends and enjoyed time together doing something that we rarely get the opportunity to do. We had fun!

(Does anyone else thing Blogger's new formatting is odd? I can't get my fonts and sizes to look the way they did in older posts. Hmmm.)

Halloween- Fact v. Fiction

2009-09-26T08:23:00.004-05:00

The Autumn holiday, Halloween, is soon coming and with it much false information. Our Children's Pastor at Austin Stone Community Church has done extensive research on this day, and this is what he found:

Halloween - Finding the Facts
My favorite memories as a child revolve around holidays we celebrated as a family. Christmas, Easter, birthdays, the Fourth of July, and yes, Halloween – all of these were celebrated with gusto in the Murchison household. And Halloween was one of my favorites. What’s not to like for a kid? You get to dress up and use your imagination, go to parties and festivals at school, and of course, eat mountains and mountains of candy.
As I grew up, though, I started hearing that my love for this holiday was wrong. In fact, it was not only wrong, it was “un-Christian,” which is a hard adjective to go against. And as a Bible-believing-Southern-Baptist-youth-group-attending student, I decided to swear off the holiday once and for all. No more costumes, no more trick-or-treating, no more parties, and no more fun on October 31.
Then I “grew up” and became a Minister to Children, and saw the joy the children in our ministry would have telling me about their costumes, and looking forward to their parties and trick-or-treating… and I started to wonder. Killing the joy of the kids who were celebrating Halloween seemed wrong, but I also couldn’t keep quiet if I truly believed they were participating in a holiday that was contrary to the cause of Christianity.
So, with the encouragement and help of a few friends, I decided to take a closer look at this holiday we celebrate on October 31, and find out why so many evangelical Christians are diametrically opposed to this holiday. This was not an easy task, because there is a lot of contradictory information out there about Halloween, as well as a lot of information that is just plain wrong. But the truth can be found, and if you are like me, you will find that a lot of it is surprising, and that a lot of what I’ve been told and have been telling others is just not backed up by the facts.
I am not writing this in order to persuade you to my views on Halloween. Each believer must look at Scripture and at the facts and make their own decision with guidance by the Lord. My goal in this posting is to encourage you, parents who care for their children, to take the time to look into the facts on this holiday, and to determine fact from fiction for yourself. I will be glad for the Christian who looks at the facts and decides to celebrate in portions of this holiday, and I will be just as glad for the Christian who looks at the facts and decides that they should not celebrate Halloween at all. I just don’t want anyone to do what I did for a long time – to make a decision based on incomplete and inaccurate information.
I have done my best to make sure this article is accurate, and relied more on sources that seemed to have researched their information deeper than the encyclopedia and Wikipedia (even some encyclopedias have verifiably false information on this holiday). In particular, I am deeply indebted to Dennis Rupert and W.J. Bethancourt III, who did a lot more research than I have on this topic. The sources I used in compiling this will be at the end of this post, and I encourage you to check out their information and their sources as well.

The History of the Holiday
Perhaps the most surprising thing I found about Halloween is that it is only in existence because of the Christian church. In the 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV created the holiday All Saint’s Day, to celebrate and remember all the martyrs of the faith. Apparently, there were so many martyrs at that point in history that the church had to move away from the standard of assigning a different day to each saint. Later, in the 8th century AD, Pope Gregory III moved All Saint’s Day from its original date in April to November 1, the date we celebrate today.
Gregory III moved the holiday to November 1 so that it was celebrated at the same time as a Celtic holiday called Samhain. This was not without precedent. The Catholic Church had a desire to redeem every day of the year for the cause of Christ, and therefore intentionally placed religious holidays at the same time as pagan holidays. For example, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 largely because the Catholic Church wanted to redeem the pagan holiday named Yule.
According to Catholic tradition, holidays begin with sundown the day before the holiday. Hence we celebrate Christmas Eve, hold Easter vigils, and celebrate All Saint’s Eve. Another name for All Saint’s Day was All Hallow’s Day, and All Saint’s Eve is also known as All Hallow’s Eve. Over time, this was shortened to Halloween. So, even the name “Halloween” itself comes from the Christian faith.
So what about the holiday that Halloween was meant to replace? I have seen several articles and Christian tracts that describe Samhain as an evil holiday, celebrating the Celtic “god of the dead.” This is simply not true; rather Samhain literally means “summer’s end,” and is a time of year, not a god of the Celts at all. The holiday marked the transition from fall to winter, and was the Celtic New Year. Saying that Samhain is a Celtic god would be like someone saying that the Americans have a god named Thanksgiving, and that we honor him by indulging ourselves with food.
Samhain is also said to have been a time when the Celts sacrificed human beings to the devil, or to demonic spirits, and otherwise worshiped demons. This also is unfounded. There is no historic evidence of human sacrifice on this Celtic holiday. In addition, there is no such thing as demons or devils in the Celtic belief system. What is true that the Celts believed in otherworldly beings, including gods, giants, fairies, witches, elves, and monsters, and Samhain was seen as the time when the veil between the “otherworld,” as I am calling it, and our world was the weakest. Clearly, this is not in line with Christian belief. However, it is a big jump to go from saying that someone has a different religion and is in need of the light of Christ to saying that they are evil demon-worshipers. The Celts were not evil so much as they were non-Christian. To call Samhain an evil holiday is equivalent to calling Ramadan an evil holiday. Ramadan and Samhain are not Christian holidays, and they do not glorify God, and are not celebrated by Christians – but they also should not be seen as evil.
So if Samhain is not inherently Satanist or demonic, and All Hallow’s Eve is officially a Christian holiday, how did October 31 get to be known as an evil day? Why does it seem to have a connection to the demonic world? The answer, from what I have been able to determine, is that the Church unintentionally created this connection. When the Celts and other pagans continued to celebrate their holiday rather than the Christian holiday, the Church then maligned their holiday and traditions. We assigned evil meanings to their practices, and called them demon-worshipers. We made up stories and traditions (and still do) in order to make it easy to hate them and their practices, and introduced the idea that the Celts were devil and demon-worshipers.
There are those in the world who do worship Satan, and their intentions are purely evil. These people do indeed claim Halloween as their holiday, but they only do so because we have allowed them to. When they heard us say that all the demon-worshipers celebrate on October 31, they agreed with us, and adopted this day as their holiday. In reality, though, no day at all belongs to those who follow Satan.
"The earth is the Lord, the earth and all it contains." - Psalm 24:1
Everything belongs to God, including every day of the year. To say that October 31 is an evil holiday is only to give credence to the Satanists’ claims that Halloween is their holiday, when in reality the opposite is true. October 31 belongs to God, and All Hallow’s Eve was created as a Christian holiday. Rather than give this day to those who worship our enemy, I say we should claim it as our own.

A Mix of Traditions
The holiday we now call Halloween is the product of many different influences and misconceptions, and has morphed and changed over time. Likewise, the traditions currently associated with this holiday are also from various sources, and have grown and changed over time. So what is the Christian community to do with all of these various traditions?
As mentioned in the previous section, those who worship Satan and demonic spirits, have claimed this holiday, and some of their practices have been associated with October 31. Any action related to evil spirits or the worship of our enemy is not acceptable for a Christian on Halloween, or on any other day for that matter. This includes activities such as Ouija boards, Tarot cards, séances, or any type of fortune telling. Scripture directs the Christian to stay away from these activities, and to have nothing to do with them, on every occasion.
Because of the association that Christians made between Halloween and evil, Hollywood producers and marketers jumped on this holiday as a way to make more money by promoting monsters, ghouls, and other grotesque images. This is how Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Freddy Krueger, Jason, and other evil villains came to be associated with October 31. Many decorations and costumes (even children’s costumes) are associated with death, blood, and gore. How should the Christian respond to this part of Halloween?
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” – Philippians 4:8
This verse and other commands from Scripture tell the believer to continually think about things that are “right, pure, and lovely.” We should ensure that all of our activities on Halloween, and on every day of the year, do not prevent us from following this commandment. Parents should take care before buying a headless horseman costume for their children and before allowing their teenagers to go see a horror movie at the theater. Each Christian must decide what is right for themselves and for their families in light of this commandment.
What about the Christian influences? All Hallow’s Eve is a Catholic holiday, after all… are there any traditions remaining from these roots? Several Catholic churches still hold prayer services for all the saints who were martyred for the cause of Christ on October 31, in honor of All Saint’s Eve and All Saint’s Day. If you and your family choose to celebrate in this manner, then this is an excellent way to spend your October 31.
Then there is Samhain, the pagan holiday that All Saint’s Eve and All Saint’s Day were intended to replace. Are there any surviving traditions from this holiday that Christians should not participate in? This is where most of the misinformation about the holiday comes from. Many current Halloween practices, including pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and dressing up in costume are said to have come from the supposedly evil practices of Samhain. These claims are not supported by historical fact, despite being widely promoted in many publications.
There are two traditions that do seem to come from the harvest festival of the Celts. The first is that of bobbing for apples. This was a way of determining who would get married first in the new year. Whoever got the first apple would be the first to get married, much like our modern “throwing of the bouquet” at weddings. This tradition is rarely celebrated these days, and in my mind, should be avoided more for sanitary reasons than spiritual ones.
The other tradition that does have roots in the celebration of Samhain is the “trick” part of trick-or-treating. As mentioned earlier, the Celts believed that the veil between the supernatural and the natural world was the thinnest on Samhain. So, on this night, the story was that the elves, witches, fairies, and other beings would come and play tricks on the humans. Remember, these beings were not evil according to the Celts, just playful. Many Celts would then play minor pranks on their friends and family on Samhain, crediting the cause of these pranks to the fairies, elves, or witches. There is no evidence that these tricks included cursing people, or killing them, as many current Christian tracts claim… and there is absolutely no “treat” portion associated with these pranks.
So where did this idea of “trick-or-treating” come from? The Boy Scouts of America. In modern times, people began to take the innocent pranks of Halloween too far. With urbanization of American society, the tricks that took place on October 31 morphed from switching shop signs and soaping windows to the actual destruction of property. To stop this from getting out of control, the Boy Scouts and other city clubs organized to give children and youth a positive alternative to vandalism. Children were encouraged to go from door to door at shops and homes and receive treats. This served the dual purpose of keeping kids from being on the streets unsupervised that night, as well as having shopkeepers and homeowners vigilant to look for people wanting to harm their property. It seems the phrase “trick or treat” first appears in the 1940’s, used as the title of a poem in the Saturday Evening Post.
What about the costumes? There does not seem to be any cultural reason that costumes began to be associated with Halloween. Throughout history and in many cultures, beggars would go door to door and put on performances in costume in exchange for food or money. It was an early version of the street performers in modern cities. This was most often associated with Christmas (wassailing) or a New Year’s holiday, if any holiday at all. The best guess most historians have is that when groups started encouraging going door-to-door for treats, some people started dressing up and performing to earn the treats… with Halloween costumes spreading from there. There doesn’t appear to be any historical connection to the original Celtic holiday.
Finally there is the tradition of pumpkin carving. Historically speaking, people have carved gourds into lanterns for centuries, and at all times of the year. It’s a cheap and easy way to make a lantern, and also a fun activity for parents. As for carving pumpkins, no one did that in the time that Samhain was celebrated. Pumpkins were discovered as a fruit from the New World, and pilgrims found them to be more efficient for making lanterns than the other gourds they formerly used.
There is an Irish folktale regarding a man named Jack who could neither enter heaven or hell, so he wanders the earth eternally as a spirit, with a pumpkin lantern to light his way. To symbolize this tall tale of Jack, some would carve a face into the pumpkin and call it “Jack’s lantern,” or a Jack-o-lantern. This is not where the tradition of carving pumpkins came from, though. It is simply something added onto the tradition. Many families now call carved pumpkins “Jack-o-lanterns” without even knowing the Irish folktale, much less to communicate with Jack’s spirit.
Why is this associated with Halloween? The pumpkins are harvested in the fall, and therefore October and November are the most common times to see lanterns made out of pumpkins. Over time, people combined this yearly tradition with the holiday on October 31.
In addition to pumpkin carving, there are many other traditions that are associated with the fall season that are simply harvest-oriented traditions, having no spiritual connection whatsoever. Activities such as hay rides, cornfield mazes, and the like are cultural traditions only, and Christians should feel free to enjoy these festivals as a celebration of what God has given.

Making an Informed Decision
Each Christian family should make a decision for themselves about if and how to celebrate this holiday. Personally, I believe that carving a pumpkin into a lantern as a family, dressing up as a fireman or a dog, and going door-to-door to ask for candy is not related to the worship of Satan or other demons. In fact, I believe that it can be a celebration of the gifts God has given us in the pumpkin and in our imaginations, as well as a great opportunity to get out and spend time in our community, getting to know our neighbors so that we can love them better.
That said, the purpose of this article is not to persuade you to believe what I believe. If you look at the Word of God, and the facts and history of this holiday, and believe that you need to abstain completely from any sort of celebration on October 31, then I will support you and rejoice in your decision. I believe that we can have different opinions on this holiday and still worship Jesus in spirit and in truth together.
My job is not to think for you, but rather to point you to the Word of God, and to truth, and to empower you to make a decision according to the Spirit of God inside you. I hope this article is helpful in that regard. My main point in writing is to point out that there is a lot of false information out there regarding Halloween, and that Christians are among those most responsible for spreading this false information.
Of all religions of the world, we should be the most eager to defend truth and historical fact. Look at what the apostle Paul says about the resurrection of Christ:
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:13-14
Christianity is based upon fact – namely, the fact that Jesus died and rose again. In addition, Jesus Christ said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. We have truth to share with the world, truth that will give them spiritual life. Christians, we must not be known for propagating false information, lest we lose credibility in the world.
My prayer is that Christians will be zealous for fact and truth in all things. So next time you get an email about Halloween, or about a politician, or about a company and its supposedly evil practices, I encourage you to determine its validity before forwarding it on. If we do not defend truth, in Halloween and in everything, then we undermine all that we believe.

Thank you John for the enlightening information. As Christians we should be sharing our faith in Jesus and the good news of the Gospels, but the question remains: how many people are we turning off from God because we are being hateful and judgmental? We are called to be good, loving and kind people. Let us see if we can live up to that calling.

Here's John's link to the original blog post: http://www.austinstone.org/what/next_generation/halloween_finding_the_facts/

Failed Experiment

2009-08-21T12:10:00.005-05:00

Our sweet Deacon has decided he is no longer content to just sit and watch others run and jump and play. He knows that he wants to stand up and run along with them. He has started pulling up to stand and using anything he can wrap his little fingers around to help him. One of his favorite hand grips is his Daddy's leg hair. Since it is summer here in beautiful Texas, and 105* on most days, Steve wears shorts every day. This leaves all that wonderful leg hair open and available for our enterprising boy. One of our friends, Whitney K., suggested that Steve shave it to solve the problem. I don't know why Steve decided to take Whitney's advice, but here are the results. I'm not sure if this experiment will be repeated.

Potty Training: Round 1

2009-08-19T22:38:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we decided that Claire seemed ready to learn how to use the potty. We used the same "trial by fire" method that we used with Gigi. We put Claire in her big-girl undies and tried our best to keep her off the carpet. We made some headway and then had many set-backs. With Deacon still so young, we decided that maybe we should not push Claire and try again in a few months. While we were still in potty training mode, we were able to capture this moment. Claire, sitting on the potty, saw her daddy's socks and shoes nearby and had to put them on. Claire is our girly-girl and loves to wear clothes and shoes, so it was no surprise that she had shoes on, but we were tickled by whose shoes she had on. She loves her daddy....

More Butterflies

2009-08-18T10:58:00.005-05:00

The butterflies and the nature surroundings were too beautiful not to share...

Butterfly Pavilion

2009-08-18T10:23:00.009-05:00

On our last day in Denver we decided to have fun and enjoy ourselves. So after lunch (where we got to watch Gigi perform her ballet moves for us) we went to the Butterfly Pavilion to see some "wildlife". We honestly didn't know what to expect, but we ended up having a great time! There were bugs, spiders, ocean animals and, of course, butterflies! Some of us were brave enough to hold Rosie the tarantula, and we also got to pet starfish and horseshoe crabs. The best part of the experience was the butterfly pavilion. It was an outdoor man made tropical rainforest with lush foliage and beautiful tropical flowers. Butterflies were everywhere! They would whirl around us and land on our hair. Twice a day the zookeepers would release the new butterflies that had just come out of their cocoons into the environment. What a fun experience!

pretending to be bunnies

Gigi holding Rosie

Steve holding Rosie

I'm holding Rosie!!

Deacon with his Uncle Paul and Aunt Heidi

playing with Aunt Heidi... and the crash soon after

Claire with her new butterfly wings

In Celebration of Grandmom Hipkins

2009-08-17T22:07:00.004-05:00

Even though the occasion was a sad one, we ended up having a good time being with all the family. The services that we attended included a cemetery service and a memorial service at the church. Grandmom Hipkins was a woman of God who took Scripture seriously and literally. Every time she attended church, she covered her hair, and over the years built quite a collection of hats. The women of the family thought it a good idea to honor her by wearing hats during the services. It was beautiful- all the women looked so classy! We think she would have liked it!

Gigi playing with her Auntie Heidi

twirling in the pretty dresses

more twirling

Garcia Family

Mama and the Baby

Denver Trip: Round 2

2009-08-17T21:56:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, soon after we returned from Denver, we received the news we knew would be soon coming: Grandmom Hipkins passed away. Staying home and not going to her funeral was not an option, so we packed up the van, and away we went again to Colorado. God must know that by the time we hit the Colorado border we are tired of being in the car and in such close proximity to each other and in desperate need of inspiration and motivation. During the drive, we were blessed for the second time with a beautiful view of a full double rainbow! It was so close, it seemed like we could have touched it if we just put our hands out the window of the car. Right after seeing it, we were snowed on. During the afternoon. In August. Wow!

Vacation- Grandmom and Grandpop

2009-07-31T14:26:00.004-05:00

One of our main reasons for taking the trip to Denver was to see Steve's grandparents and introduce them to Deacon. This was especially special to us because our Deacon Nelson is named after Steve's Grandpop, Joseph Nelson. The visit was great! Gigi loved on and snuggled with her Great-Grandmom, and Deacon got to play on the floor with his Great-Grandpop. Claire, of course, was oblivious and played by herself with the dolls.

Vacation- Through the Storm

2009-07-31T12:40:00.005-05:00

Unfortunately our time with the Longs was short lived. We still had to drive through Oklahoma, Kansas and half of Colorado to get to our destination. We were very blessed that the spring storms decided to take a break during most of our drive. Right before we left most of Tornado Alley was alive with thunderstorms and tornadoes, so we knew that there was always a possibility of being delayed by the weather. We were safe until we were about 50 miles from the Kansas-Colorado border. At that point the clouds darkened and we were hearing severe weather warnings on the radio telling us of thunderstorms with 60 mile-an-hour wind gusts. The storm was really intense and very scary! At one point we considered pulling off the road and waiting it out, but we were driving behind the big trucks and figured if they could keep going, we sure could too! Afterward, we were so glad that we didn't stop, because if we had we would have missed the best part of the storm- the full double rainbow! WOW- talk about gorgeous! It sure made the uncertainty of driving through the storm worth every minute.

heading into the storm

during the storm

the light at the end- storm's almost over!

our prize!

Vacation- The Longs

2009-07-31T12:14:00.006-05:00

In mid-July we took a family trip (yes, in the car with three kids for 16 hours!) to Denver to see family. Of course, no trip up north would be complete without stopping by to see Lisa and Clint Long. Or as Gigi says: Auntie Wisa and Untle Twint. During this trip they were gracious enough to let us visit Clint's parents and Clint's parents' pool. I wish this leg of the trip could have lasted a little longer- we had so much fun!

He's on the move!

2009-07-28T22:34:00.004-05:00

And our lives have changed forever! What a curious, fun-loving boy!

Fourth of July

2009-07-28T22:16:00.004-05:00

Fourth of July 2009 was spent with our friends, the Kloubec family. Every year they host a party, and we were able to attend this year. Dave is incredibly talented with a barbecue grill, and we all came away from the party fat and happy. Unfortunately the pictures we took of this event didn't turn out well, so we have mostly memories of being hot and sweaty outside in 100-plus degree heat while watching the kiddos run around wet from the water slide. Good times...

Here are some wonderful shots of the babies on July 5th, though, and they were just as cute.

sweet little tomboy

Drama Queen

can't resist that handsome face

Summer 2009 Updates

2009-06-29T12:03:00.004-05:00

Kids always grow up entirely too fast. Gigi is now 3 1/2 and a smart little girl. Claire is 2 and our little charmer, and our sweet boy Deacon is almost 6 months old and is already trying to sit up and crawl.

Is there a way to make them slow down a little so we can enjoy them just a little longer?

loves having her picture taken

begging for another cupcake

nursing her baby (she even burps baby after!)

she knows we can't resist that face

he tries to sit up by himself and ends up falling over

rocking on his hands and knees and mad because he isn't going anywhere

Backyard Swimming

2009-06-29T11:51:00.004-05:00

We recently bought a little pool for our backyard, and the girls love playing outside in the water- really, what kid doesn't! Last week they had friends over to play and I couldn't help snapping a few pics of the cuties.

No, this isn't the pool!

Somehow they both ended up in the bucket instead of the pool...

Dancing Girls

2009-06-29T11:31:00.003-05:00

Dance, dance Baby! These girls are so much fun!

Pflugerville Lake

2009-06-29T10:51:00.006-05:00

One of our favorite activities this summer has been to go swimming at the Pflugerville Lake that is located 5 minutes from our home. Our friend Julie (or as Claire says, Miss Jewey) will bring her dogs and meet us for some splashing good fun. The dock that we normally go to is only 2 feet deep at its deepest, and the girls love being able to be independent, and I love being able to sit and relax and watch them play.

Oh, happiness...

Water Babies

2009-05-26T10:12:00.003-05:00

Two of the reasons we love our new community at Blackhawk are the two really nice swimming pools. This weekend we went for the first time as a family to the pool. Gigi was in her cute pink ruffled swimsuit, Claire in her swim diaper, and Deacon looked stylish in his surfer orange board shorts. Gigi has started to learn the basics of swimming- holding her breath and going under water and floating. Claire was still a little nervous about being in that much water, and Deacon loved being in his floatie taking it all in. Family time should always be this fun...

Rollin' on the river

2009-05-16T23:15:00.009-05:00

Little Boy is growing up so fast! He's been able to roll from his front to his back for a couple of months now, and has been trying to roll from his back to his front for the past few weeks. Yesterday he decided he was going to finally figure it out, and after a couple of practice runs, he was rolling all over the house! Hooray for new skills!

Little Belly Boy

Rolling over...

... and again

Another food lover

2009-05-16T22:53:00.003-05:00

Recently Deacon has started joining us for family dinners. He'll sit in his Bumbo seat at the end of the table and watch us all eat delicious food. Since he seemed so interested, we thought he might be ready for rice cereal.

He liked the idea- just not the meal he was served.

so far he's not excited

maybe it will taste better if I try it myself...

nope- still yucky!

Bathing Beauties

2009-05-16T10:47:00.005-05:00

It's amazing to see how different all three of our children are. People always say they can tell Gigi, Claire and Deacon are siblings, but we are so close to them it's sometimes hard to see it. Here are our babies all at about 4 or 5 months old wrapped up in the same hoody towel. So cute...

Gigi

Claire

Deacon

C Bear's Hula Party

2009-04-23T10:46:00.009-05:00

I'm still not sure what possesses us parents to throw birthday parties for our kids. We invite small children over to our homes and practically beg them to make a mess with the frosting and punch. We see the birthday child feel special and loved, and the other parents are thrilled that their kids are running around like little maniacs in someone else's house. In the end, it's worth it because we all end up having a blast- even with food ground into the carpets.

This year for Claire's second birthday we had a Hawaiian themed party. The menu consisted of sweet chicken tacos, saffron rice, chips & salsa, pineapple punch and brownie cupcakes for dessert. To use the words of a certain TV food chef who drives us bonkers- YUM O! We dressed up for the occasion and had every guest take a picture under the fake palm tree wearing the big straw hat and a lei... lots of fun!

she loves the fact that it's all about her!

everybody hula!

Birthday Girl

shy

that cupcake didn't last 30 seconds!

of course, by the next morning, baby had no clothes on...

gimme the candy and no one gets hurt!

even Deacon wore a Hawaiian romper

Claire Elizabeth Garcia

2009-04-17T10:39:00.006-05:00

On Thursday, April 16, our baby Claire turned two years old. She has grown from a sweet, happy baby to a beautiful little girl who loves to laugh and play and sing and dance. We all adore her....

April 16, 2007- just born

April 2007

August 2007- 4 months old

February 2008- 10 months old

March 2009

Baby Dedication

2009-04-15T09:55:00.003-05:00

We had forgotten just how difficult it is to keep up with life when one has 1 preschooler, 1 toddler and 1 newborn and 0 hours of sleep, so we have been in survival mode for 3 months. Deacon is starting to sleep through the night now, so we're beginning to come out of our sleep deprived stupor. In the three months that have passed, Gigi has become little lady (and such a little mommy!), Claire has passed from a toddler to a little girl and Deacon is a smiling, laid-back baby.

In March our church had Baby Dedications, and we were able to have our entire family stand up and dedicate Deacon. What a sweet moment... well, it would have been if Gigi hadn't decided to tee-tee in her pants in front of the congregation right before the dedications started. Ahh, the joys of parenthood.

right after the tee-tee episode (it even got all over her shoes!)

Deacon being given his first Bible

Introducing...

2009-01-08T12:15:00.011-06:00

DEACON NELSON GARCIA

After a week of on/off contractions, they finally settled into a pattern on January 2nd- and they were really painful really fast! Since they were about 5 minutes apart right from the beginning and this was our third child, we were told to hurry to the hospital. We got there and were admitted around 4 pm, and Deacon made his appearance at 2:58 am. We were surprised at how long this labor was compared to Claire's, but it was a fairly easy labor and delivery.

Deacon weighed in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces- much larger than his two sisters. Gigi was born at 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and Claire at 6 pounds, 15 ounces. At first we thought he resembled Claire, but as he loses his newborn squishiness, he is starting to have some of Gigi's looks. Now we think he looks a little like each of his sisters. He's going to be a heartbreaker!

and for comparison:

Deacon

Gigi

Claire

Christmas 2008

2009-01-07T16:07:00.005-06:00

Christmas this year was wonderful! We woke up early with Gigi and Claire to open presents, and boy, do they LOVE opening presents! Afterward we went to have the big Christmas dinner with many of our friends and their children. We've usually stayed by ourselves on Christmas day, so it was really nice to be around so many that we love. We were also very excited when contractions started. It seems like this pregnancy is lasting forever, so we were hoping that Baby Love might be born on Christmas or soon after. Unfortunately, no luck, but we had a great day anyway!

Gigi and Claire can't wait to open presents with Daddy

Gigi already has a purse obsession

opening presents is hard work

the big gift- a jeep!

Random Pictures

2008-12-22T11:22:00.006-06:00

In a moment of boredom, I decided that Gigi and Claire needed to have some girlie time with their Mommy. I pulled out the flat-iron, and decided to see if the girls could get any cuter (as if!). These are the results...

I was also finally able to get the kids' bedrooms mostly decorated. I was beginning to feel like the poor kids would be in plain rooms forever, since I know there won't be much energy to spare once the new baby arrives. Now my girls are sleeping in surroundings that are pretty just like they are! There are still a few things left to do, such as pulling out the anchors that the previous owners left in the wall and patching the small holes, but that can wait until a more convenient time- maybe in a few months when we're not suffering from sleep deprivation!

I'm dreaming of...

2008-12-04T12:46:00.003-06:00

In years past, we have either never found it necessary to decorate to exterior of our home, or when we wanted to, it was too darn difficult to get to the top of the house. Now that we have moved to a smaller street and most of our neighbors take pride in decorating for every holiday or season, we thought, "why not!" Here is our first ever attempt at showing the world our Christmas spirit, and we kind of like the way it turned out.

A day of firsts

2008-12-03T17:24:00.009-06:00

Yesterday was a record day of firsts for Claire. We had been holding off on cutting her hair, because the curls were just too pretty to shear off, but with the way the sides were growing longer than the back, it was starting to look kind of weird. So, I bit the bullet and trimmed the sides to match the back. She now has a curly bob that is so cute!

Before

After

While were in the process of making ourselves pretty, I decided it was time for Claire's first pedicure as well. She was totally delighted by her pretty pink toes!

Sigh...

2008-11-30T11:08:00.007-06:00

Has any other parent ever felt this way? You try and try, and this is what you get for your effort...

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T10:02:00.008-06:00

This year for the Thanksgiving holiday we decided to make the trip through Dallas to Foreman, Arkansas to see family and friends. We stayed with our Aunt Barbara and then met up with most of the extended family for dinner on Thursday. The girls were ooh'd and aah'd over (of course!) and we had great food and a good time!

Gigi and Claire with their Aunt Barbara

On the way back home, we stopped in Dallas to see some good friends. We treated the girls to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese and let them run around and play, and boy, did they have fun!

Gigi sliding out of the hamster maze

Claire loving the clock swing

Those Silly Girls

2008-11-30T09:29:00.003-06:00

For Claire's first birthday back in April, the girls' Nana bought a Bounce & Spin Zebra that both little monkeys loved. Well, six months later, it looks like it's still a hit!

Baby Boy's Baby Shower

2008-11-15T18:04:00.007-06:00

The big day is almost here and to help us prepare for our little boy, wonderful friends threw us a baby shower. We got all of the women, men and children together for a night of fun and great food. We are now closer to being ready for the big arrival- and even more excited!

the Mom and Dad

Claire's not so sure about this

Miss Social Butterfly

the big party

dancing and twirling

he's already a "Babe Magnet"

Baby Boy

stay tuned to find out more...

sweet Pooh Bear feet

G Monster's Birthday Madness

2008-11-08T18:18:00.009-06:00

Well, we're finally settled in our new house. No, boxes aren't all unpacked, but we thought it was time to have a birthday party to celebrate Gigi turning three. We ended up having a blast and not caring that our house was a mess! The kids got to run around and play on the new playscape while the adults were caught up in the UT/Baylor game. We indulged in greasy pizza and decadent whipped cream cookie cups.

Everything was a complete success (and fun)! Happy birthday Gigi!

She got all three candles!

quiet kiddos (for the moment)

Yay, it's my birthday!

yummy dessert!

Glamour Girl

"Say cheese!"

Claire helping her sister open presents

Grace Cathryn Garcia

2008-10-22T17:01:00.008-05:00

On Monday the 21st, our sweet Gigi turned 3 years old. The journey we've taken with her has been wonderful, and it is amazing to see her all "grown up". It's incredible to think that 3 years ago, we were eagerly anticipating the birth of our first son and were very much surprised to find that the boy we were expecting was a girl! It was the first of many wonderful surprises, and we know she will continue to bring us many more surprises in the years ahead. We love you our sweet girl!

just born October 21, 2005

Rock Harbor Church Baby Dedication (1 week old)

October 2008

Shirt, skirt, it's all the same

2008-10-03T19:26:00.004-05:00

This is what happens when I leave the laundry out instead of putting it away like I should. She was awfully proud of herself.

Dancing Fun

2008-10-03T11:20:00.004-05:00

If anyone has seen Jonah, A VeggieTales Movie, you know that there is a fun gospel song in the middle of the film. The girls were watching Jonah this morning, and when the song came on they had so much fun twirling and running and dancing. I wish I still had this much energy...

Sweet Sisters

2008-09-25T11:19:00.006-05:00

Since we are trying to get things packed up for our move, we have only left out a few toys and accessories for the girls. This morning I left them alone watching Dora so that I could eat my breakfast and drink my coffee in peace, and when I checked in on them this is what I found. There was only one chair, so they learned to share it! Such sweet girls...

This didn't last long, though. Claire was up shortly afterward shoving her favorite book in my face to get me to read it to her. We read this so much the pages have defintely become "well loved". She loves bugs!

Pregnancy Update

2008-09-24T16:37:00.010-05:00

Today I had my 24 week visit with Dr. Cowan. Everything appears to be perfect. No ultrasound today, but here's a picture of my 24 week along belly. We will see him again in 4 weeks and then we start our bi-monthly visits.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

For comparison purposes, here's how this pregnancy is stacking up against the last one:

total weight gain: 14 pounds
blood pressure: 138/62
baby's heart rate: 150's
cravings: cookies

total weight gain: 6 pounds
blood pressure: low
baby's heart rate: 148
cravings: chocolate

Finally!

2008-09-16T15:36:00.005-05:00

Our home finally sold after 15 months on the market! Yippeee!

Goodbye Swenson Farms...

...and hello Wayzata Court!

This is the new home we are under contract to purchase in the Blackhawk Golf Course Community!

We are so excited!

Is Steve coming over?

2008-09-14T13:19:00.003-05:00

Sadly yesterday we lost a member of the family who had been around for the past 9 years.

Goodbye sweet Pearlie May.

Happy Birthday!

2008-09-11T13:25:00.004-05:00

to Steve!

On August 30th we celebrated Steve's 34th birthday. We had planned for friends to come over for a casual dinner, but we were given tickets to the season opener of the UT football game against Florida. Asking him to stay home from the game was like asking Cinderella to stay home from the ball! So we went and watched UT win and we had a fantastic time!

It's Confirmed!

2008-08-28T17:11:00.007-05:00

IT'S A BOY!

We had our 20 week appointment with Dr. Cowan today with the mid-pregnancy anatomical ultrasound. Baby looked very good and healthy and very active. Everything was where it should be and looked to be in working order. We were also able to confirm that this baby is definitely a boy!

what a sweet face!

bits and bobs between the femurs :-)

Also, here are some comparisons between this pregnancy and the last one:

Baby Love:

blood pressure: 102/60 (low- normal for me)
weight gain: 5 pounds
Baby's heart rate: 150 bpm
cravings: HEB Creamy Creations Intense Chocolate

Claire:

blood pressure: low
weight gain: 2 pounds
Baby's heart rate: unknown
cravings: none

Vacation- Saturday through Monday

2008-08-27T08:42:00.008-05:00

We weren't able to do a lot on Saturday except travel. We were flying standby again to Denver and everything looked good- until we got to the airport in Orange County. The plane we were supposed to take was struck by lightning in Denver and the flight was cancelled. Of course all the revenue passengers got priority over us and were rerouted to other flights. We were not so lucky. That meant all the other flights out of Orange County were full for the rest of the day as were all the flights from Los Angeles. San Diego looked good though! So we ended up driving almost 2 hours to fly out of San Diego. I don't know if I've ever not enjoyed something so much, because, unfortunately for me, the backseat of the car we were in was not large enough for 2 carseats and me. Guess who was squished the whole way. Oh well, at least we finally made it to Denver!
We're halfway home!

Before we left, though, we decided to take another drive along the coast. We were driving along Bolsa Chica when we got these great shots.

Denver was great! Steve's family was so welcoming and hospitable even though we arrived at midnight. They greeted us the next morning with coffee and doughnuts and were happy to let Gigi run around and be energetic. Claire still had a high fever so she slept most of the time and wasn't able to do a lot of playing with her cousins or see her great-grandparents.

We were supposed to leave Denver for home on Sunday afternoon, but when we called to check the flights to Austin we were told that it wasn't looking good for us to get on, so we decided to stay another day and fly out on Monday morning. It was such a joy to be able to relax and have a good time and not worry about going somewhere or seeing someone. This was probably the most relaxing part of the whole vacation!

Unfortunately I didn't think to take a lot of pictures of the family in Denver, but I managed to get some of Gigi eating a cupcake for her cousin Keegan's birthday. Yummy!

Thank you again Jenn and Jeff for putting us up for those days!

Vacation- Wednesday (cont.)- Friday

2008-08-26T21:17:00.013-05:00

The last half of the week was very busy for us. We were trying to pack in as much as possible before we had to leave town. On Wednesday after the beach we rushed down to south Orange County to have dinner with friends. They have a 2-year-old son, Maddox, who we caught holding hands with Claire during dinner. Talk about cute! Afterward we let them play in the "kiddy" fountain area. Claire, of course, was unhappy with being wet in the fountain. I'm seeing a pattern here...

On Thursday Claire ended up having a fever so we left her at home with Nana and Papa and we took Gigi by herself to Downtown Disney and to the Rainforest Cafe. We contemplated going to Disneyland, but we realized that it would have been fun for the girls for about an hour, and the high admission prices weren't worth it! Maybe in a couple of years....

Gigi seemed to like all of the outdoor music and entertainment of Downtown Disney, and she especially liked the decor of the Rainforest Cafe. She smiled really big every time the sky darkened and it started to rain inside. She pointed out the "twinkle, twinkle stars" shining just above us. However, Tracy Tree was a different story! I guess I would freak out at a moving, talking tree too if I wasn't old enough to understand what it really was.

On Friday we went to spend more time with Eric, Cathy and Ethan Wayman. We knew Cathy would kill us (literally) if we brought a feverish Claire around her 1-month-old, so we left both girls at home with Nana and Papa again. How nice it is to visit without little velociraptors screeching around!

Here's a picture of Ethan... what a cutie!

Vacation- Wednesday

2008-08-25T16:19:00.009-05:00

On Wednesday of our trip to California we went to Huntington Beach to play in the ocean and do some shopping on Main Street. We knew from previous beach vacations that Gigi is fearless when it comes to the water and loves being at the beach. We mistakenly thought Claire would be the same way. The first time she got knocked down by a tiny wave, she screamed and cried. That was it for her- she was done with the beach! Gigi, of course, was still fearless.

Vacation- Tuesday

2008-08-23T20:49:00.006-05:00

On Tuesday of our vacation, we had the joy of visiting with Uncle Chip and the privilege of being on his boat "Simply Bliss". We had a fantastic time letting the girls explore since neither had ever been on a boat before. We actually had to drag Gigi off kicking and screaming when it was time to leave! She loved everything about it- seeing the water, sitting in the dinghy, wearing the Captain's hat and pretending to drive the boat. It was just such a shame that the boat's rocking in the water would bring back my nausea!

Oh, well- maybe we'll try it again after the baby is born.

Thanks Uncle Chip for a great time! Sorry I was such a party pooper!

view of the "Queen Mary" from Chip's boat

the Aquarium of the Pacific (with original artwork by Wyland)

Vacation- Saturday through Monday

2008-08-21T19:52:00.010-05:00

This last week, we took our biennial trip to Southern California to see friends and family. After waiting at the Austin airport for 6 hours and flying standby **eek!!** we finally arrived in California at midnight. We were all exhausted, but didn't have any time to waste, so we hit the ground running. We woke up early to attend Sunday morning services at our OC home church RockHarbor, and then met many of our dear friends for lunch.

Later on we were able to leave the kiddos with Nana and Papa and go to La Creperie. Rusticana- YUM!! This is a restaurant that we started going to right around the time we got engaged and when the restaurant was still a hole-in-the-wall and very quaint. What a treat this was for us!

Monday Steve went to his office to see his co-workers and I went to visit the Waymans and introduce Gigi and Claire to their new son, Ethan. We also left a present for them in the form of Cheerios sprinkled all over their carpet. Sorry!

One of the things we got to enjoy while here was Claire's first spaghetti dinner. Isn't she cute?!

Family Reunion

2008-07-28T09:45:00.008-05:00

This weekend was the annual Anderson Family Reunion in Foreman, Arkansas. We got to see family members that we haven't seen in 10-plus years, and Steve finally got to meet some of his "new" extended family. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and getting into trouble. We'll see everyone again next year!

Uncle Jody playing peek-a-boo with Claire

sleepy girls ready to go home

crossing the Red River on the Texas- Arkansas border

welcome to Texas

Baby Belly

2008-07-15T10:38:00.008-05:00

I was inspired by a friend (who just had her 4th baby- and her first girl!) to give updates on the growing Baby Love. The stats are taken from my 12 week doctor visit- and now we are at week 14. Baby Love is in green, and for comparison, Claire's stats are in purple.

We go back at the end of the month for another visit and ultrasound.

weight gain so far: 0 (lost several pounds due to morning sickness and strep throat & now I'm back up to my original weight)
baby's heart rate: 167
blood pressure: really low (normal for me)
cravings: pizza

weight gain: -2 (really bad morning sickness)
heart rate: unknown
blood pressure: really low (normal for me)
cravings: Pei Wei

belly at 14 weeks

Independence Day

2008-07-15T10:13:00.006-05:00

Independence Day 2008 was a fun day for everyone. We had friends over for a barbecue and then went to the Pflugerville Pfamily Pfun night at the lake where there were concerts, bounce houses and, of course, a fireworks show. It turned out to be a very late night, but the girls seemed to enjoy the show.

Baby Love

2008-07-02T17:06:00.007-05:00

I had my 12 week appointment with Dr. Cowan today and an ultrasound. Everything looks great with Baby Love. S/He is growing just as expected, had a good strong heartbeat and would not stay still! It looks like Steve passed along all of his energy and athleticism to this third child! I go back in another 4 weeks for yet another ultrasound. (That's just one of the many reasons we love Dr. Cowan- so many ultrasounds and opportunities to see Baby Love!)

I don't have any good sonogram pictures this time, so here are some recent pics of Gigi and Claire instead!

Gigi (2 1/2 years)

Claire (14 months)

Ugh! Potty Training

2008-07-02T17:01:00.004-05:00

Our family project for the past week has been to potty train Gigi. This is something we have been dreading and putting off even though she showed all the signs that she was ready to learn. We chose to use the "sink or swim" method. We put her in big girl underwear and let her learn by actually experiencing. Oh boy. We were on butt watch almost constantly, and everytime we turned our heads for a second- oops! Now we haven't had an accident in 4 days and it seems like she's actually getting it! We're so proud of our big girl!

Silly Steve

2008-06-28T20:20:00.004-05:00

And now it's time for Silly Songs With Steve-

the part of the show where Steve comes out and sings a silly song.

(In case you can't see it, the sticker reads, "Place sticker on forehead. Smile.")

She's on the Move!

2008-06-18T18:01:00.006-05:00

Our baby Claire has decided to use her little feet... she's walking! She's still a little hesitant, but she's learning quickly that not crawling has its benefits. She has so much fun chasing Gigi around the house!

It's a Baby!

2008-06-02T13:24:00.006-05:00

We had our first appointment with our OB, Dr. Cowan, today. He did our first ultrasound and we got to see the little baby bean. Baby Love has already grown so much that she (he?) already looks amazingly like a baby. She had little arm and leg buds and a very strong heartbeat. All stats are great and we'll be having an ultrasound again in 4 weeks.

Sweet Claire

2008-06-01T17:03:00.009-05:00

Our little Claire gets prettier, sweeter and more fun as each day goes by.

Here are some of the newest pictures of our baby girl.

our Coppertone Baby pretending to wash her hair

fun during Mac & Cheese Night (be sure to see the noodle behind her ear!)

oooey, gooey, cheesy goodness in the hair!

I'm so pround of ME!!

bumGenius

2008-05-09T10:45:00.005-05:00

One of the big changes we have made this month is the switch from Huggies to bumGenius cloth diapers. I feel like we are on our way to becoming real Austin hippies!

We've liked the change so far, and Claire doesn't seem to mind not being wrapped up in plastic and tape. We also love the way her cute pouffy baby butt looks!

We're Having a BABY !!!

2008-05-08T10:24:00.006-05:00

Can you believe it?! We're so excited to be adding to our family.

Baby Love is due January 10th, and we'll have a 3 year old, an almost 2 year old and a newborn! I don't know if life can get any crazier!

Gigi and Claire already have their "Big Sister" shirts to show off!

And Again Tonight...

2008-04-30T22:39:00.003-05:00

Picture taken tonight , April 30th, at 10:15pm.

Toddler Sleeping Habits

2008-04-20T22:20:00.007-05:00

And why did we bother to buy Gigi a bed??

Every night we play the "Let's put Gigi back in bed" game. :-)

This picture was taken tonight at 9:30 pm.

Austin Stone Spring Family Reunion

2008-04-20T22:09:00.006-05:00

No crawfish boil for us this year... yay! I just couldn't stand the thought of eating those slimy bugs. Echh! So instead we had yummy barbecue and a chili cookoff to energize us for all the baptisms. Of course, the only thing the girls would eat was the "enriched" bleached flour white bread. If they turn out ot be half as picky about food as I am, I will know that yes, I really did drive my mother crazy! The funniest part of the whole day was Gigi's reaction whenever someone was baptised. Everytime the crowd would applaud and celebrate, poor Gigi would get so scared by the noise that she would start to cry and want to hide in her Daddy's arms. Poor Daddy couldn't put her down...

Claire's First Birthday

2008-04-16T11:28:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's true. Our sweet Claire turns one year old today. Tears. We had her birthday party this past Saturday with some of her friends (mostly Gigi's and our friends, but Claire doesn't know the difference yet).

We had the obligitory cake smashing time, and she did so much better than Gigi did at her first birthday. This girl LOVES her cake! Afterward we could tell that she had a little bit of a sugar high and then a crash! All in all, a great time was had by all.