A Garcia Girl Saturday Morning

This was one of the mornings when I was very thankful that we don't have cable TV and that our antenna doesn't work anymore either, so Saturday morning cartoons are pretty much out (not that they don't watch videos, though :).  What I do love to see the girls doing is engaging in creative and imaginative play and this Saturday morning was a joy to behold.  The girls asked me to make them tea and #3 requested that we use her tea set that she received for Christmas, so I got it down and made them a pot of tea (which turned into 3 by the end).  They dashed upstairs and dressed in "tea party" outfits and out the front door they went with the picnic blanket in tow.  And what fun they had with just a few snacks, tea, and some sugar cubes.  Lilah, who always thinks she is just one of the girls, did her best to join in, too. 

#1, #3, and Lilah with their tea party.

The rest of the sister join in and Peluche, my parents' dog is keeping watch.

Wordless Wednesday 10-26-11

The Little Viking Goes for a New Look . . .

. . . a cut, that is.  #3 has been begging me to chop off her hair because school mornings are such a pain for her when we have to rake through all the knots and snarls in her long hair.  So, last week, one early morning before school started, I had her shower (so that I could cut her hair wet) and then I got the scissors out and did the deed.  She's more of my little pixie now with her new look and she's loving the low-maintence quality of it.  So, win-win for all of us.

30 day photo challenge: days 28, 29, & 30

And a drumroll, please . . . thank you, thank you very much!  I've finally finished with my 30 day photo challenge, albeit taking much longer than 30 days and improvising here and there.  But, it has been fun and defnitely kept my blogging from getting rut.  So, here are the last 3 days.

day 28  -  daily routine
It is hard to remember a time when I wasn't doing this activity on a daily basis.  Once you have kids and they are small, changing diapers is just part of the daily routine, like it or not (pretty much not liking it).  Now that the baby of our family is 1 1/2, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm definitely not anxious for her to grow up and quicker, but I certainly won't be sorry to see the diaper duties go "bye-bye".  

Little D happy with a clean diaper.

  day 29  -  purchased

This actually is another of my daily routines, too.  A must-have!

 Recently, we purchased a new cappuccino maker and, wow, does that ever make my mornings 10X better! 

day 30  -  in motion

Me, taken out hiking w/my hubby recently.

 

30 day photo challenge: days 26 & 27

day 26  -  something old
Sometimes the best pair of jeans is the old pair and such is the case with my favorite pair of jeans.  They are so worn that they got a hole in the knee (a large hole) over a year ago and I patched them so that I could keep wearing them.  I don't wear these jeans out, really, but they are my work jeans around the house and are great for all those days when I am in the yard getting messy, cleaning out the hens' coop, gardening, or just on a rainy day.  

 
day 27  -  after dark

 I couldn't pass up the chance to show these pictures that my hubby took just the other night on a timer of the night sky.  It's amazing how many more stars are visible with the camera as opposed to just with the naked eye. 

Don't Blink or You Might Miss Something

Wow!  When it comes to blogging, sometimes I feel guilty for being gone for a few days and not posting anything, or clustering together a bunch of my photos in one post for the photo challenge.  But, I've realized it's just silly to think like that.  Blogging or life?  . . . which should I do.  Well, living my life, obviously!  Without all the crazy and wacky adventures of my everyday life and being in the moment with my family and friends, I would have nothing to blog about it in the first place.  So, here's to loving God with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength; being present with and for the people I love; and living life to the fullest for all the days that I am given on this earth!

30 day photo challenge: days 24 & 25

day 24  -  a smile

 

My oldest, #1, helping Mom with a smile and making scrambled eggs for herself and all the sisters.  

day 25  -  sunflare

Up through the leaves of one of our ancient live oak trees.

30 day photo challenge: days 21, 22, & 23

Well, I'm sort of keeping up with this challenge still, just more in chunks than day by day.  So, here are 3 more days  worth of photos.

day 21  -  pretty pattern

I like the recent fad from the last couple of years of incorporating browns in with other lighter colors.  This is the changing pad from my old diaper bag and I've always like the pattern.

day 22  -  trees

We live on the street called Calle de Encinas.  Encinas is the Spanish name for evergreen oaks, or as they are called in southern California, live oaks.  We have many of these live oaks all over our property, but the biggest and oldest ones are right up by the house and provide wonderful shade and are beautiful to look at as well.

 I've cheated and put in pictures I took last winter, when the grass is green.  Grass is just starting to poke back up through the dirt this week again.  

day 23  -  sunset

Now I'm cheating even more.  I'm sure I won't get to where I can see a sunset tonight  and I saw that my hubby has sunset pics from this month, so here they are.

   

The Dog That Thought She was Just One of the Girls

Dogs are such great daily therapy.  Lilah gives a good laugh on a regular basis.  She thinks she is just one of our girls and puts with most anything.  :-)

30 day photo challenge: day 20 - what i read

 

Wow!  I really like today's topic for the photo challenge.  I always tell my husband that I love words and that I eat them up.  I usually have quite a few different magazines and books going at once.  Lately, I've read Vogue, Ladies' Home Journal, Lady Susan by Jane Austen, am in the middle of Love and Friendship (also a lesser know fragement of Austen's work), read I Thessalonians for the last few days in preparation for Bible study, and am working on The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns (president of World Vision).  

If you are looking for a thought-provoking read that will challenge your heart and mainstream evangelical Christianity in America, I definitely recommend this book.  Stearns recounts his move from being the CEO of Lenox (that makes china, dinnerware, jewelry, etc.) and living the American Dream with much "success" to becoming the president of World Vision.  He took a 75% paycut, he and his wife and their 5 kids moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, and gave up a lifestyle to which they had become accustomed.  They made this move after much thought, prayer, and realization that God was calling them to this big change.  As I read about the difference that comes about in the lives of children around the world from the work that World Vision does, I am touched and also inspired to be part of this process of living out the gospel (not just the easy and palatable parts of the gospel) of Jesus.  One small step my family I have taken towards being purposeful and helping others in a tangible way is to sponsor a child through World Vision.  For just about $1.00 a day, which isn't much a sacrifice for us to give up, we can give a child in another country the opportunity to eat and go to school.  If each one of us took a small step or two towards living out the gospel of Christ more fully in the world, what a difference it could make in reaching others with the love of Jesus.   

Link to child sponsorship for anyone that might be interested:  http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/sponsor-a-child?open&campaign=1193512&cmp=KNC-1193512

30 day photo challenge: days 17, 18, & 19

Here I am, playing catch-up once again.  I think catch-up is the story of my life at the moment and probably will be until I'm out of this stage of mommyhood.  The popular catch phrase, "It is, what it is" is certainly applicable. 

day 17  -  on the shelf

This is the open shelf above my fridge and we keep #3's porcelain teaset up there.  We bought it for her last Christmas when she was 4 1/2 because she loves tea parties so much.  The set doesn't get as much use during busy school weeks, but it gets plenty of use on the holidays.  I love the nice sized cups in this set because they are big enough to actually hold a decent amount of tea so that the girls don't have to refill after just a couple of sips.

day 18  -  in my bag
Not surprising, my bag is full of a wide variety of items from diapers, diaper rash cream, bibs, clothes, and socks to sewing repair kits, pepper spray, a return item for WalMart, many receipts, and much, much, more.  My back is so scary to look at, in fact, that my hubby does not like to go into the abyss to search for anything.  It's definitely a Mommy's bag!

 
day 19  -  where i slept

Here's munchkin #4 in my bed this afternoon.  Her older sister came home from school sick and I didn't want them chatting during naptime in the same room, so here is my little sweetie pie getting ready for her nap in my bed. 

30 day photo challenge: day 3 - what i ate

I actually had a pretty cool meal deal for lunch today.  My hubby got a coupon for a free lunch from Macaroni Grill for liking them on facebook and gave it to me.  I went and used the coupon and thoroughly enjoyed some pasta, panini, and their rosemary bread (definitely a carbo-loaded meal, but very tasty, and it was shared with a toddler and baby).  Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera along.  Here is my supper and it was very tasty as well.  It is a beef and Gorgonzola wrap.  Yum!

30 day photo challenge: day 15 - shoes

I was all ready to post day 15 yesterday afternoon when, lo and behold, my internet stopped working.  I thought it was caused by the rain and the antenna I have outside from my wireless interent company, but as it turns out it was a connecting part that had gone bad.  Thankfullly, the hometown company is a friendly small business that helps its customers quickly and with a smile.  I dropped the girls off at school this morning, picked up the new part, and we are back in business. 

Yesterday was a rainy day.  I went to Bible Study in the morning and wore regular shoes, but when I got home it was back to the work jeans and rubber boots so that I could go outside and check on the hens.  So, here are yesterday's shoes. 

I must add that shoes are definitely one of shopping weaknesses, but for the sake of space saving and budgeting, I try and keep my shoe shopping to a minimum. 

30 day photo challenge: day 14 - flowers

Since this photo challenge is open to interpretation by the one doing the challenge, I have chosen a flower in a bit of a different vein.  Recently, while up in San Clemente, an lovely acquaintance gave me a flower for my hair as a gift.  Liz owns a company called Jolie and makes handcrafted flowers that are really pretty.  I like to use mine as a way to dress up a boring bun or other less-than-inspiring hairstyles.  Here is a link to the Jolie website:

http://www.jolieflowers.com/Home.html

 And here is a picture of the flower.

30 day photo challenge: day 13 - from a distance

Well, here I am and a few days behind on the actual days of this photo challenge.  I think the 30 days will end up being more like 40 days when all is said and done, but like I've said before, real life comes up and gets in the way of blogging and that is okay.  Flu update: it seems it has finally passed through the household and is gone, at least I am praying that it is the case.  Now, to get back on an even keel again and get the house picked up, the laundry folded, and be sure everyone is on track with their schoolwork.  I'll be drinking more than a few cappuccino's and mocha's this week for an extra energy boost.  :-)

It may be hard to tell what you are looking at, but this is what I see from a distance everyday when I look out my backyard to the neighbors.  They have about ten horses up there in a few corrals and eventhough I don't want the responsibility or financial burden of a horse right now, I enjoy seeing their horses up their on a regular basis.