First Day of School!

We started our new school year August 25th. Zane is beginning 3rd grade, and Titus is starting Kindergarten! How exciting! Levi points out every day that he is in Preschool too. I absolutely love our school room, which is almost finished. We just got a brand new white board, and I don't know what I ever did without one. Zane is crazy about his super-nice computer which Uncle Bruce sent us as a gift. Bruce, you are the BEST!!! Zane is learning History, Science and Spanish on the computer this year to give me some extra hands-on time with Titus. He absolutely loves it and is learning to type the right way from the start. What a fun year this will be!

15 Months!

Yet another month has gone by and our little girl is a little older. She's not even attempting to walk yet, but she loves to stand up and hold on! This dress was her Mama's.

Food and Fun at the Alix house

We had the most wonderful evening with the Alix family this weekend. Mary Kay made scrumptious Mexican food and we all ate way too much! Will has missed Sean so much since they moved to WA a few years ago. They always used to go to the beach to have coffee and pray together. Friends like this are hard to find! We are more than thrilled to have Sean and Mary Kay back in San Diego - only about half an hour from our house. We anticipate many many wonderful times together!

Mary Kay has always been such a source of encouragement to me. I love to spend time with her because she has such a heart for the Lord and living for Him. I finally got to meet her mom, Marilyn, after years of "knowing" her through email, mostly. She was in town, visiting from Washington. She, too, is an inspiration, having raised 9 children of her own! The three of us had a wonderful evening just talking and sharing ideas about raising kids in this crazy world.

Bailey is almost exactly Levi's age. She's such a cutie!

Childhood friends

The Alix girls are so sweet. You can see how much our boys enjoyed our time with them. And then there's little Luke! And that HAIR!!! He and Sullivan had a great time too. We know our kids will always be friends since we parents will always be.

Friends that have dessert together stay friends forever. :)

We have always loved having dessert and coffee with Sean and Mary Kay! Our first get-together, before we had kids, was at a little coffee shop in La Jolla, about 10 years ago. This time we enjoyed their beautiful back yard with a good cup of coffee and a coconut cream cake I made for Mary Kay's birthday since she's a coconut freak!

Good buddies!

Whether there's a little bit of puppy love going on here or not, Sydney and Zane have become very fast and great friends! They had so much fun, along with our Titus, as you can tell.

A long night...

Levi had so much fun playing with all the kids, but towards the end of the night he was OUT! He snuggled up with his Daddy and fell fast asleep!

Shower for Liberty

Here I am with Kristy and sweet Liberty, who is adjusting to her new family and life in America just beautifully. I had a wonderful time at this shower, especially listening to Chad and Kristy share some of their emotions about the whole adoption process. The Lord has done such a work in their hearts and has blessed them with a little girl who loves having a family and has so much love to give back. I've said this before, but we're so blessed to know Chad and Kristy and their girls.

Up, Up and Away!!!

Sulli is not new to flying, but I am new to leaving my 3 little boys and husband home and flying away to NM with my baby! I'll admit that the experience was a bit freeing... and strangely quiet. Sullivan was a perfect traveler, playing and snacking her way through both flights. I love the pictures of her kissing the baby in my mirror. She was captivated by the pretty little girl looking back at her.

New Mexican food... of course!

I got to have my NM food fix twice during my visit. Dad brought Padilla's home one night, and here we are sitting at Los Cuates, where Mom and I took Fauv for lunch. Sullivan LOVED the sopapillas! I had chile rellenos as only New Mexicans can make them. I could eat them every day.

Fun at Fauv's house

Sullivan enjoyed sitting in her great grandfather's lap and also untying his shoes.

Sulli's brand of fun

Here she and Popsie are, playing their arm-to-mouth game. It's fun because of the noise she makes.

She also loved her spitting game with Popsie. I know it's a bad habit, but she would giggle so hard that it made it okay.

She loved playing in this new and exciting bathtub!

Like-hearted friends

My mom said, "I love seeing you and Kendall together because you're such like-hearted friends." It's true. We have been friends since mid-school and been there for each other through the joys and heartaches of growing up: boyfriends, heartbreaks, high school scandals and everything in between. We were both in the honor society, on the student council, the drill team and were even co-captains of drill team our senior year. We went to the same college for a while, had a brief falling out, and then overcame adversity, as true friends always do. I was her maid of honor when she got married, and she was my matron of honor when I got married. Here we are, all these years later, with four kids each: she with 3 girls and a boy and me with 3 boys and a girl. In this photo, Kendall holds her newest baby girl, Dellanie. We had a fun visit without all of our older kids this time, and it was great, as always, to talk and catch up. God has given both of us a heart to home school our kids, which we're both beginning our 4th year of. I love you, Kendall, and am so thankful for our enduring friendship!

Sulli helping Nonnie

I have the most amazing mother. While we were in NM, she planned out my entire school year - yes, every day of the year - for Zane and for Titus, on two separate calendars. I am not good at that sort of thing; in fact, I shudder at the mere thought of it. Now I can breathe easy on Monday morning when school starts. Here's little Sullivan, helping - and kissing her Non.

Summer rain

One of the things I miss most about NM is its divine summer rainstorms. August is typically the state's monsoon season, and it thunders, lightnings and rains almost every afternoon. It will be sunny and hot one minute and then the wind kicks up all of a sudden, the sky turns gray and boom! It's pouring! Mom and Dad's lovely patio is the best place to enjoy one of these storms, which is exactly what we did almost every day of our visit. On this particular day, Sullivan was enjoying a little snack outside and seemed to love the rain (and jump at the crack of the thunder).

Visit with Fauv #2

After church, Mom, Dad and I joined Fauv at his house for lunch. We brought Dion's and really enjoyed our time together again. As you can see, Sulli loves her great grandfather.

Tardy's Tater

Here's a picture of me and my old girl. She knew all of my secrets growing up. Horses are the best friends to talk to, especially out on a long ride. We bought her when she was 4 from a lady in Chama, NM who rode Tate on a working cattle ranch. She was skinny and worn-out-looking already, but I had big plans for her. I turned her into a show horse - and a mighty good one, if I do say so myself. Of course she loved her new life because girls love glamour lots more than hard work. She and I had so many fun years together, and she seems to perk up when the kids and I visit. Horses don't forget.