Who reads this stuff?!

So, I am taking a poll here. I want to know who reads this darn blog?! The reason is this. I got a note from someone who said, " I love reading your blog." And I was so thrilled to know that she even knew about it and was keeping up with us back here in Indiana. So... if you read this blog, just leave me a little comment like, "Hi" or "I do" or "It's me." It would be really great to know who's checkin' up on us. I love it! Have a wonderful day.

Four Years ago on the 20th!

Because we got married on December 20th, it always seems that our Wedding Anniversary is something that gets put on the back burner because of Christmas. Well... this year I wanted to make sure that that didn't happen. As the planning would go with a 5 month old and a 2.5 year old making something special happen can be a challenge. First challenge... I wanted a peaceful dinner (no kids). So I thought a nice dinner in front of the fireplace and MAYBE our wonderful friend and neighbor would watch the kids for a couple of hours. Plan set, calendar booked, invitation made for C, shopping for the dinner done. Yah! WELL, the plan took a turn when our neighbor called and her son had had a fever of over 100 for two and a half days and no sign of it breaking. Being the gem that she is, she was still willing to watch the kids. I love her too much to put that on her with 4 kids of her own and one being sick. So, what to do, what to do??? Plan 2, Little G can stay with us and Big G can go with another friend. OK... we got it. Well, Little G is very hard to cook with now a days as she is very active and grabs at everything. So the yummy dinner I planned was not turning out the way I had planned (such is life huh?!) Well, we found someone to take Little G and the Anniversary dinner I had planned turned out just like I had dreamed. C and I enjoyed our dinner, cake, gifts and adult talk with no interruptions. It was so great to connect. After times like this, I am reminded again why I married this wonderful man. We looked to the next year of marriage with a renewed love and compassion for one another's lives. He as a pastor and I as a mom. We both agreed we need to do times like this once a month to just "be" and listen (uninterrupted) to one another and share our prayers, hopes and dreams. It is such a gift! Happy Anniversary Honey ~ Love you! You are such a blessing! Thanks to our friends too for taking the kids! What a gift you all are!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 2007!

The excitement is brewing around the Contreras' House today as Christmas Eve is here today. There are gifts under the tree for friends and family and Big G keeps asking if he can open them. The count today is 5 times in the past 2 hours! He is about ready to crawl out of his skin with joy! Mickey Mouse Christmas is on in the living room, the smell of coffee is flowing around the house, Gracie is down for her morning nap, the last minute grocery list is on the counter for C (God bless this man, he is always doing a grocery run for his forgetful wife) and the spirit of Christmas is truly in the air today. Big G opened his final advent door today and pulled out Jesus. One of the goals this year was to focus on what Christmas is really about and today was fruit of a goal. Gabriel knows that the season is about Jesus. He loves the presents and Santa thoughts (which I love too), but he knows that tonight we will sing Happy Birthday to Jesus with our friends. It brings me so much peace and joy to see Big G loving the Holidays and enjoying the true meaning. Thanks Aunt Angie for the Advent calendar - such a great gift that we will enjoy year after year.

Come Closer to Christmas

This week at my MOPS group we had a wonderful woman come and share about coming Closer to Christmas. Her name is Jane Rubietta. www.JaneRubietta.com and she shared a very special message that challenged me this week. She presented us with 4 "Be Challenges" and they are to: Be Trim (cut out all the non-essentials), Be Realistic (AMEN!), Be Quiet (I'll really have to try on this one) and Be Grateful (ouch!... that one always gets me). She left us with a homework assignment that I have been working on in my head since last Thursday and the task was to make a Wish List this holiday. The list should focus on: "What are your deepest longings this holiday season?" Here are a few that I have come up with and am working on these upcoming weeks.

• That my children will KNOW the true meaning of Christmas and that I would be one of the models for that truth.
  
• That I enjoy the process of Christmas and not just want to "get it all done!"
• That through the process of the holiday we would make lasting memories and create family traditions.

That's all the I have come up with so far, but if you'd like to be challenged like I was, I invite you to join me in the process and share your thoughts with me.

Merry Christmas and May you sense God's love and peace this season!

Frosty the Snowman

It's a winter wonderland here in Indiana. To the left is a picture of C mowing the lawn (a view from our back deck) just this past Sunday and two days later here is the view of our back deck - frosty the snowman and snow angels! Ya just never know about the weather back here! C and G are out shoveling the drive and sidewalks as I type this. We have been getting some beautiful snowfalls these past few days. So beautiful, I am just staying home and not going out in it. It looks better from the living room window than the car windows (in my opinion). Thus, I have been doing online shopping today!!!

All she wants for Thanksgiving are her 2 bottom teeth

Yes indeed, we have been busy in these parts cutting teeth! Miss Gracie got her two front bottom teeth in on Thanksgiving day. We are very thankful, yes we are, that those little buggers are through. She is much happier these past few days and so are we. Two down, how many more to go?!

It was a Very Happy Halloween

Charlie surveying the crowd in his costume



Well here is our Thomas the Train and Little Pumpkin. Actually Gracie had 2 costumes - one was a pumpkin outfit that she liked and the other one was a star that annoyed her to death. - I got one smile out of her with it on. We celebrated Halloween at Faith Church. They sponsored an outreach to the community called Trunk or Treat. We decorated the trunk of our car and approx. 2000 children went car to car trunk or treating. Very clever and very fun. There were over 100 cars decorated for the event. They served hot dogs, chips, caramel apples, popcorn, drinks and lots o' candy. There was a live DJ and pumpkin decorating. All free to whoever attended. G had a blast he liked the trick or treating, but he thought he had to eat each piece of candy that everyone was giving him. He has wanted to go trick or treating every day since. Need less to say - we had a Happy Halloween.

Fall is here! Time to prepare for winter

We have had some really beautiful days these past few weeks and the color of fall is exploding around us. We have the most beautiful scenery around here this time of year. We have been to the pumpkin patch, the apple farm, gone out and gathered leaves, carved pumpkins and have simply enjoyed the warm sun and the crisp cool air. The skies are as blue as ever and the sunsets have just been incredible. We are loving this time because we know that the winter months are a coming and we are preparing for them. This past weekend we were getting our act together and getting the garage and yard ready for storage. We have to actually bring the outside in and that means getting organized. That we did. C did an awesome job on the garage. It was like a make over show in just a few hours. C loved the result of time well spent on a Saturday afternoon. I love that everything has a place and you can walk through the storage space now. Good job honey!

"They do what you do, not what you say!"

I have been reading a lot of books on parenting lately. I guess it's having a 2.5 years old and newborn in the house that is pushing my nose into the pages on disciple. One of the phrases that keeps appearing is that "children do what you do, not what you say." So if you want them to do it, model it, don't preach it to them. Now I know this, I have a degree in Psychology and a Masters in counseling, but for some reason, all head knowledge goes out the window when you are in "midst" of it all. BUT the other day this statement came to life right before my eyes and I had to stop and just be amazed for the moment. I have started my cardio up again now that baby G is here and I been doing my workouts during the kids nap time. For some reason the other day G was not napping so I decided to just try and workout with him around. As soon as I started my strengthening workout G was right there wanting to do it with me. He didn't miss a beat. He was lifting, pulling and grunting right along with me. He is an amazing little guy and I loved my workout with him. He did what I did, not what I said.

Fun with Daddy

My husband C is a such a trooper. When he comes home at night he is attacked by G at the door and he will not let C out of his sight until bedtime - even then it's tough. C takes a beating from G when it comes to play. He is very intense. Loves to wrestle, jump, climb and basically does everything to be the center of attention - especially when my husband is giving time to his baby girl. The pictures tell the story well. And baby girl just lays and watches and I believe she is praying that she makes through another day.

Our Beautiful Girl!

We are having so much fun with our little Miss Gracie. She is such a blessing and joy. We love our Gabriel too, but I just wanted to highlight our new addition to the family. She will be 3 months on October 9th and we have enjoyed every minute of her. She is so content to lay in her bassinet and kick and coo at anything. She is so full of smiles and joy.

Our Trip to Michigan

Charlie had a conference/retreat that he was leading in Holland,Michigan last weekend, so Gracie and I decided to tag along. Actually, I was asked to attend the training as well for leadership purposes, so I guess Gracie was the one that tagged along. It was so beautiful up there. It is about a 2.5 hour drive and even the drive was nice with all the changing trees that lined the road. We have had a very beautiful (warm) fall and we have really been enjoying the weather. We had a bit of a break on our Saturday session, so we headed down to the lake shore to catch some beautiful views. I have to say that I love Lake Michigan. The water is so clean and clear and the sandy beaches are so clean and soft on the feet. It was a great break in the day. God has truly blessed us with beauty, it's all around us.

Summer Days are Slippin' Away!!!

Although we have had a very nice and warm Fall thus far, I know we are nearing the end of the nice weather back here. We have been taking advantage of it by having some park days and playing outside every night until the sun goes down. I never realized how blessed we were in CA with the nice weather and the ability to go outside whenever. Here is G with his friend Zander having two year old fun. Oh how we love the park and playing. Goodbye summer of 2007, we enjoyed you very much!

He belongs to the "No Cavity Club"

Praise the Lord, after the twice a day fight over when he gets to brush and when mommy gets to brush, it all paid off today with his first visit to the dentist. NO CAVITIES!!! We finally made it to the dentist and he did great. His dentist is wonderful and was great with him! He is wearing his sticker very proud and smiling ear to ear because he didn't experience any pain at the dentist today. Good job G, we love your pearly whites!

G's Bedroom addition

When we painted G's room, I thought the white border idea was a really cool idea until it was done and then I had to come up with what to put in this nifty little space. At night when I would put him to bed I would stare at this big white space and try to come up with something really neat to put there. Well.... neat, I don't know, but Charlie ran across this very sweet poem on boys and I went through all my favorite pictures of G and came up with this. These pictures really don't do it justice. I was hard to capture the whole wall. But G loves the pictures of him swimming, throwing rocks and hanging out by the water. His very favorite things. Oh... the poem reads:

"That little Boy of Mine"

Two eyes that shine so bright.
Two lips that kiss goodnight.
Two arms that hold me tight.

That little boy of mine.
No one could ever know
How much your coming has meant.
Because I love you so,

Your something heaven sent.
You’re God’s gift to me.
You climb upon my knee.
To me you’ll always be,
That little boy of mine.

A very fun weekend

Last Friday Night we were planning on having two couples and their kids over for dinner. Homemade pizzas on the grill. A very fun thing to do with friends and yummy too! Well, do to the fact that my birthday was the next day, Charlie thought it would be fun to invite our friends and neighbors over and have mini surprise party - and it was! We had a great time with pizza and wine tasting while the kids had a great time in the basement (our new kid friendly playland) with two babysitters and their own pizza party. It was a great time and everyone left with full bellies and a smile in their face. The next day we headed to my sister and brother-in-law's house to celebrate my last year in my 30's (I can't believe it - time is flying!) We had a great time there and I was blessed with some great gifts and a fun party. On Sunday we headed to the grand opening of the second Faith Church campus. It is so exciting to be a part of a growing and loving church as Faith Church is. We gathered later that day for a bonfire with the neighborhood gang. It is always such a fun time!

Score!!!

Last weekend, my friend Kate her baby Bella, myself and Gracie headed into Wheaton, IL for an overnight at Kate's parent's house. The goal of the weekend: Scrapbooking and attending a children's resale clothing event. Our goals were met. With babies strapped on the fronts of us, we ventured into 3 different exhibit halls at the DuPage fairgrounds and shopped, shopped shopped. It was amazing! There were tables after tables of great quality children's clothes to choose from, not to mention ALL the other children's items - books, swings, table and chair sets, toys, toys and more toys. You name it, they had it for kids. The great thing was that it was all gently used and items ranged from .75 cents to 75.00. Most clothing was anywhere from 1.00 to 5.00. Gracie is set for winter and so is Gabriel. I had three bags full of clothes. I love it! I am done, no going to the mall and running around trying to find coats, pants, hats, shoes, boots, sweaters. They are done and ready. The stuff in the pictures is what I bought. Yah! I can't wait until the Spring/Summer resale event. I'm there! Thanks Kate!

Labor Day Weekend 2007

We just completed a very fun and fantastic Labor Day Weekend. We started our time with a trip to Woodfield, IL. Spent the night at a hotel, went swimming, slept it, had a great breakfast and headed to Woodfield mall for a day of shopping. We grabbed lunch at the Rainforest Cafe - Gabriel still hasn't stopped talking about his experience there. I think it freaked him out a bit, because when we got home, he no longer wanted his gorilla (stuffed animal) to reside in his room. He now lives downstairs in the playroom. Despite the animal scares, we had a great time! Then it was Labor Day and we packed the house in with 13 families. The breakdown, 21 kids and 23 adults at one of our counts throughout the day. We had swimming in the backyard, bounce house in the garage, slip n slide out in the front side yard and bocce ball in the front yard. We had a taco bar with chicken fajitas, carne asada, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, chips n salsa. You name it, we could make it! We had a great day with our family and our friends. Scroll down and check out the slipping n sliding boys. It could be better described as the bowling boys who slipped and slided. Very fun!

Eight Weeks today & I'm Happy 'bout that

There is nothing better then when my kids start smiling, responding to your voice and talking to you (baby talk that is). Gracie has started these things a little over a week ago & I was able to capture her great smile today. It just makes ya smile doesn't it?!

We're all feelin' it!

With a newborn in the house, everyone is feeling it with the sleepless nights and irregular schedule. Even Gabriel is affected by it. Please see attached picture - I needn't say more

Our Time With Family & Friends

Well on July 30th we had our first wave of family come in from CA. My brother and family stayed with us for a couple of days as well as my sister Angie, niece Jennifer and her little boy Cole. Then it was off to Rockford (my home town) to continue our time with family. This trip was Gracie's first road trip. Our trip began with an evening celebration at the Country Club I grew up going to (pretty much everyday) as a child. It was such a moment when Gabriel was swimming in the same toddler pool I grew up swimming in. I can't believe that was 36 years ago! What a cool experience. We then went and visited my Grandma Wood that just turned 100 in June. She is amazing and it was such another great time having her meet Gracie and see Gabriel again. We then celebrated my twin brothers birthday. A G.I. Joe theme was planned by my sisters who thought it would be fun for them to reconnect with their youth. We all dressed up in combat outfits and celebrated in style at my brother's house. Gabriel had another great day of swimming and wearing his favorite swim attire - GOGGLES! He doesn't go under the water, but he wears those things whenever he is even by water. It was great spending time with family. We returned home and had a couple of down days before our friends from CA arrived for a weekend of hanging out, letting the kids play and enjoying fellowship with great friends. We are blessed in so many ways!