See ya when I see ya!

Well everyone... we are cancelling the internet. i have no idea when we will get it back. This means that I will not be able to blog as often, nor check my email as often. Unless I can carry my laptop up to the library and sit in my car and use their wireless! I've done that before. Because there is no way I am going to be able to check anything with my two youngin's in the library with me.

I hope to talk to you guys soon!

Why I love Tuesdays!

This picture is from when we were flying to Colorado back in August, but it sums up why I love Tuesdays: Sleep! On tuesday we wake up, have breakfast, get ready and head to church for my weekly Bible Study. It starts at 9:30 and ends at 11:30. We come home, eat lunch and then both the boys take a long nap. At the same time! For two hours! And what do I do? I sleep too! I do not feel guilty about this. Actually in the past few weeks I would work on my book. And now that its done I decided to take the opportunity to take a nap too! I love it. I even had time to fold and put away three loads of laundry once they woke up. Tuesdays are awesome!

Jorgito is talking so much more lately. Alot is Spanglish but we'll work that out later. So I thought I would share some of his cute insights:

Jorge: Mommy, mira las vacas (look at the cows). dey eating gwass!

Me: Jorge, obey mommy.
Jorge: "yes ma'am....no."

Me: do you have a stinky (diaper-and he did)?
Jorge: Nooo. Awex stinky (his brother)

It is FINISHED!!

Well everyone. I beat my own deadline. I have finally finished the book-

Deliberate Love: Practical Insights For the Nearly and Newly Married Woman.

Next step: hand it over to my pastor so that he can proof for content and hand over a copy to a lady to proof for grammar. I'm more worried about the grammar than content. Although it is a little frightening to have Dr. Harry Reeder of Briarwood Presbyterian read my work. He said he was happy to do it and I just wonder if he will be so happy by the end. Ha! Although when I take it to him I am going to put a different cover sheet on the front (since he doesn't know what I wrote the book about). The fake title page will read, "Dispensational Theology or death." LOL! If you have any other good suggestions please feel free to let me know.

After they read it, I hope to turn it in to Winepress by the first week of January. Then it will be time to design the cover and then off to printing it goes. I am so thrilled. Anyway, thanks everyone for all the encouragement. I'll keep you posted.

Okay.. i get the hint.

Well.. a second publishing company has called me. The lady was very sweet and even prayed with me (Christian publisher obviously). Although I wasn't as impressed in her presentation or their website (ulitmately what they have to offer in way of marketing) but it was nice to get other questions answered. What these calls have shown me is twofold:

1. I need to hurry up and finish. I hope to be done by the end of the year with my book and I am trying very hard to block off the time.. but my husband is having to work extra days and that is making it more difficult. I know God will provide the time.

2. He is going to have to provide some serious money. its nice to be called by pub. companies.. but they are still "author owned." I have to pay to get my book printed. For a book my length its going to cost anywhere from $1500-$3000 for the whole thing. We don't have that money for ourselves much less for this book. but I am seriously CONFIDENT that the Lord is going to provide that money. But here is a practical question..and forgive me if I seem a bit ignorant.. i hope not to offend.. but since I consider this book a ministry is it tacky to ask, those that I know might be interested in helping, to partner with us financially? I mean.. kind of like a support letter? I mean, I feel that God will use this book in some way and therefore minister to young women, but is it something that we should only do if we (me and my husband) save up to pay for, or do we enlist the help of brothers and sisters in Christ who may be willing to help?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

UPDATE:
I talked to the publisher at WinePress again and she told me that it is very common to send a "support letter" for first time publications. Then I talked to mom and dad and they said that they would not be offended if they were to recieve on in the mail. I told them, "Good then.. watch for one in your mailbox!" lol.

Wow! A date night

So I have a head cold and didn't even go to church today.. slept 3 solid hours straight! The medicine knocked me out and my dh took the the boys to chuch. But yet, I still felt we should still go out to dinner tonight for some "us" time. It was very nice. Too long in fact since our last outing. We re-uped on some things we knew we could do to do better on maintaining our friendship in the midst of his hectic job, two little ones and a very tight budget. Most of all it was just good to talk. And also good to have time to ackowledge things going on in our relationship, good and bad. Of course I was the first one to ask the dreaded question: what can I do to be a better wife? His response: "nothing." Cute.. but total hogwash. ..wait.. or that could have meant, "c'mon lady there is nothing you could try that would make this any better!" lol. I know thats not what he meant.. but it sure is funny looking back at it.

Anyway, we had a great time and we were finally able to use a gift card (P.F Changs) that we got last Christmas (thank you Rachel, Ruth, Paul and Esther). Well.. i just hope its not as long between our next date night. It really is a lot of fun. I even shared with Jorge about Kim's post about her date night with Q. About how suprising it is to realize that you really are great friends. I identify with that so much.. and i've noticed it more this year..well the part about forgetting. The second baby comes along and you do get busier. I can only imagine how much more difficult it is to maintain that friendship with more children. Anyhoo..all this to say.. we laughed, I cried (yes, at our dinner table.. i was sharing about still hurting about the miscarriage) and we even had some time to throw in some "intense fellowship" once we started talking money. But we quickly worked through that and moved right along. All and all it was a wonderful night. I love that man with every fiber of my being. Well thats it.. im going to bed. Buenos Noches.

No Soup For YOU!

Okay so this boy is the pickiest eater ever. I mean he went to bed without dinner the other night because he was throwing the cheese quisedilla out of his mouth and onto the floor. Then the poor kid refused to drink the milk because I switched to whole milk (yes my kids had 2%). So how could you send this precious angel to bed without dinner? Because I can name on one hand the foods that he will ACTUALLY EAT! And I am not a pushover. I have the "kitchen is closed" policy. If you don't like it you don't have to eat it, but Im not making something else. But I will (for the baby) hold off on serving for a while and see if he likes it later. But seriously.. this kid is BAD! he turns his nose up at everything. It could be a brownie you are trying to give him and he will have to look at it to check it out first. That is what he is doing in this picture. You can tell by the food on his face that he liked the pasta, but when I put before him a piece of garlic bread.. he stopped the press and had to check it out. Which he spit out of his mouth by the way. So if you see my kid and he looks thin.. know that I do try to feed the boy..

On a funny note. After two years I changed my voicemail message. I had the idea to wait until both the boys were crying their heads off and in the middle of that record, "Obviously I can't talk right now. So please leave your message and I'll try to call you back when babies stop crying. Thanks." Well today was the day when both of my boys were crying as we were trying to head out the door. So the voicemail opportunity had arrived. It was perfect. Jorge even kept crying after as i was trying to press the stop record button. It was priceless. Sooo.. as we are all down for naps my husband calls and gets sent to voicemail. He was taking a small break from a surgery and was still in the OR room trying to be quiet.. as he hears me on the phone he thinks its really me on the phone and the kids crying.. so in his mind I answer the phone saying (with two kids crying) "obviously I can't talk right now...." he starts saying, "okay, okay babe I'll call you later" and then it keeps going. ..and then he says (more sternly) "Okay rachel, i'll call back." then he hears me say leave a message and he starts dying laughing. so his voicemail message to me was very funny because he had just figured it out and was laughing that it was not out of the realm of possibilities for me to answer the phone with the kids crying. anyway.. i thought it was funny.. but hard to type. fun times.

late night delirium

So i haven't written in a couple of days and I felt I should. My boys are doing well. Miguel is a very picky eater which is making me nuts and Jorge is taking his diaper off every time he has a "stinky." Even when I am not in the room. I have cleaned the bed twice and had to clean a chair cushion..all in a days work. I am going to suck it up and attempt potty training.. next week. No I am not procrastinating, I just need to mentally prepare myself for the messes and to stay at home..indefinately. ha!

I just hate this whole concept of potty training. I never had a puppy to train with this.. and I certainly don't remember my own training with this. I mean really.. humans are very bizarre in this area. We have to be taught to poop. Well in certain places. I mean shouldn't he figure it out, eventually? he won't be five and wearing diapers, will he? I know, I know.. i just need to be disciplined enough for the both of us and that is very hard for me to do right now. Well, honestly, im not very disciplined to begin with so its not just "right now." Which is exaclty why I never had a dog.. or that those chinese plants above my kitchen window are dying, i forget to water them. And they ARE IN MY KITCHEN WINDOW!!! I stand in front of that sink thrity times a day. I see them and then I say, "oh, you guys need water." Then I walk into the other room and don't water them. Uggh.

Its late and I need to go to bed or this post will get to introspective and everyone will think Im a looser. A looser who wants for my son to poop in the potty on his own without needing to be reminded that he has to actually stop and poop.

okay off to bed. I've said poop in my post.

Fun Random Photos!

These pictures are coving a big time gap. Lots of different events. I've waited too long in between posts for pictures. Enjoy!