I figure if the kids are alive at the end of the day, I've done my job.

Fun, fun, fun

2009-11-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Time flies when you are having fun...

2009-09-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day we went to Medicine Park. We had lots of fun there and ate at the famous Meers store!! It was a fun day.

I took Ashley to see Disney on Ice. She loved it. I hated that I couldn't take Lucas with me. I just didn't think that he was going to sit through it all.

Lucas has been ...Lucas, that's all I could say. He thinks the bathtub is an Olympic pool. A few weeks ago he jumped and busted his chin. He got 4 stitches.

Caleb is now 3 months old. He is an awesome baby!

Last week Ashley had her ballet recital. Unfortunately we didn't make it on time for the whole program:( I felt so bad and she comforted me. She is such a sweet girl.

Lucas started MDO about a month ago and he loves it. He gets so excited to take his backpack and lunch bag with him. He even tells me what he wants for lunch.

Lucas at his school.

The night before the kids started school we had a big "Back to School" dinner/party. They chose dinner, dessert and a movie. Lucas eating his cupcake. Ashley chose pink for the cupcakes:)

After picking up Ashley from school the kids were so happy to see each other again. The missed each other so much.

Ashley's first day at school.

Ashley eating her cupcake.

The kids love to play dress up. Ashley is in love with Tinker Bell that my friend Sheri got her and Lucas often chooses to be Belle. We let it slide since he is only 2.

Ashley's first day at her ballet class.

Caleb's Blessing.

2009-08-03T13:16:00.001-07:00

Caleb was blessed on Sunday and it was a great time for us as a family. Tim's parents, sisters and one of his brothers with his wife and baby were able to come. We were very happy to have them here with us.

Summer time

2009-08-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Bunk Beds?!

2009-07-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Lucas' bed...

Couldn't they be like this during the day? I which they would:)

A few weeks ago we tried having Ashley and Lucas sleep together in the same room which so far hasn't worked out very well. Lucas goes to bed early and gets up early and Ashley is the complete opposite. After several visits to their room to tell them to go to bed we found Lucas lying on Ashley's bed. It was so cute and they both asked if they could sleep together. It didn't happen because Ashley ended up falling asleep before Lucas and he kept trying to wake her up so he had to go back to his bed.

Happy Birthday, Lucas!!

2009-06-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Lucas is our funny kid. He is constantly doing something that makes us laugh. He is VERY active and at times I wish he would slow down. He is hard to keep up with.
We love him very much...Happy Birthday, Lucas!

Father's Day

2009-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

Caleb's first week.

2009-06-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Caleb is one week old!! He is such a sweet baby and we are blessed to have him with us. Ashley and Luke can't get enough of him. Luke has been acting out more than ever to get some kind of attention but other than that He loves his baby brother.

Summer 2009

2009-06-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with Grandma Dorius who came to help out with the kids. Thanks Grandma!
Ashley even got her nails done. She is such a girlie!!
Slip and Slide...lots of fun.

Lunch time. The menu is always the same...lots of fruits:)

I love this picture. She is such a sweet girl.
Lucas enjoys being outside way more than Ashley does. He is so happy eating and playing in the backyard.
We have gone to the Zoo a few times and that is a big plus!!!
Ashley and her friend Ava at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
For my birthday Ashley and I got to go to the play "The Lion King." It is a great play. I was sad to leave Lucas behind but I didn't think he could sit still for 3 hours...

Our baby boy is here!!

2009-06-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Caleb Steven Dorius. 7lbs 6oz. 21 inches. Born on the 17 of June at 11:59am.

Tim is one happy dad and is glad the labor part is done.

Ashley and Lucas were fascinated by the new family member. They love their baby brother.

Ashley helped give Caleb his first bath. Lucas decided to watch.

Ashley is very helpful and loves to hold her little baby brother.

Caleb's first night at the house.

And this is us now. WOW!! We are all so happy to have Caleb come to our family. We are all so in love with him:)

Baby shower and birthday party...

2009-06-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Me and Mary. I don't know anyone that loves candy (any kind) more than she does so I made this for her birthday.
Kim, Gissella, Donna, Mary and Debbie. We also celebrated my and Mary's birthday.

I have been so blessed to be surrounded by nice and caring people. I had two baby showers, one from a group of friends from church and one from a group of friends that I bike with. I had a wonderful time. Thank you so much.

Very yummy food.
The cake was awesome!!
Ashley came to the baby shower with me and had a blast!!
Opening baby presents is always fun!

Ashley's Birthday Party!!

2009-06-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ashley turned 4 on June 1 but we celebrated at the park on the 4 of June. We had hot dogs, fruits, cheese and chips with juice and some yummy cupcakes. We had lots of kids because we decided to combine Luke's birthday too. All their friends from nursery and some of the primary kids came and they had a blast!

Not so new anymore...

2009-05-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Right after coming back from Paraguay Lucas learned to climb out of his crib. I wasn't too happy about it!! He started sleeping in the twin size bed and for a few days it was tough until Tim put the child lock on the door and he learned that he couldn't get out of his room so he chose to stay in bed. He has done so well. We are so proud of him.
This is the bunk bed we got for the kids. Ashley LOVES it. We haven't moved Lucas to this bed yet and won't do it until the baby comes.
Ashley loves to go shopping with me. I really enjoy seeing her developing her girlie personality. She is lots of fun.
A girl can't ever have enough necklaces, right??

Lucas = Mess

2009-05-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

Lucas has definitely added some interesting experiences to our lives. He is one funny/crazy little boy. He makes me laugh every day and on the other hand he makes me cry too. He does things that make me wonder what he is thinking and the answer is always the same. He doesn't think!!! I adore him and can't imagine not having him around. Here are some recent pictures of him.
Lucas dressing up and playing Kung Fu (He just wants to hit Ashley...)
He likes to put Ashley's princess shoes on. He even cries when we go out and I don't let him wear them!
This is the look on his face after he has done something bad and I catch him. How could I get mad at him?? Oh no, trust me, I do.
At our house we love to bake. We bake almost twice a week!!! (especially bread) This is Ashley's apron but as you can imagine he wants everything she has so he has been using it. I'd better get one for him too.

Ashley's Early Birthday Party

2009-04-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ashley had an early birthday party at the school with her cousins and friends. She loved it! She felt so special and loved by everyone. More than the presents and the attention she enjoyed having a magician at her birthday party. We all had an amazing time and I am pretty sure that she won't ever forget this birthday party...

The theme was...Princesses
It was nice to show up for the party when everything was done. Thanks to my mom and my sisters!

She got lots of presents.
After eating some yummy food the kids got to enjoy the show. Tim and I thought he was pretty good.

This is Ashley's favorite picture. I guess she must have liked the bunny a lot!!

Thanks to my family AGAIN for everything they did to make this day a special one for her.

Paraguay!

2009-04-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I blogged last. We came back from our trip about 4 weeks ago and since then it has been one thing after another. We all had an awesome time there, including Tim, who went down to Paraguay to pick us up so we extended our trip for 2 more weeks. Ashley is constantly thinking about the trip and telling us how much she misses everyone there. Ashley had a very hard time leaving my family but she is doing better than she did when we first got back. Here are some pictures of our time there.

This picture pretty much tells you how Lucas behaved...it was a NIGHTMARE~~~

This is at the airport in Asuncion. I was so excited to see Ashley!!! Here are Martin, Cristi and Carolina.

The day Tim got there!!! I have mentioned before that in my family we welcome anyone with steak and lots of food. I just love it!!

Ashley and her favorite cousin...Martin

Tim, Lucas and me walking on a sunny afternoon by the Palacio del Gobierno (President's office)

The back view of the President's Office.

Ashley's first day of class. She refused to put her uniform on so this is how she went to school...

My mom and I watching the kids play at the pool.

Ashley and all of her friends from school.

Lucas loves bread. He had it every single day. It is sooo good and you can get them from the bakeries as soon as they come out of the oven ( every hour)...you can't beat that!

Ashley and Lucas playing at the pool our last week there.

Ashley's last day at school with my mom.

For her last day at school she got balloons, letters and all kind of things to remind her of her friends.

Tia Cari took the kids to the movies, to watch some plays such as the Wizzard of Oz, to places to eat, and to the mall so they could ride/play as much as they wanted. She is one FUN aunt! Ashley sure misses her.

My sister had us over too. The night before we stayed up late playing Wii and having fun. Needless to say, the kids were LATE for school but they didn't care.

Ashley and her new Ariel backpack. She was the happiest student once she got her backpack.

We often went to the Mall to eat and watch some shows. Here are my mom and Lucas.

My mom, Ashley, and me.

Tim and I at a Steak House. There is nothing like a good piece of tender and juicy meat:)

It was fun not to have the kids with us. My brother stayed home and watched them for us. My whole family was there (except my brother) until 2:00am!!!

My dad and Ashley our last night at their house.

Tia Cari and the kids. At the last minute, Cari got Ashley a little dog and at the airport she bought a necklace for him. Ashley was very sad by then so Cari tried anything that she could do to make her happy.

Thank you so much to my family for their hospitality and patience with us. We had a great time and miss them a lot.

Black and White

2009-02-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

The more our kids grow the more we realize how different they are. They are both so adorable but at times we find ourselves wishing they were the same so our job would be much easier.

Lucas:
He is our goofy guy. He is constantly doing something to make us laugh. He knows he is funny so he does funny things all the time. He LOVES to get attention from us. He is our eater. He eats almost anything. I would say that his favorite foods are meat ( any kind) and chocolate milk. Another thing that he LOVES is candy. There isn't one day that goes by without him asking for a piece. At times when he gets mad at you he will ask for a piece of candy and I can only imagine this 18 month-old boy saying, "If you give that to me I won't be mad at you anymore". Lucas is very attached to us and to close friends. He will talk to people he doesn't know but we need to be by his side. He loves animals (any kind) especially dogs and cats (he is allergic to both of them...I am fine with that) He is also a big dancer. Both of my kids love to dance and Lucas is pretty good at it for a boy. I think it'll be fun to go dancing with him when he is older...Tim says that is NOT a good idea but I don't see anything wrong with it except some girls being jealous of me and my cute boy. Lucas is super active. He is always into things such as plugging and unplugging anything he finds (just like his dad) He won't sit down and watch TV. When reading books he won't sit still for more than 3 min. He doesn't walk, he jumps. Now that he is not able to jump in the trampoline outside, he has been jumping in small indoor trampoline he have. I just don't know how he does it. Lucas is an awesome sleeper. We put him in bed around 8:00pm and he doesn't wake up until 8:30am or 9:00am. I love it!! After lunch he takes another 2 hour (or more) nap. At night if I happen to be very tired or we are busy we put him in bed and he stays there, and never complains. He is still in a crib because he is too active to be in a big boy's bed and I am not ready to fight with him to go to bed. Lucas looks a lot like Tim and his heart is so tender and sweet as his dad's but he is definitely a mommy's boy and I love it.

Ashley:
She is funny but I don't think she means to be. She is constantly doing and saying funny things and what makes it funny is that she is serious. She has a beautiful smile and when she laughs it melts my heart. Both of my kids' laughs melt my heart. Ashley is a girlie girl but not to the extreme. She loves skirts and dresses but long skirts are her favorite. She likes to play with her dolls and her kitchen and more than anything in this world...she loves to watch TV. She is addicted to any show that has music and dancing. She also enjoys reading books especially whenever Tim has time to do it because he really gets into it and she has a blast!!! I know that she loves me but she is daddy's little girl. Whenever Tim gets home I don't exist anymore. She is so heart broken anytime she gets in trouble with her dad. She just loves him so much and cannot stand the fact that her dad is upset/sad at her for whatever she has done. Ashley is very independent. She can make friends better than anyone I know. She will pretty much talk to anyone and consider that person her friend. She adjusts to changes very well. She is not a problematic child by any means. She is tough and very stubborn (I wonder where that comes from?)
I hope she uses that latter in her life for good. When she is set on doing something nothing is going to stop her. She is also my picky eater and I don't blame her, though I wish she would just try, but I am the same way. She eats a very small portion comparing to Lucas who eats just as much as we do (almost). Ashley is such a sweet heart. I won't ever forget one day when we had to take her to the emergency room because she wasn't doing well and after they checked on her and her oxygen level was so low and along with that she had other complications I just lost it and cried and she asked me to hold her and she patted me on my back and told me she was going to be OK. She is my strong girl. She has a very strong spirit and I am so grateful for that.

I am so blessed to have them in my life.

SPOILED!!!

2009-02-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

I miss baking with Ashley but I have a new helper...Lucas!
Ashley at the airport in Oklahoma City.
Ashley leaving the house to go to the airport with her Dora backpack. She was so excited to get on an airplane and fly to Paraguay. I just loved to see her so excited!

We have missed Ashley a lot since she left more than 3 weeks ago but at the same time we are so happy and proud of her. She has been enjoying playing and swimming with her cousins and spending time with my family. Every day when I talk on the phone with my mom ( and sometimes Ashley too) I laugh as I hear all the crazy and funny things that she has been doing and of course no one says "No" to her so she is LOVING it!! I was so spoiled as a child by my grandparents ( more than I could ever tell) and I am so happy to have Ashley experience the same thing. I am so grateful for grandparents and their role in our lives. I was blessed to have wonderful grandparents and my kids are so blessed to have two sets of awesome grandparents.
This morning as we talked to Ashley I told her I would be there in less than a week and that Lucas is coming with me to which she replied..." I don't like Lucas." I thought it was funny till I looked at my innocent little boy and I couldn't believe what she said. My mom mentioned that when they tell her about me and Lucas going down there she acts like she doesn't care. I think that's because she is getting so much attention from everyone and she never gets in trouble, so she knows that is about to end when I get there. Actually, probably not because there are so many people in my family and someone is always ready to spoil a little one but she doesn't know that. As for her getting in trouble, I can't discipline her too much around my parents. To them, the grandchildren are always good and they remind me that "they are just kids and it is normal" so I won't be able to do much...

St. Johns Indoor Triathlon!

2009-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I was able to participate in my last triathlon before the baby comes. It was at St. Johns Health Plaza in Tulsa. I invited my friends Alicia and Ben to participate with me but I soon realized that I wasn't going to be able to do it all by myself ( I could barely run) so we decided to do it as a team. Right when we were ready to sign up Ben decided that he wasn't going to do it so we invited Andrea, Alicia's sister to join us. We were all so excited and fired up that Alicia's family decided to compete against us!!! They are very athletic and they don't need any time to train. It was hilarious! Ben has his own team along with Andrea's husband and sister in law. It was great!!!
Ben and I did the swimming together. As a matter of fact we got to swim in the same lane. It wasn't too bad but I could definitely tell that I am pregnant. I was happy with my swimming time though it has gone up since September that it was expected. Alicia did a fantastic job biking. She cut off 7 minutes from her training time; that is amazing to me. Andrea, who doesn't proclaim to be a runner, did an incredible job with her running time. Andrea, though she had a hard time breathing (asthma), did super!!! I am not a runner either but she is able to run 5 minutes faster than me ( she didn't even train for it). Some people are just good. I am sure not one of them. Our team came in first so we were very proud of ourselves. We seriously were not expecting to win but we are very happy that we did and most importantly that we all had a great time. Saturday instead of picking up our medals we decided to go out and celebrate with good food and great company.

Here are some pictures of my 5 months pregnant triathlon!!

Ben and I right before the competition started.

After passing the timing chip to Alicia. Lucas was so cute cheering me and my team on!!

Alicia biking as hard as she could.

This is our team. Alicia, Andrea and me.

All of us!!!

p.s. Thanks to Tim for video taping and watching Lucas so I could do this!!

Outnumbered!

2009-01-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mentioned that over Christmas break we found out what we are having...
I grew up in a house full of girls. I have one brother and three sisters so I think I know how to handle girls more than boys. The good news is that we are having another baby boy!!! I say it is good because they are cheaper than girls; at least at this age. We are very excited to have another child come into our lives. Ashley and Luke have been such a blessing to us than I can't even put it into words.
I do want to share Ashley's response to the news...keeping in mind that all she wanted was a girl!
We came home around 8:30am from the doctor's office and decided to wake Ashley up to share the news with her. Here is how it went down:
Me: Ashley, guess what?!
Ashley (sleepily): What?
Me: You are going to have a baby brother!
Ashley: Oh, no! We already have a baby brother. Give him (the new baby) to Mama Cristi (my mom).
She was so disappointed to find out that she won't have a baby sister, but I think she is getting over it.

Christmas Break and so much more!

2009-01-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

The 4 "girls" enjoying Las Vegas!!
My mom and Lucas.
Ashley having fun playing with the snow in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Cristi, Ashley, me and my mom in Las Vegas!

My mom's turkey! I think it's the best:)
Ashley enjoying decorating a brownie cake Christmas tree.
At the airport, picking up my mom and niece.
This is how Ashley received the new year on the Strip (Vegas). We don't understand how she did not wake up with all the noise around us.

We are back!!! It has been such a long time since I posted something on the blog. As most of you know my mom was here visiting over Christmas break so I was very busy having fun with her and family. She went back to Paraguay over a week ago and took my sweet little girl with her. Ashley is loving being in Paraguay for many reasons. Every time we talk to her she is on her way out to a party or the pool or someone's house. She is never home!!! My dad says that their house is like a "hotel" for her, she only comes to eat, shower and sleep! I am so happy that my family has the opportunity to spend time with her and that Ashley also has the opportunity to be there and associate with my parents, siblings, cousins, etc. They all love having her around.

During Christmas break we decided to go on vacation to Las Vegas! We went there for New Year's Eve and stayed there for a week. We all had a great time. Tim and I were able to go to some shows by ourselves while my mom babysat for us at the hotel. We went to see David Copperfield, Lance Burton, and some other great shows.

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-12-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

Like most of you, we have also been so busy getting ready for Christmas and as Ashley would say "Don't forget about" Mama Cristi. My mom is getting into town tomorrow morning and we are all so excited. Ashley thinks that as soon as my mom gets here they are going to Paraguay. She can't understand that my mom will stay here for 4 weeks and then they will leave. She is so excited and I am so happy for her.

Here are some pictures of our week:

At the Ward Christmas' Party with Santa!! Lucas did not like him at all!!! Ashley asked for a pony and a dog.
Friday I had so much to do to get ready for our special visitor so after dinner the kids got to watch Shrek and they loved it!

Ashley loves to play and dress Lucas up. She yelled mom "Lucas looks like a bride" and this is what I found. Cute, hah?
Playing with Ashley's hair has been so much fun. You can't really tell by this picture but her hair looks really nice and makes her look a lot older.

Lucas decided to dump all the new body wash in the bath tub!!. I was gone for 3 minutes and when I came back my room and bathroom smelled so good. I was pretty upset at him but it's my fault for letting them alone!! By the way, the smelled really good that day.

Last weekend we had a birthday party for Randy at Gisella's house. He is a friend from spin class and here I am with my "biker friends." After the party we stayed over to watch the Big 12 Championship Game and it was great!! We are so proud to be Sooners:)

At the house before the Ward Christmas Party.

I am so glad it's Friday!!

2008-12-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

This week was one of those weeks that my kids drove me insane!!
Ashley is a pretty good girl, for the most part, except that sometimes she does whatever Lucas is doing just to be funny...which it isn't.

First of all I wasn't feeling well and Lucas was kind of sick too so I was hoping that him being sick was going to stop him from making a mess but I was wrong.

I think I have forgotten to mention that a couple of weeks ago He decided to put our cell phones in a glass of water. I was right there next to him but I didn't notice what he did. Minutes later Tim saw the cell phones in the glass and it was too late. His works fine with some minor defects but mine won't work at all. In other words I lost all the phone numbers that I have been saving for the last 3 years!!! I am pretty sad about that but what do you do?? Tim asked Lucas what he was thinking to do that and I responded. Nothing, he is a 17 month old!!!

Now that the Christmas tree is up he won't stop taking the ornaments down!!! If I don't catch him on time I find all the bottom ornaments on the floor among other decorations that we have in our tree. He thinks that the ornaments are "balls" and wants to play with them. It doesn't seem that bad except when you put them up 3 to 4 times a day!!! I know I could just move them up so He can't reach them but I won't like my Christmas tree that way so I just better learn to deal with it for a few more weeks.

This morning as we were getting ready to go to pick up Tim from school to go to lunch Lucas came to my closet where I was putting my shoes on and showed me his hands. Oh my goodness!! I screamed like I haven't in a long time. He got so scared that he cried but I also wanted to cry. His diaper was dirty and he decided to put his hands inside his pants and you can imagine what happened. I didn't know where to start. We were all ready to leave when this happened! I put him in my bath tub and bathed him there. It was a big mess! I just looked at him and I could see how innocent he is. He truly didn't know what happened and I am sure he didn't mean to do that. At least I am so glad that he didn't touch anything around the house so we were able to make it on time for our lunch with daddy.
One of his favorite things to do. Get all the videos/DVDs out and get inside the trunk.

Ashley is so excited about Christmas. Every morning she asks if we can open the presents so Monday night we gave her one of them because she was a good girl and she finished her dinner (which she is supposed to anyways, right??) She is so happy with her Strawberry shortcake doll. She can't stop fixing her hair. I am so glad she likes it.
Lucas is so ready to go to Paraguay. Here he is wearing his "purple" backpack which isn't really his.

Thanksgiving week

2008-12-04T15:53:00.001-08:00

Ashley and Lucas helping grandma make Cranberry bread( a tradition in the Dorius family)
Tim and his grandpa. We took him out for lunch to his favorite place and got to listen to him tell us many great stories!

This past week we were able to go and visit Tim's family in Memphis, TN. We left on Tuesday morning and came back Saturday night. It was a fun trip and as always the kids were happy to see grandma, grandpa, Bethany and Pepper (the dog). We did a lot of fun things including shopping, eating (way too much), visiting, watching movies, going to the park, and just relaxing. It was also nice to be able to go out without the kids and have some time just for us.
Ashley loves dogs so being in Memphis didn't help us much. She has been asking for a dog for a long time but there is no way we are going to get one now, maybe later in a few years. She also got to see Santa at the mall and she asked for a dog and a pony..WHAT??? Are you kidding me??? I went nuts wondering how in the world I was going to explain to her that Santa wasn't going to bring her a dog so I had to asked her if she meant the dogs that she has seeing at the stores (meaning stuffed animals) Ashley wasn't too sure about it but since I mentioned that she could get the dog that swims in the water she kind of got excited. She is not too happy about that idea, she truly wants a "real" puppy but I am hoping she will happy with what she is getting.
On the way back we had such a good time singing Christmas songs and just being silly since we had 7 hours to kill in the car. Ashley really got into singing Christmas songs and of course she had to hear "Jingle Bells" about 10 times; that is her favorite. Thanks grandma for the Christmas CD, it was great!
It was so nice to be back and see all the houses decorated with Christmas lights. I just love Christmas and I always get overwhelmed by the Spirit that I am able to feel at this time of the year and I am so glad that I was able to feel it again. I am looking forward to this Christmas season and I am so excited to have my mom here with us!
After unloading the car from the trip we went to watch the OU vs OSU football game at our friends the Lusk's. It was an awesome game and we are looking forward to more OU!!

I hope you had a great week as we did.

Skiatook

2008-12-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

The week before Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to visit our friends the Johansens in Skiatook. It was nice to have a break from the daily routine and to hang out with great friends.
Lucas and Kaylee.
Ashley and Brent.
Thanksgiving Feast at Brent's school.
Dancing the "Turkey Dance". Ashley and Kaylee wondered what was going on! Alicia and Ben got into it. = )
Ashley was so sad when it was time to go home. I haven't seen her so sad in a long time! She likes her friends and misses them a lot.

Thanks for having us over and your hospitality. We love you guys and we are looking forward to seeing you again in a few weeks.

Turkey Cookies

2008-11-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

I learned to make these cookies at an enrichment activity in Owasso. Aren't they cute? Ashley had so much fun helping while Lucas was entertained eating ravioli ( and of course making a mess too)

We are grateful for...

2008-11-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

This week we are very grateful and happy to share with you our BIG news...Yes, I am expecting another baby!! We are very excited and are looking forward to baby #3.
I found out that I was pregnant right after the Redman (competition) and I couldn't be happier with the timing of it. They are all going to have a birthday in the month of June! Ashley will be 4 and Lucas will be 2 and I am very happy with that.
We have shown pictures of the ultrasound to Ashley and she is So excited about the baby. Of course, she wants a baby girl. She is so tired of her brother that every time he does something to her she immediately says " I want to have a baby sister" She thinks that when the baby is born Lucas will be gone:( Isn't that sad? They play well but he is always on her nerves.
I just wanted to share this with you and for you to know what have been in our minds and prayers.
Happy Thanksgiving for everyone!!

p.s If you think we are crazy trust me you won't be the first one. My friend Marlene couldn't believe it either but she is happy for us. Thanks Marlene!!

Mama Cristi is coming to town!!

2008-11-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

Our lives have been so busy that I have forgotten to post anything about my mom coming to visit us for Christmas! She will be here in less than a month and will stay for 4 weeks!! I am so excited to see her and to have her with us for Christmas. My mom is just the best, I really mean it!! After being here for 4 weeks she is taking Ashley to Paraguay with her so I can get some rest! Though she might need to take Lucas instead of Ashley ( she has offered to take him too but that will be too much for her already busy life)
Ashley will be attending school with all of her cousins so she will definitely have a great time as she did a little over a year ago. Though she was two at the time she remembers it very well!! She loved it there and she was so spoiled by everyone. My parents and my siblings are great about spoiling kids and she felt like a queen and all the attetion was on her! She is so excited about going to Paraguay with my mom and I am so happy about that. Lucas and I will go there too but we will go a month after they leave the US to pick Ashley up and we'll stay there for another month!! It will be summer down there so we will be busy having fun and my family surely knows how to do that. Thanks Mama Cristi, we are so ready for this trip! You are AWESOME!!!

Lucas, Lucas and more Lucas

2008-11-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

This week wasn't an exeption. Lucas is a very healthy and therefore active child. I am very grateful for that but at the same time I wish he would slow down a little bit so I am not always running after him like a crazy person! Church has been so hard with him because he just won't sit still. He is always looking for someone to play with and a reason to get out and walk (which we don't let him do but he tries) As most kids do, Lucas loves to play in our bathroom and get out all the lotions, perfumes, and anything else that we might have under the sink. He just has a blast doing that. Another thing that he loves to do in our bathroom is to brush his teeth! You can't brush your teeth and not give him a toothbrush. If you do that he will scream at you until you give up. At least I end up giving up.
On Wednesday night right before I left the house to go to the Temple with the youth I saw Lucas playing with my favorite perfume! I took it from him and left the house. On my way to the Temple I get a phone call from Tim telling me that Lucas has just broken his bottle of cologne!! It was pretty new and it was one of our favorites. Tim was pretty upset and I was too except that I just laughed because I didn't know what else to do.
Every day, every hour there is something that he will do that drives me CRAZY!! For instance sitting on the table and dancing on the table have been some of his latest tricks!! He also has started biting Ashley on her back and arms when he doesn't get his way. He is crazy and we love him tons!! he definitely adds some humor/work to our lives!

But he is clean!

2008-11-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last night I needed some time by myself to fold some laundry so I decided to bathe the kids and leave them there playing until I was done. My kids love to play in the bathtub so I knew that it wasn't going to be a problem to let them play for a good 10 to 15 min. I was going to be in my room putting the clothes away so I decided to have them take a bath in my bathroom so I could keep an eye on them.
I bathed them and told Ashley that they could play(brought all their bathtub toys) until I came to get them. About 10 min later I started to smell Clorox coming from the bathroom. I ran into the bathroom and found Ashley spraying the Clorox bathtub cleaner on Lucas. I took it away from her and told her that we don't use that to clean ourselves and asked if she put it on herself too. She said she only put it on Lucas who couldn't even look at me because of the cleaner on his face!! So I went ahead and bathed him again and Ashley too just in case...But in the process of rebathing them Ashley kept saying "But he is clean mom" no matter how I tried to explain to her that he wasn't because of all the chemicals she put on him she kept saying with an angelic voice, "but he is clean" She really thought that she was helping me bathe her little brother and that I didn't need to worry about it anymore. Don't you love their innocence??

Halloween night!

2008-11-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Tim and Lucas at the church Halloween Party.
Ashley had so much fun playing games and winning some toys!
Lucas tried to play basketball!!
Tim had to play this one against another member and of course, Tim won!
Lucas trying to eat the doughnut without his hands.
Too hard to eat without your hands! Forget it, he used his little hands and finished his doughnut:)
Ashley had to play the same game that her dad and brother played and she also used her hands. Yes, we cheated.
Tim took the kids around the Lusk's neighborhood while I had some fun scaring kids at the their house.

Can you tell that they really get into it? Gissella was inside the coffin right next to it and would come out running after the kids with a sword.
This is my friend Gissella, isn't she scary looking? The Lusks LOVE Halloween. They set up their garage and front yard as a Haunted House and they have so much fun scaring kids. They really get into it and have lots of scary things. The whole family is involved and they have a blast! Last year we watched them do it and this year Tim and I joined the fun. I loved it!! It was so much fun to scare the little ones and also the girls. It was hilarious! Later we had stew with corn bread and of course, some candy! It was an awesome Halloween Night!

Halloween at Moore High School!

2008-11-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night we took the kids to Moore High School to go trick-or-treating. There were a lot of people and the kids had so much fun dancing, playing games, and, of course, getting candy. This year has been so much fun for us because Ashley was able to understand the meaning of Halloween and she loved it!

Carving Pumpkins!

2008-11-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

Last Monday we went to the Lusk's home to carve some pumpkins. My kids love Gissella and her family and they love my kids too. Lucas and Ashley got some toys/treats from Gissella; she surely knows how to spoil them!! We all had a great time carving pumpkins, eating caramel apples, and drinking apple cider.
The last two pictures are from home. Tim helped Ashley paint her pumpkin on a Sunday afternoon while Lucas and I took a nap:) Ashley and Tim are the Energizer bunnies in the family; they never need naps.

Ashley's haircut!

2008-11-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago Ashley got a haircut! They cut 8 inches of her hair and we are planning on donating it!! She had been wanting to get a haircut ever since she saw me getting one so I thought it was time to do it. Ashley was so happy to be at the salon and to get all the attention from the employees:) She felt like a princess and after getting the haircut we went to Quiznos for lunch to treat Lucas, who wondered what was going on!!

Halloween!

2008-10-21T12:21:00.001-07:00

I still can't believe that summer is over!!! I am very excited about all the holidays that are coming up but I'll definitely miss the warm weather:) On Sunday we baked some Halloween sugar cookies and as always Ashley had fun helping me and Lucas had fun eating them!! This weekend we are looking forward to taking the kids to a pumpkin patch and that's how we are going to start celebrating this holiday season!

Sheri's Birthday Party!

2008-10-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

Friday night we celebrated Sheri's birthday at my house with a dinner that included pasta, salad, bread, red baked potatoes, broccoli salad, stuffed mushrooms, cake, and fondue with a huge tray of fruits!! It was great!! We wanted to surprise Sheri but when she called me to cancel on our bike ride to go to a football game with her husband I had to tell her about the birthday party that we had planned for her. Sheri is an amazing person and friend and an awesome workout partner!! Happy Birthday, Sheri!!!
Sheri and her pretty cake.
Mary, Kim, Sheri, Debbie and me.
Sheri and Gissella.
Randy and Kim.
Debbie and Scott.
Gissella, Mary and me.
Me and Sheri.

Tornado strikes our home!

2008-10-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

A small tornado struck the south side of our home today. Fortunately, there were no injuries. No one was even aware of the tornado until we came across the damage. Estimates put the property damage in the $5 range. Below are some photos of the damage.

Below is a picture of the tornado.

Cleaning your house while your Kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing

2008-10-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a day in which I truly believe in the header of this blog! My kids, especially Lucas should be grateful to be alive:) He has been super hard to control. He is very active, way more than Ashley has ever been, and is constantly making a mess which drives me insane!!! I never quit cleaning this house and I am constantly changing his clothes and bathing him. I sometimes don't enjoy being at home because all I do is clean up after him. I try to keep him outside as much as possible but it just isn't enough!! I am sure that his behavior his "normal" but I just haven't adjusted to the messes that he constantly makes so I am going crazy... A few weeks ago they had Oreos on sale so I went nuts and got tons. I love Oreos with milk. Well Tim decided to teach Ashley how to eat Oreos with milk on Sunday afternoon and she loved it so it has been part of her "healthy" snack. Today I was so busy getting all of the summer outfits out of the closet and putting the fall and winter outfits in so as you can imagine both of their rooms were messy and the living room was full of clothes! I tried to find things for the kids to do that would keep them busy so I could finish it all in one afternoon when Ashley asked me to have some Oreos with milk and I asked her to share some with Lucas. Ten minutes later she calls me to come and see the "Ollo." I had no idea what she was talking about until I saw the milk with the Oreo on the rug and some Oreo on the carpet and on their clothes! I asked Ashley what happened and of course...Who do you think did it?? Lucas...He had the biggest smile ever so I went to get my camara. Otherwise, I don't know what I would have done.
Later they wanted popsicles and as you can see in the picture he threw his on the floor!! Later he took all the spoons out of the drawer and was playing with them and I also found him hanging from a drawer in the kitchen. After taking a bath he went back to the bathroom and got himself wet again while Ashley was still in the water ( I was gone for 5 seconds!!) and then decided to try to get inside the dishwasher... Ok, Is my child "normal"???

Free handbag???

2008-10-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this website!!
http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Race for the cure...

2008-10-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

This morning we ran in the Race for the Cure downtown with 15,ooo people. It was amazing!! I went with my friend Sheri and her mom who is one of the coolest moms. She is an adorable person! Sheri and I ran 3 miles and it was so much fun, but at the same time it was emotional for me. I did it in remembrance of my dad's sister who died a few years ago of breast cancer. Breast cancer runs in my family. I got emotional as I was running and I could read husbands doing it in remembrance of their wives or daughters in remembrance of their moms. Though running 3 miles usually seems like 50 miles to me, this morning I felt like I could have gone further and so did Sheri! Every 1/2 mile there was a band playing and by the Oklahoma City Memorial there were "Angels," older ladies who were singing, as we were running. For me it was an amazing experience!. I am looking forward to doing this every year!

Girls Night Out!!!!

2008-10-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I went with a group of friends out for dinner to Zio's and then we went to watch the Regatta in downtown Oklahoma City. We had a great time and I believe we were all in need of some girl time away from home. I see these girls more than 3 times a week but most of the time we are sweaty, out of breath, and working really hard so it was nice to be clean, to EAT, and to enjoy our friendship. I work out with them (cycling class, swimming, Sherie and I are going to start running-we are not good runners, some of us are going to start using our mountain bikes and also take some rowing classes; isn't that cool?) I also go to church with some of them and I have their daughters in the Young Women Program with me so I feel like I know them. They are all great examples to me. As most of you know I am always trying to get better at what I do and I look up to them for that. Last night I thought of my friends Marlene and Alicia; they are also such great friends and inspirations to me and I truly miss having them close by. I am grateful for friends and for their examples. I am grateful to have friends that I can count on anytime. I am grateful for their support in all that I have done the last few months. Thank you!
p.s we missed you Kim!!

Lunch with Daddy

2008-09-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

This week Tim had his first round of tests so on Thursday we picked him up from school and took him to one of his favorite fast-food places...Taco Bell. I think it was a nice break for him and also it was fun for the kids to have lunch with their dad! After we dropped Tim off at school to study some more Lucas got sad:( He loves his dad. It is so cute to see the look on his face as Tim walks in the house. Lucas' eyes light up when he sees him and of course to see Lucas crying and sad melted Tim's heart and mine.
By the way Tim did very well. Monday was rough for him but the other ones went very well and we are so proud of him. Last night was the first night in his lifetime that he studied all night without sleeping. I did that every test block in High School so for me that is something that I just did but I can't believe nor can Tim that he didn't go to bed to get more studying done!!! Welcome to 2nd year of Medical School:)

It is OVER!!!!!

2008-09-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am very glad that the pressure of the race is over and that everything went well. There are things that I could have done better but overall I am happy with my time. Everything started very early on Saturday ( early because I couldn't sleep) at Lake Hefner which is about 25 min from our house. I went by myself at 5:15 and Tim got there later with the kids. I was calm at first until 5 min before the race started and right then I got overwhelmed and wondered what I was getting into!!!! Tim and the kids arrived right before I got in the water and I always get emotional when I see them right before the race which isn't a good thing:) I just wanted to cry and hug them but I couldn't so I tried to focus on the race.
The swim went well. The first 1000 meters were rough because I forgot to tighten the Velcro around my neck so my wetsuit was filling up with water. I was soooo mad!!! I have a long sleeved wetsuit so every time I lifted my arm it was so heavy and that was all I was thinking about during my first 1000 meters, but when I turned around to head back I had to change my attitude about that since there wasn't anything I could do about it and I also needed to pick up the pace so I did and it went well. I just love swimming... the longer the distance, the better it is for me.
The 57 mile (it was supposed to be 56 miles, but they snuck an extra mile in there) bike ride went well too but not as planned. Up to mile 45 everything was going well just as I expected, but the last 6 miles before getting back to the lake are rolling hills and I just wasn't ready for those hills. Those hills are rough after biking 48 miles; otherwise they shouldn't have been too bad. The last 3 miles are around the lake and I absolutely loved it! The view of the lake was great and it was flat so it made things easier. I finished the race in 3:32:10. and I WON first place in the Half Aquabike! Yay!!!! I wanted to win this race so badly and I was so happy that I was able to do well enough to make it possible. I am so grateful for all the help of family/friends that made it possible for me to compete and do well. Thanks for your encouragement, advice, etc. Also,
thank you so much for your emails and phone calls supporting me. You guys have been so nice to me!!Thank you.

Ready or not

2008-09-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Trying on my new wetsuit.

As many of you know I am doing the the Redman triathlon here in Oklahoma City this coming weekend and I am so excited and scared at the same time. I thought I was done competing a long time ago when I retired from swimming and I can't believe that I am doing this again though I am somehow enjoying it. In Oklahoma they have something called the Aqua/bike which includes swimming and biking and that is the event that I am doing. I am a terrible runner though my goal for next year is to be able to do decently in a 5k or 10k but with a bad knee and a bad ankle I don't know how much I'll be able to do. Friday I am meeting with friends that I haven't seen in a long time to drop our bikes off at the lake where the competition is going to be and then we are attending a meeting there. I am also excited to see my friend Alicia who is coming to do another triathlon here in town and she will be staying with us so that will help me pass the time and have some fun. It should be a fun weekend with the exception of the 56 mile bike ride!! By the way I am swimming 2000 meters and biking 56 miles! As most of you already know I have been swimming since I was 5 years old but I haven't done any biking until March or April of this year!!! This week my friend Marlene told me what I needed to do to train and this is how she put it..
Tuesday: An easy 20 to 25 miles ride.
Are you kidding me?? There are not easy rides for me at all!! When I am on the bike I am always working hard! For those of you that aren't swimmers but are good bikers how would you feel if I tell you an easy 4000 meters???? I am sure it wouldn't be easy for you either! Anyways I was just making fun of myself for not being a good biker:) I hope I get there one day.
Speaking of my friend Marlene I do want to say thanks to her and her husband Mike. They have been amazing to me. They have been such a great influence and example to me. Marlene pushed me to do this and both of them have helped me all the way through. They have now moved to California but I am so glad to be able to keep in touch with them and for all their support and I don't think I could have done it without their help!! ( even when we talked on the phone and she made fun of me for not knowing how to...I better not say it)
Anyways I'll post more over the weekend to let you know about the race. Wish me luck!

Our trip to Alabama

2008-09-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend we traveled to Birmingham, Alabama for Tim's brother Daniel's wedding. We were happy to finally meet Hazina, Daniel's bride, and she makes a great addition to the family. Tim was a groomsman and Ashley was a flower girl. She was the cutest flower girl ever! Thanks, Daniel and Hazina, for sharing your special day with us and for letting Ashley have so much fun as a flower girl. It was also a lot of fun to see all of the family, especially the Hancock grandparents, who flew to the wedding from Utah. We also got to stay the night at Matt and Tina's beautiful home in Moundville, near Tuscaloosa. We are so excited for them with their baby boy that is due in December. It was a fun weekend. Here are some pictures from our trip:
The cutest flower girl!! She did a great job:)
The best picture I was able to take of the two of them.
Visiting Grandpa Dorius before leaving Memphis. What a treat to get to see him every time we visit Memphis!
Ashley danced more than anyone else at the reception. Tim had the honor to dance with her.
Lucas, as always, kept me very busy running around. Doesn't He look handsome?

Ashley and her friend during the rehearsal.
Rehearsal dinner! Lucas enjoyed those egg rolls as much as anyone else.
My cute little princess.
Lucas was so cute and so was Tim:)
Our family picture minus Lucas who was running around.

I am proud to be an American!!

2008-08-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

On August 20th I was able to take the Oath of Citizenship and become an U.S Citizen. I am very happy and excited to be a citizen of this country. What is funny to me is that I have always felt like a U.S Citizen except at the airport or at school when they ask you and then I would remember that I wasn't. I came here for the first time on vacation when I was 15 years old and since then my love for this country has grown. Later I came to go to school at the University of Oklahoma but I never intended to stay here until I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and served a mission in Carlsbad, CA. After that I knew it was going to be hard to leave this country. Now 10 years after coming to the U.S to go to school I became an U.S citizen!! I truly love this country and I am so proud to be a citizen of the United States of America!!!! Here are some pictures we took yesterday morning.
My Naturalization certificate
Taking the oath.
Ashley was so excited waving the U.S flag!
Yes, Lucas isn't wearing shoes! Oops!The Dorius Family!

For the Grandparents

2008-08-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Every time I talk on the phone with my parents and whenever Tim talks with his parents they tell us how much they wish they could see the kids so here are a few pictures of them that we took this weekend.
Tim and Lucas ( yes, Tim is included as one of the kids)
Lucas with his funny face"no, no, no" Don't you love when they learn to say No?
Ashley helping me to bake some brownies!
She is such a cute little girl.

Happy Anniversary to us!!

2008-08-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today we are very happy to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary!! We have been so blessed all these years and we are very grateful for that. We now have 2 beautiful kids that we
love more than we can express. Ashley turned 3 on June 1 and Lucas turned 1 on the 28 of June. Tim is starting his second year in Medical School here at OU and he is loving it. I am very proud of his accomplishments and I am grateful for the talents that he has been blessed with that bless me and our family.

Enid Triathlon

2008-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another triathlon and another opportunity to learn and to grow as I try to get better at this!!
Friday night, after a busy and long week we headed to Enid, OK for my Saturday morning race. Since we had to spend the night in a hotel I packed my breakfast and everything else I thought I might need for this race except....milk. I woke up at 4:30am to have breakfast. I made my oatmeal and took it to bathroom (yes, I did that) with the intention to eat as I was relaxing in a warm bath. As soon as I tried my oatmeal I knew something was wrong and I just couldn't figure it out. Keeping in mind that we went to bed at 1am and it was 4:30am I thought I hasn't woken up yet and that I messed up my breakfast. I knew cooked it and I added some sugar and then I realized what it was...I made it with water and not milk like I do at home. It was terrible!! I know some people eat it that way but it was so bad that I just couldn't eat it. I thought about eating a banana before the race but they didn't get the bananas out until after the race!!! I was hungry so I had some Power Bar and Power Gel. Those just didn't help! During the bike ride I was feeling so sick to my stomach. I know now that I need some food BEFORE I have any power gels or anything like it. Lesson learned:)

In Enid we met with Alicia, Ben and Steve. It was great to see them and also to do this race with them. I usually start the swim with Ben and I like that because he is always trying to calm me down and I get distracted by just talking with him. Then during the bike ride I hear this "Go sister" and I know that is Steve passing me and though I tried to keep up with him I found it hard on Saturday when I thought I was going fast and He passed riding 26 or 27mph. Now that is fast!!! Alicia is the runner/sprinter. She had a baby 2 months ago and she did great on Saturday. I am really proud of her and I am so happy that I have them to do these races with. It makes a big difference to have great friends with whom I could this. I am so blessed to have them!! Thank you guys...

Alicia, me and Steve.
Me and Ben getting ready to start swimming.
Me and Alicia waiting for the award ceremony to start.
Me and my little trophy!
After the race Tim and the kids enjoyed the pool at the hotel while I took a long hot bath.

A visit from the Andersons

2008-07-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

The Andersons were able to visit us when they came back to Oklahoma for a couple of weeks. We got to spend an afternoon at our home together and then we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Norman, Tarahumara's. We are putting these pictures up so Jared and Christian don't forget how great Mexican food is. They don't have Mexican food in South America. We had such a great time with them and we truly miss having them around. We are so glad to have ~~rich~~ great friends like them. Thank you so much for coming to visit us. We hope we can see you again soon.

Aren't they cute?
The food was great! Who doesn't love mexican food?

This picture is just to show you the mess that Lucas made and how proud he was of it.

Thanks again for coming. We love you guys!!!

We love summer time!

2008-07-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know, Tim had to go on a business trip to West Virginia for a month. The kids and I visited him for a week halfway through, and we all went to Washington, DC for a few days. We don't have the pictures of that trip yet, so in the meantime, here are some pictures showing some of the summer activities we have been doing.

The kids love their daddy. They missed him so much when he was out of town.

Lucas doesn't wait for me to get in the water. If I happen to leave the back door unlocked this is how I find him, in the water with his clothes on.

Lucas loves to eat! He gets so excited around meal time and he is so easy to please. Tim's low-fat Alfredo sauce is a hit here in our home. We all love to eat it, especially the kids.
I am so glad it's summer time. It makes cleaning Lucas so much easier. Just hose him down outside and he is clean again!! Just kidding:)
He will be the swimmer in the family. He loves water. Ashley still isn't quite sure how she feels about it. We have really enjoyed playing in our backyard.
Ashley and Ariana swimming at their pool. Randy made some Hawaiian Hamburgers for dinner and they were great!! We have enjoyed hanging out with them this summer.
Tim coming back from his business trip. We missed him after being gone for a month!! We are glad you are back:)
Ashley has been enjoying painting. This is how I found her one morning. Trust me, I gave her some paper.
Lucas started walking 2 weeks before his first birthday. Here he is enjoying his freedom to walk.
Tim's brand new car. Many of you already know that his car broke down on his way to West Virginia so the day after he got home we got him a new car. He deserves it!! He is such a hard working man.

I have tried to be good and go to the gym every day but when Tim had to go out of town things got a little complicated around here. I wasn't able to go out biking because of the kids but I did go swimming a few times. Last Sunday when Tim was grilling I was laying down in our hammock and it broke. Guess who was back riding the bike at the crack of dawn?!
Maybe I can blame the kids, who were swinging with me:)

A successful and enjoyable weekend!!

2008-06-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

With Tim being gone to West Virginia for work, the kids and I decided to go down to Keller, TX to visit our friends, the Johansens. We left on Thursday and came back on Sunday. We all had a blast. It was so much fun. Between us, we have kids ages newborn, 1, 2, 3, and 4 which sounds like it would drive you crazy but the kids were good. The kids did great playing together and we just enjoyed being able to hang out and spend some time together. We went to their neighborhood pool which was fun for the kids. Also Ben and I did a triathlon on Saturday morning. It was in a small town in Texas and we were still pretty tired/exhausted from the previous one so we took this as an easy one to gain more experience. He did very well and I am happy with my results. I have been really enjoying doing triathlons so I hope I am able to keep training for them. It was such a fun experience and I am so glad to get to do it with great friends. Later that day we took the kids to the park and Alicia got to use my bike to see how she likes it and SHE LOVED IT!!! At first she didn't want to try it but we want her to join us to do some triathlons with us; though she is a runner and we don't like runners very much(just kidding). Anyways she got so excited about riding that we all went to the bike store and got her some bike shorts, shirts, gloves among other things. Now she needs a bike, pretty important, huh?! Anyways, this has been a very enjoyable and successful weekend for me. I had a blast doing another triathlon and being with my friends and their kids. Alicia, Ben, and I are now training for Alicia's first triathlon in August and I am so excited to do it with her. At the same time we are all starting our training for the BIG race in September. Thank you so much Ben and Alicia for everything you did for us. We had a great time there and will miss you guys!!

Ashley was so excited to go to Texas, can you tell?

I love Kaylee. She is one of the cutest girls I have seen. I babysat her and the other kids on Friday morning and this is what she asked for: ice cream.

The kids, Alicia, and Ben at the pool on Friday afternoon.

Lucas coming down the slide with Ben. Ashley was scared to do it.

After finishing the triathlon. What a great feeling to be done!!

Alicia and her biking coach, her husband Ben.

Ashley and Brent.
Kaylee and Lucas riding with me to church. It was cute to have them together but I couldn't imagine having both a 1 and a 2 year old!!!

Triathlon #2

2008-06-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome weekend. I think it has been one of the best weekends in a long time for me. I did the OKCCC Triathlon and I am very pleased with my time but more importantly I am happy that I was able to do it with friends. Friday afternoon the Johansens came to stay with us and we had such a good time with them. My friend Ben and I made fun of each other about being some of the first ones to get in the water ( Ben was # 18 and I was # 25 out of 200) and thinking that we'd be the some of the last ones to cross the Finish Line. It was a pathetic thought that we had. That night we all went to Macaroni Grill for dinner to get some carbs ( I love races!!!...no really:) I wanted to eat by 4:00pm but we didn't eat until 7:00pm so I knew that was going to mess me up ( just kidding Ben and Alicia, it didn't mess me up) Later at home I wanted to practice my transition again but we had a pretty heavy storm so we stayed inside and prepared our bags for the race. I can't put in words how much fun the whole experience was for me. I just really enjoyed it. And of course I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous about everything. Saturday morning Ben and I left the house around 5:45am to go to OKCCC. There we set everything up in the transition area and then went to warm up by swimming a little bit. This triathlon was done in a 50 meter pool. At first I was kind of overwhelmed since I have been training in a 25 yard pool but pretty quickly I forgot about that and enjoyed the swimming.

The swimming was better than last time but I got lost..how??? Well, I did a flip turn and since the lanes were so wide I actually didn't go all the way to the other lane but stayed in the same lane. BIG MISTAKE!!! I started swimming in the same lane again so I stopped, hoping that someone would notice what I did but no one said anything so I kept swimming and then stopped again and this time I moved to the next lane where I was supposed to be. The guy that was behind me (#26) passed me so I had to pick up my pace and pass him again. I did it so I was proud of myself and I even got there at the same time as the girl that left before me (#24). I tried hard to make up for my mistake but I didn't have much time since it was the end of the swimming portion. Tough I am not very happy with what happened in the pool I'll take it as another learning experience.

Biking was great!! I loved it. I guess I wasn't as tired from swimming as I was two weeks ago so I was able to start and to finish strong. I love the feeling of your legs burning and hurting like crazy. I don't know why I get such a feeling whenever I swim or bike but it sure feels good. It definitely doesn't feel like that when I run.

Running was tough. I don't have the same feelings about running as I do about biking and swimming. My heart rate was low so I can't complain about that except that my legs were tired and I just couldn't go any faster. The sad part is that as I was approaching the Finish Lane I see the first woman from my age group passing me. I didn't let anyone pass me on the bike so I knew I was going first unless there was a swimmer there that went before me that I didn't know about. Anyways I tried to keep up with her but I just couldn't. She wasn't running; she was sprinting. She was a runner. I don't like runners. They have so much time to catch up with us. The have the last 20 to 30 min to make up for their weakness and win the race. Great for them and not too good for someone like me who isn't a runner. Anyhow, she beat me and won first place and I got 2nd. Her time 1:20:10 vs mine 1:21:04. It may not seem like much to you but as you could probably imagine I wish I could go back in time and change a few things to make up for the 56 second difference. I am not complaining; I am very proud of myself and my achievements. I am grateful to be blessed to do this because it surely brings lots of excitement and happiness to me and my family. And last but not least I am so proud of my friends Gissella, Sherrie and Ben. I trained with Sherrie and Gissella and I pushed them so hard almost every day ( I pushed Gissella even this morning as I ran with her for her last 2 miles. She hates me but she loves me too:). I am so proud of them. And Ben, though I didn't train with him I am so proud that he did it. We were so anxious/nervous last night and he did a great job today. Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me.

This is me and my friend Sherrie.

p.s stay tuned for more pictures!

Here are some videos that I am putting here mostly for my mom to see me swim in the triathlon.

Happy Birthday Ashley!!!

2008-06-04T19:53:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share this picture of her cake before I put the icing on. It's a big cupcake and I love it. I am so happy with this cake pan.

Ashley opening her birthday gifts.

Thinking of a wish. I am wishing she could be fully potty trained and I hope she is wishing the same thing.

Ashley and her new pajamas aka "pajamages." from Grandma Dorius.

After jumping so much they decided to take a break. Aren't they cute?

This is where we keep our animals...just kidding. I love our trampoline. The kids have been there all week long. The thing that I like the most is that you get to zip them up so they can't get out. They love it and we do too. We are going to have a good summer in our backyard:)

Ashley at the Circus trying some of the outfits on. She didn't know what was going on...

If you go to the circus you have to take pictures with the clowns, right?

Lucas screaming..."Leave me alone. You look weird"

Our backyard full of kids.

The kids getting the goodies from the Pinata.

This is my little princess.

At the baseball game. We missed the Andersons!!

Ashley and her new birthday dress from Grandma Dorius.

Ashley right before blowing out her birthday candles!!

Tim and Ashley. I really like this picture.

Ashley turned 3 on Sunday June 1 and we made sure she felt as special as she is for us. The celebrations started on Saturday afternoon after my race when we all went out to buy gifts/decorations for the birthday party!! Sunday was pretty much low key. We woke her up and she was so happy to get the gifts from her grandparents and from us. Every gift was perfect for her and she loved them all. Later we had dinner with the Lusks and as always it was fun to have them here with us. After dinner Tim and I set up the trampoline that Ashley and Lucas got for their birthdays from their grandparents. Ashley couldn't wait to start jumping on it. That night she jumped till past 10pm. Tim and Ashley had such a great time and I enjoyed watching them play and laugh together.

On Tuesday we had the kids from Nursery come to celebrate her birthday and they all had a good time. We had pizza, juice, cupcakes, ice cream and popsicles. We also had a pinata with lots of goodies!!! Ashley loved her birthday party. She was so happy to have all of her friends from playgroup at her house and especially loved getting birthday gifts. As I said before, every gift was so special to her and I am so glad for that.

Tuesday night we took her to a baseball game (Tim's idea) since she enjoys that quite a bit. As expected, she had fun and enjoyed asking questions about the game to her dad. I think she just enjoys spending time with her dad and watching any kind of sport. Tim and Ashley have a pretty neat relationship. She adores him and he adores her too.

The last thing we did for her birthday was take her to the Circus on Friday night. Lucas' birthday is on the 28th so it was part of his birthday present too. The kids loved it and we were pretty impressed. It was a great show. We all had a good time and we are so glad for the blessing of having them both in our lives. Happy Birthday, Ashley!!

Love,
Mom

El Reno Triathlon!!!

2008-06-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't even know where to start this. First of all I did finish the race and I enjoyed every part of it so much that I am excited about doing it again in 2 weeks and most importantly doing it with FRIENDS :)
First I want to say Thanks to Tim and my kids. Their support meant so much to me. I honestly couldn't have done it without them. Also thanks to my friend Marlene for her support and her advice to get me ready for the race.
The race was great. We got there around 6:30am to set up my stuff and I wanted to get in the lake to warm up but it was so windy and cool that no one was swimming so I decided to hang out with Tim and the kids. At 7:15am we had the meeting where they go over some basic rules. At this time I realized I haven't gotten my timing chip yet and everyone else was wearing one so I was panicking trying to find the person that had them. By the time we found the person with the chips the referee had already asked the men (the first wave of swimmers) to get in the water. Of course I was not handling this very well and I couldn't even put it on my ankle ( well, I didn't know how since I have never done it before). Once I got that done I kissed the kids and Tim and off I went to the water. Surprisingly enough, I was calm. I know how to swim so I knew I would do just fine. The gun went off and here I was starting my first triathlon. Swimming in the lake is CRAZY!!!!! You bump into so many people and it's a MESS!! Plus you are constantly checking for the buoys to make sure you are going the right way and with the wind that we had it was hard to swim against the waves but the worst thing was passing the slower men who were pretty much resting there on their backs. On the other hand it felt good to pass people since I knew I wasn't going to be passing many people later in the bike and run so I enjoyed it as much as I could:)
The transition from swimming to biking didn't go as smoothly as I was hoping for. I put my biking shoes on (which by the way I decided to use for the race on Friday and for more details about my decision contact Ben and about my first fall from the bike contact Jared), my helmet, and my sunglasses and left the area when I realized that my chain had come off. I was so mad. I tried to fix it but I couldn't so someone came to help me. The bike ride was very tough. It was very windy and it just killed my time. I checked my time at 7 miles and I realized that I wasn't going to meet my goal. My legs felt fine but my heart rate was very high. I was working very hard trying to go somewhere and the wind kept pushing me the other way. I hated that. I wasn't very happy with my biking time and experience but I learned a few things that I need to improve on so I'll work on them. The transition from biking to running wasn't bad because I just had to change my shoes and take my helmet off. Running was HORRIBLE!!!! I won't ever forget that as I was leaving the area I was telling myself that I was just going to walk and right at that moment Tim yelled " Go, Baby, go... You can do it" So I turned around I looked at them and saw my beautiful family and I just couldn't walk. I run till the end...and they were at the finish line. Thanks!!! It was so worth it. It was a pretty neat experience and the beginning of something great. Thanks to all for your love and support!!!

So glad this week is over!!!

2008-05-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Last week was one of the toughest one for me not only with my crazy kids but also with my training. I can't go in details about every single nutty thing that Ashley and Lucas decided to do to try my patience since it involves crazy things that kids do (which I understand) and others that aren't so bad such as locking us out of the house. I could say that I am amazed by how much patience Heavenly Father has blessed me with this past week. I am so glad it is over!!! Actually as I was talking to my friend Christian about this crazy week she asked me to tell her something good about my week and I said I'd have to think about it. I am glad she asked that. It made me think about those blessings that I sometimes forget about like having healthy and very active kids. So to turn things around I decided to try to slow things down by having some ice cream with the kids in the backyard and from the picture you can see that Lucas was the one that enjoyed it the most and later on Saturday we all went to the Y. Well, the truth is that I didn't want to swim anymore. I was so worn out after our Saturday Morning ride. The ride is getting more intense and we are adding more miles. We are all pretty competitive. Honestly I am having the time of my life. I love it!! The people I ride with are great. I see them at church, at the Y and then on Saturday again. They are so much fun and that makes a big difference for me. By the way, I am doing my first Triathlon this coming Saturday in El Reno, OK. I wasn't planning on it but I was told that since I am doing the Iron man in September it'll be a great opportunity for me to do an open-water swimming race. Anyways I hope you are all having a great week...I'll be resting this week from my routines and getting ready for the race. I am getting anxious and pumped up at the same time. It has been 12 years since my last "real competition" and tough I am not expecting anything other than to finish the race I am still competing against myself and that is a challenge in and of itself.

We are so glad the weather has been nice!

2008-05-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids playing in our backyard, at the Oklahoma City Zoo, Sooner Mall and a picture of Lucas being excited with food...he loves food. Hope you are enjoying the nice weather as much as we are.

Happy Birthday to me!!

2008-05-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday and I wasn't going to write anything about it but I do want to say thanks to all of you that remembered it and that sent some nice birthday wishes. Also, thanks to Christie and Steve for the wonderful gifts. They are Tim's parents and as always they sent great gifts especially the roasting pan that I have been wanting to roast turkey the way we do in Paraguay. I am so excited to use it!!! Tim got me a trailer hitch and bike rack for my van so I don't have to put it inside my van anymore since it's starting to get dirty inside and also if I take the kids with me there is no room for the bike, the bike trailer, and the kids. I am so excited about this gift too and the other one that I received that I am soooo excited about is from my friend Gissella. She got me a gift certificate for a massage therapist to come to my house and give me a massage for an hour!!!! YAY!!!!!! I am so excited! I couldn't believe it. She is crazy. I am always complaining about my back and Friday night when we went out for dinner I said I wished I was in Paraguay to go and get massage like I do with my mom every time I go home. That is one of the ways my mom spoils me too. I love to get massages maybe because I am always in so much pain that my back feels so good after a good one. Anyways I just wanted to say thanks to everyone again for making me feel so special and I'll let you know when I use my super cool roasting pan and get my massage done...

I am a proud friend

2008-05-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have been training for the triathlon with some friends for the last 3 months on and off. About 3 weeks ago my friend Gissella asked if I could help her with her swimming so we have been meeting at the pool and I have showed her a few things that I thought might help her with her swimming. The first time we met she almost passed out...She did one lap and was completely out of breath. Since I know how laid back she is and also the fact that we have become pretty close friends we both laughed pretty hard when I realized that she truly wasn't able to do more that just that one lap. That is how we started. Slowly we started to add more distance and changed a few techniques here and there and...this morning Gissella was able to swim 500 meters!!! I timed her so she could sign up for the race and her time was 15:55. No bad for someone that couldn't even do more than two laps 3 weeks ago. I am so proud of her. Keep up the good work my dear friend. Now we need to get Sherrie to do the 500 meters. By the way, tomorrow I am timing myself so I'll let you know how it goes... Wish me luck.

[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. ~Emily Dickinson

2008-05-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

I want to take this opportunity to express my love and gratitude to my mom. I don't see her as often as I would like to and I miss her so very much. She has been and is an amazing mother and role model for me and my siblings. Today I would like to share just a few of the things that she has done for me and my family.

As I have previously shared, she highly values education. When I was about 7 years old she started writing Science Books and that same summer she underwent a serious surgery. My oldest sister took the 2 youngest girls to the hospital to see her right after her surgery and as we opened the door we saw my mom laying in bed surrounded by books and papers; we knew she was in pain but we also knew her determination/desire to achieve this dream that she had for so long. She is the author of 5 Science Books and we are all very proud of her.
When I joined the church I wanted to serve a mission and with her support I was able to serve a full time mission. It wasn't easy for her nor for any member of my family but I'll forever be grateful for allowing/supporting me to serve the Lord. On the top of that she came for my farewell and took me to the MTC. Later, after my mission she came to drive with me from Oklahoma all the way to Provo, UT so I wouldn't drive by myself.
When Tim and I were getting married my family was not planning on attending the wedding since they were not going to be able to go to the temple which I completely understand. As most girls will understand, I still wanted my mom there with me and sure enough, 3 days before the wedding she called to tell us she was leaving the next day to come for the wedding. I know how hard it is for her to arrange someone to take care of the things that she usually takes care of but she did it. The day before the wedding my mom and my niece arrived in Salt lake City for the Wedding!!!
Both times that my kids were born she was there by my side. Again, she found someone to take care of her work and came her to help me. When Lucas was born she even took Ashley with her for a month so that Tim and I could focus on the move and the new baby.
My mom is the kind of person that if you call and tell her that Ashley or Lucas is sick she wishes she lived close by to come and take care of them and she means it. And then she will add "you also need to rest so I wish I could help you." Isn't she nice?
Having my mom around feels great! She always finds ways to serve us. She does laundry, cooks for us, cleans the house for us, changes diapers, plays with the kids, but most importantly we get to enjoy her presence.

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY, MOM!!!

Love,
Maqui

A unexpected visit from the Williams

2008-05-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Williams were in town so they came to visit us on Saturday Night and as you can see from the pictures the kids had a good time. Lucas was the one that enjoyed their visit the most. He just followed them everywhere!! They are our old neighbors/friends from Owasso, Ok. We are glad to be able to keep in touch with them. They are a great family... Thanks for coming to visit!!

Ashley was the model and the boys the musicians/singers.

Ashley's Prayer

2008-05-06T08:46:00.001-07:00

There are days that I wonder if I am making any difference in my children's lives, especially in Ashley's. She could be the most stubborn or the sweetest little girl in this world. Lately she has been trying my patience more than ever and when I didn't know what else to do with her, she happened to say one of her sweetest prayers. She thanked Heavenly Father for all the friends she has, including us, Grandma, Grandpa, Pepper (the dog), Bethany, Emily and then she said...and for mommy who stays home with me and daddy who goes to OU to study. My heart melted. That day was one of the toughest days and her prayer was definitely an answer to my own prayer to give me courage to keep going and never give up on a STUBBORN SWEET LITTLE GIRL who after all recognizes that I stay home with her and who is grateful for that.

Ashley's new favorite pseudo-Primary song

2008-04-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ashley knows all of the Prophets and when we got this from the Andersons she got so excited that she wanted us to play this over and over again. We thought that this is a funny teaching tool to teach her about the modern-day apostles as well. Hope you enjoy it as much as she has.

Where's Ashley?

2008-04-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ashley likes to hide when daddy comes home. She hears the garage door open and immediately takes off to hide. This is one of her favorite spots. Tim walks in and immediately starts shouting "where's Ashley?." I then hear a little voice say, "I hiding. You don't find me!" She thinks that covering her eyes makes her invisible. Sometimes I wish it made her disappear! It's nice to see how excited she gets when Tim comes home.

Cravings!!

2008-04-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the things I have been craving lately: One day doesn't go by without me having one or two of these. In case you wonder what they are, one is regular popcorn, caramel popcorn and Pistachio Lovers nuts. I crave cookies too; well, if craving something means that you need it EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! ( I know you might think that I just want cookies but I need cookies:)

Beautiful Day!!!

2008-04-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the weather was great! The kids played in the backyard for hours and we watched movies after a delicious lunch with our friends Larry and Lauren. We sure miss having them around:(
Lucas had his usual snack...Popcorn! It's crazy that he is only 9 months old but he has done so well eating it. I think you are not supposed to feed it to babies until they are a year old... Too late for that. Ariana, our friends' daughter, gave him Ashley's sippy cup that had chocolate milk and he had half of it. He loved it! I am glad he didn't get sick or anything like that. Now every time he sees her sippy cup he cries for it.
I just wanted to shared these pictures with you. He is my happy little boy.

This picture is dedicated to the grandparents and Mama Cristi and Papa Luis. He is going to be the swimmer in the family. He loves the water so we are going to have lots of fun this summer!!

Tim's Birthday Dinner

2008-04-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

For Tim's birthday we had Mexican-style philly cheesesteaks with pina coladas (non-alcoholic...don't get any wrong ideas), chips and queso (we wish you were here, Jared), veggies with fiesta ranch dip (straight from the Hidden Valley...we highly recommend it), berry trifle, and cake, of course. As you can see, Ashley made sure to test our cake to make sure it was OK. Our friends the Lusks came over to celebrate and we had a great time with them. As an added bonus, Tim found Guarana Antarctica at a local Latino store, so we got to drink a taste of South America too. Everything was tasty!

Utensils...What for???

2008-04-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Lucas' thought process:
1. You going to eat that, Ashley?
2. Give me your spoon!
3. Now I have some of my own.
4. Forget the spoon; I want the yogurt.
5. Mmmmmmm
6. I'll have my bath now, mama.

Family Time

2008-04-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Tim has been taking the kids to McDonald's to the playground. This was on Saturday. Ashley had dinner there and then we took the kids to Chuck n Cheese. She felt very special and she is.
Here we are at Chuck E. Cheese. Ashley was pretty tired so she didn't enjoy it as much as we were expecting her to but we all had fun, especially Lucas who went crazy with the lights, music, and all the people.
Playing some Easter games.
Ashley eating some bunny-shaped brownies that we made from the brownie mix that Grandma got for us. Thanks Grandma!

Ashley is happy to be able to spend time playing outside. Also, thanks Uncle Daniel for the Princess t-shirt:)
Lucas is the happiest boy in the backyard. He loves to eat the sand and loves to play in the sandbox.
The day before the 33 miles bike race we went to Olive Garden to get some fuel (carbs) for the race. The food was great!!
Lucas loves food in general but as a snack he enjoys popcorn. Here he just finished his popcorn and some chocolate that Ashley shared with him. I would pay to see the smile on his face when he gets either one of them!

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma Dorius

2008-04-13T21:07:00.001-07:00

These are some of the pictures we took when Grandpa and Grandma Dorius came to visit over Spring Break. Great Grandpa Dorius who now lives in Memphis came to visit too and it was such a treat to have him in our home. I have already posted about the thing we did when they were here so now you can just enjoy the pictures!
p.s Thanks Bethany for all you help with the kids !! We love you all.

33 Miles Bike Race

2008-04-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

I know I am really behind blogging but things have been really busy here in OK. I have already talked to some of you about the 33 miles bike race that I had last Saturday so I'll start by posting something about it. I really enjoyed it. It was cool and windy but it was lots of fun. I did it with some friends from church and some friends from the Y. There is a group of us: some from church and some from the Y ( we all go to a cycling class at the Y taught by a church member) that ride together on Saturdays so we all did the race together and since I am not very good yet at changing gears a friend of mine, Scott, helped me the first 10 miles. Since it was very hilly he was worried that I would die pretty soon. The fun part started when I turned on a detour and I fell from my bike and crashed into a pile of dirt (and almost into a car that was at the at stop sign). Nothing happened to me except that my bike was riding kind of funny and the gears were not changing very well. That frustrated me because I still had 15 miles to go and the ride just wasn't as smooth as it was before. I was pretty mad. People that I had passed a long time ago started to pass me and I couldn't believe it. I have nothing against older people but you guys had to see them. they were going 5 mph and still passing me....What in the world??? I couldn't believe it. I am glad I started strong, otherwise I might had ended last. How pathetic is that? The hills were very hard but since my gears weren't working I couldn't feel much pain as most people did. Overall it was a great experience in every way. I am so glad Tim didn't take me to check out the route as I asked him to before. Otherwise, I might not have done it. It was long and difficult, but very rewarding. Now I am training for the triathlon that I am doing in June and then in September is the Half Ironman relay in which I am doing the swimming portion.

Some of the most memorable moments

2008-04-02T12:38:00.001-07:00

Too much going on...

2008-03-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

It has been crazy around here; that is why we are behind on our Family Blog. Spring Break was a week ago and it was so nice to have Tim at home with us. He played nonstop with the kids and they loved it. The weather was great so we spent a lot of time in our backyard playing with the swing set and the sandbox. Lucas can sit in his swing forever. It is so nice. Thanks Mom and Dad:). Ashley loves to play with the sand so she is always looking dirty. What can I say, at least it keeps her occupied with something else besides the TV. The Dorius Family and Great Grandpa Dorius were also able to come to visit and it was great!! We took them to the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum and other places such as OU in Norman and the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City where Tim goes to school. Tim also took us to Anadarko to a tasty place to eat sandwiches, malts and pies!!! If you know something about me you know I am all about pies and cookies!!!
The other news is that the kids have been sick with a virus several times throughout the last 4 weeks! It was been driving me crazy:( I have been calling home for help and wonder where my mom is... Oh yes. She is very far from here but she calls every day and checks on us. I miss her so much and wish she could be closer to go and visit her more often. I don't know if it is just me but who do you miss the most when your kids are sick??? Anyways we are hoping that Ashley will get better soon to go out again and do some fun stuff:)
Also this weekend is the Redbud Classic here in Oklahoma City. I am doing the 33 mile ride. I think I am crazy. I don't think I am ready for it but I'll let you know right after the race. I am sure that for some of you 33 miles isn't much but for someone like me who started doing cycling just about 2 months ago it sounds a lot! I am excited though to do it with my friend Sherrie. I am sure it'll be lots of fun and the beginning of a great cycling time with her and other friends from the ward. The big news is that I'll be training for the RedMan triathlon with other friends, but we are doing a relay and I am going to do the swimming part. That's not until September so I have plenty of time to train. I am pretty excited.
Also, Easter was a lot of fun. Ashley wore her new Easter dress from her Grandma Dorius (Thanks, Grandma, for the dress and all of the other nice gifts). Unfortunately, she also insisted on wearing her Belle "princess" dress, so we put it on top of her Easter dress and dragged her off to church. It had been a late night for her the night before. After sacrament meeting, we finally "persuaded" her to take off her princess dress. Needless to say, we looked awfully strange in church on Easter Sunday. We didn't get any calls from the Department of Human Services last week so maybe no one noticed how crazy Ashley looked. Still, it was great being together as a family on such an important day and to have our crazy, funny daughter showing her personality.
We'll try to post some pictures soon.

The Race is on!

2008-03-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

Many of you don't know about the changes that have been taking place in my life since we moved here and especially since January. Last year I started to work out and a few months later a friend asked me to join her in a triathlon but..surprise!! I got pregnant but I kept working out till 2 weeks before Lucas was born. I had great friends to work out with that I greatly miss and I just felt great so I was able to push myself. Yes, you could call me crazy because I was doing Boot Camp Classes but I loved them and I felt awesome.
Great company+ Good work out= Feeling Awesome.
So when we moved here I needed something to keep me motivated since my friends are no longer here to call me and check on me to make sure I am coming to the gym. So here is one of the big changes... I have been more than just working out but swimming (which if you know something about me you know I am a swimmer), biking (which I didn't like and now I really enjoy) and running (which I still hate). Sounds like a TRIATHLON!! Yes... I am doing either one or two. Sorry, Ben I haven't decided yet. More than the triathlon, I'll be doing duathlons (biking and running). My first competition is next month. It is called the Oklahoma City Redbud Classic and I'll be doing the 33 mile bike race. Later I'll choose other ones since there are tons to choose from and I honestly would rather do biking and not running. I also joined the local triathlon club to get some motivation to keep me going. The triathlons are in May and June ( the ones I am considering) and I'll be doing them with Ben , my friend Alicia's husband and her brother and some other friends from my ward that I invited to join me. I am not too sure about the one in May since it's in open water but Ben has challenged me and I can't say no but who knows? Training has been a little bit challenging with kids being sick and with my own health issues but I am enjoying it as much as possible. Last Saturday we got a road bike and I love it. I haven't been able to ride it outside because of the weather but I have used it with the trainer and it's great! Here is a picture of my new baby; at least I treat it as one of them.

I also need to recognize my parents and Tim for making it possible for me to do this. They have been so helpful in helping me get EVERYTHING that I need to do this. My parents have been so generous with me and my family and we truly appreciate that. Tim has helped me with the kids which is an enormous help! Thank you so much!!! I couldn't have done it without you.

Our nightly guest

2008-03-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

This is her room but she refuses to sleep there. She talks about Froggies being in her bed...I believed that before but now I have my doubts. How could you go from this comfortable bed to this??

The floor?

For the past three weeks Ashley has been coming to our room to sleep with us; I mean to sleep in our room but on the floor. Everything started one night when she had a nightmare and for whatever reason she hasn't been able to get over it. Some nights she chooses to sleep in Lucas' room others in the family room and they are both fine with us, but no matter what she ends up in our room. The last few nights she has yelled and cried about sleeping in our room so we said yes but now we want our room back so last night when I went to the store I found a night light with pictures of Snow White, Cinderella and Belle and I decided to get it to see if it could help her stay in her room as she used to do a long time ago so when it was time to go to bed Ashley, as usual came to our room. She already has a sleeping bag on the floor, but as she was getting comfortable there I showed her the night light and started heading towards her room and told here that she could have it IF she stays there and guess what?? She jumped in her bed and stared at her new night light.YEAH!!! We were so happy. We finally found something to keep her in her room till...3:00am when her cough got really bad. Darn! Oh well At least we tried, right?? Hopefully we are all going to get a good night's sleep tonight, believe me we need it! Lucas kept us up on Sunday night; it hasn't been fun. What can we do? That is part of having kids:)

A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.

2008-02-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

I know how busy she is back at home but I can always count on her on occasions such as having a baby, giving my mission farewell talk at church, taking me to the MTC (she is not even a member), supporting me on a mission, graduation ( except this last one because it was in May and she came in June to help with Lucas' birth), among MANY other things.

This is my mom and my two beautiful kids.

I just want to say Thanks to my mom for all that she has done for me. I can't imagine not having her as my role model. She has been an incredible Mom and I love her so much. She is amazing. Everything she does is great, it looks great, it tastes great, it feels good. She is an amazing person and an amazing Mom. Although we are so far from each other it has been very comforting to feel her love and support in everything that I do. She has helped many of my dreams come true. She is always looking for ways to help us and never gives up on us. I am also amazed at how well she knows me and knows my needs. She lives far from us but she always says the right words when I need them the most! I admire her for many reasons but most importantly for her love and constant support. She is a great example to me. She was blessed to have a wonderful mother and I am also blessed to have her as my mom. Thanks Mom and we hope to see you sometime soon.
Love,

Maqui
P.S. This quote reminds me of her.
"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie". ~Tenneva Jordan

Ashley Elaine Dorius...

2008-02-21T14:04:00.001-08:00

Ayer fue uno de esos dias en los que uno se pregunta...Para que era que yo queria hijos??? Lucas y Ashley ( los muy saludables) estan con la gripe y por supuesto eso significa no salida para ninguno incluyendo me a mi. Que divertido!! Lucas ha estado no solo con la gripe pero tambien con los dientes que le estan saliendo y encima Ashley se ha convertido en su derpertador. Desde la semana pasada que cuando Lucas se queda dormido en su cuna y ya no se le escucha Ashley va y se sube a su cuna. Por supuesto que el se despierta con un humor de pocos amigos. Eso es todo por Lucas ademas de que no le gusta que se le dija "deja eso" cuando esta tocando algo que no debe...Es muy sensible...Ashley por el otro lado cada dia sale con una historia nueva. Primero Tim se pasa todas las tardes cuando viene de la Universidad destrancando el inodoro de los papel higuienicos que Ashley tira. Aparte de eso se ha dedicado a la pintura como van a poder apreciar en las fotos y muy orgullosa de su trabajo ella pidio posar para la foto. Ahh no nos olvidemos de su vestido princesa. Yo lavo las ropas de ella pero lo que deberia lavar son sus vestidos. Hace unas semanas Tim se estaba prepando para irse al Hospital a hacer guardia en Urgencias. Cuando le vio a Tim con su chaqueta blanca le pregunta.. Wha you doing dadda? Que estas haciendo, dadda? Por lo que Tim le responde. Bueno yo me voy a ir al Hospital a hacer cosas que los doctores hacen. La interpretacion de Ashley fue. Oh mi papa es un doctor! Luego Tim le explico que no es un doctor pero no sirvio de nada. Al salir Tim le llevo al bano y me siento en el suelo frenta a ella a esperar que haga algo. Pero en lugar de hacer algo como pipi ella me dijo:

Ashley: Mama? Dadda is a Doctor.
Me: Well kind of
Ashley: I am a big sister
Me: Yes you are
Ashley: And you??? After much thought she said.. You are Cristina. Meaning you don't have a title or you are JUST Cristina

I laughed for hours..

mama? Dadda es un doctor
Yo le dije bueno no todavia
Y ella me dijo. Yo soy la hermana mayor
Por lo que le dije SI
Y luego me dijo
Y vos? Y penso y penso y me dijo..Vos sos Cristina
como diciendome no sos nada solamente sos Cristina.
Me hubiese encantado tener una filmadora ahi por la expresion de ella es algo que nunca me voy a olvidar. Luego le abraze y nos reimos muchisimo.
Tambien anda moviendo las sillas hasta donde estan los chupetines y se sienta ahi hasta comer todos los que ella quiere ademas de subirse a la mesa y bailar o saltar con un canjuro

Ashley con su obra maestra
La pared
El lavadero de manos
Comiendo chupetines

Nuestro bano se parece al del Colegio San Diego con diferencia de que aqui guardamos para que Ashley no tire dentro del inodoro y no porque se nos vaya a robar. O sea que mas vale que te acuerdes antes de entrar al bano de trae lo que vas a necesitar o de lo contrario estas...

Feliz Cumpleanos Tia kari!

2008-02-21T13:20:00.001-08:00

Tia Kari Feliz Cumple te deseamos todos tus sobrinos y te deseamos lo mejor! Gracias por cuidarnos tan bien y mimarnos como tus propios hijos. Nos encanta estar contigo y los que no estamos cera te extranos mucho. Felicidades!!
Te queremos mucho,

Jose, Cristi, Martin, Caro, Ashley and Lucas.Una foto de nosotros dos~
Soy una loca, no te parece?
Lucas tiene una hermosa sonrisa y pense en compartirlo contigo
Jose el te manda muchos besos y abrazos y promete colaborar mas!

Gracias por cuidarme cuando estuve por alla. Me diverti muchisimo:)

Cristi, Martin y Caro
Esta es mi pose favorita... Y como siempre parezco una loca!

We haven't gone anywhere...

2008-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Valentine's week was fun for us. Many things going on among them our friends from Dallas ( The Johansen's) came Wednesday afternoon and left Thursday after lunch. It was nice to have some company and the kids enjoyed playing as they always do. Ashley and Kaylee are a pretty dangerous combination! Ashley as I have mentioned before as become a little devil and Kaylee though she is cute and sweet is a hand full. Wednesday we stayed home and Thursday we went to the YMCA to swim and then to Norman for a little tour. I took Alicia and the kids to the "Greek House" for lunch. This is a place by OU that has great Gyros! Tim and I think that they are one of the best and has memories of our college years. After lunch we didn't have much time but we got to see OU and one of the apartments where we lived. It was fun and we hope to see them soon.

For fun we have been going swimming at the YMCA and the kids love it! Lucas loves water so He gets pretty excited every time we go.

For Valentine's Day we had dinner together as a family. Tim came home kind of late and it was fine because the kids were awake and in a good mood so they all got to play a little bit before going to bed. Ashley loves her daddy. She gets so excited every time he gets home! Tim loves chocolate and here he is having some dessert with Lucas..Caramelized apples with nuts!!

Here is Ashley. She got some Dora and Diego Chocolates. She loved it!

Daddy/Daughter Date

2008-02-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

This was last year at the Daddy/Daughter Dance . 2007

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2007

Daddy/Daughter Date 2008

Ashley enjoying the game and the time with her daddy.

Last year Tim and Ashley went to a Daddy/Daughter Dance at the church and I loved the idea of them spending some quality time together around this time of the year. I have a friend back at home who gets roses from her dad every Valentine's Day even though she is now married and with kids she still gets roses from her dad and I think it's the cutest thing so I thought we could do that too. Now Ashley enjoys going to games so I thought that going to an ice hockey game will be great for her. Later as she gets older I like the idea of them going on a "date" to a nice restaurant and doing other things together that they will enjoy. If we have more girls he'll have to take them on separate dates and I am sure they are all going to love it. We also want to do what my friend's dad has been doing with his girls so as soon as our girls leave our home they'll get roses from their dad for Valentines' Day. I am sure Tim will send them flowers more often than that but at least I want them to know how much he loves them and I think this is a great way to do it. I'll have to think of something to do with the boys! Last night was great for me and Lucas. He went to bed around 7:30pm so I watched "Food Network" and had my favorite thing in this world ...oatmeal raisin cookies ( I just love them) and a smoothie ( you know we all need some fruits once in a while, right) . It was nice:) I can't wait for them to go out on a date again!

Esta es la foto de el Date que Tim tuvo con Ashley este fin de semana. Tim le llevo a un partido de Hockey en hielo y a ella le encanto. Queremos hacer esto con ella especialmente cuando se acerca el dia de San Valentin y tambien en cualquier momento que eso sea posible. A nosotros nos encantaria enviarles rosas a nuestras hijas una vez que se vayan de la casa aunque sea que ella esten casadas creemos que es una buena manera de hacerles recordar cuando las queremos y en especial a las nenas de su papa luego vere que puedo hacer con los varones. Anoche fue espectacular. Lucas se durmio a las 7:30pm y yo comi galletitas con un jugo de frutas. Que mas puedo pedir??

Feliz dia de los Enamorados!!

What would I do without them?

2008-02-07T08:34:00.001-08:00

Hace unas cuantas semanas estuve hablando con mi amiga Alicia de como algunas personas son muy emotivadoras que no necesitan ayuda de nadie para llevar algo acabo sin embargo hay otros que necesitan de un empujon, como yo, y fue asi que nos preguntamos cuales son las cosas/personas que nos impulsan a levantarnos cada manana/a hacer cosas positivas en nuestras vidas. Ella lo primero que respondio fue sus ninos y yo me rei y le dije...Pues a mi tambien ya que me levantan/despiertan porque lloran o ya estan hablando. Logicamente ella se referia al amor que le tiene a sus hijos y yo me puse a pensar en mi vida. No tuve que pensar mucho para saber que lo que realmente me motiva dia a dia es mi familia. Ashley, Lucas y Tim han sido de una gran ayuda en mis ultimos anos. A veces es dificil estar lejos de tus padres y hermanos pero el tenerles a ellos me a llenado mucho mi vida. Ashley siempre ha sido una nina muy especial. A pesar de que ultimamente anda muy traviesa tiene un espiritu muy lindo. Ella me ayuda bastante con Lucas y ha habido muchas ocasiones en las que me ha hecho sentir mucho mejor. Lucas es un nino bello. Lo unico que puedo decir de El es que es divino. Tiene una cara tan innocente y una sonrisa con la cual le compraria a cualquiera. Tim ha sido un verdadero companero. Lo que mas admiro de El es su rapidez en perdonar y sus deseos de servir y ayudar a los demas. Tambien cuantos nos quiere a nosotros y todas las cosas que hace para que yo me sienta mejor, sea feliz y para que los ninos sean felices. El les adora a Ashley y a Lucas. Nunca he conocido a nadie con una facilidad de perdonar como la de El y de olvidar. Ni yo no puedo creer como el se olvida de cosas que le causaron dolor en algun momento del cual muchos de nosotros recordariamos. Sus deseos de servir y de ayudar me han ayudado a ser menos egoista. En broma yo le dijo que cosas que quiero hacer cuando El sea un doctor y el me sale con otras cosas como crear un Hospital de Cancer para Ninos o viajar a paises donde las personas no tienen medios de recibir ayuda medica, o de donar a instituciones que ayudan a los demas. Estas tres personas me han ayudado bastante como lo he dicho en los ultimos anos pero no puedo olvidar aquellos que me formaron desde mi infancia. Mis padres, mis hermanos y mis tios asi como mama celida y Abuelo Victor.
Muchas gracias a todos!

Who switched our little angel for a little devil?

2008-02-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Ashley using Lucas' jumperoo??? You tell me.

This is Ashley after writing on her face. She thought it was very cool and funny.

Aren't toddlers just ...fun?

It had to happen sooner or later. The terrible twos have finally arrived! This week has been by far one of my toughest ones as a mother. Ashley went wild and it was very hard for me to have patience with her. To name a few things that she's done: she started by coloring our wall with colored pencil. We have tried the magic eraser but it has not worked for us so if you have any suggestions please let me know. Later she decided that it was funny to throw things in the toilet such as a roll of toilet paper, toys, and anything else that could go in. Disgusting!!!! She also started to climb on the counter top in the bathroom and let the water run so she dances and plays with the water at the same time. Sounds like fun doesn't it? No, it isn't! I have been drying her bathroom floor more than I can tell. She is also starting to climb our bookshelf. She has also been putting her liquid soap on the mirror in her bathroom and she thinks she is cleaning and helping me. She also decided that it is fun to color her face with markers. The first time I saw it I was busy and couldn't stop her but when she decided to color Lucas' face too I had to stop reading and go and get her. She always chooses the time that I am the most busy such as feeding Lucas, changing his diaper, reading, showering, or even cooking. These are all normal behaviors for a two-year-old but we would rather have our sweet little angel back.

I need this sweet little angel back!

President Hickley

2008-01-28T09:21:00.001-08:00

Here are some of His quotes that I like the most...

"Now, my brethren and sisters, the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike."

"Truly, my dear young friends, you are a chosen generation. I hope you will never forget it. I hope you will never take it for granted. I hope there will grow in your hearts an overpowering sense of gratitude to God, who has made it possible for you to come upon the earth in this marvelous season of the world's history."

"There is a sad tendency in our world today for persons to cut one another down. Did you ever realize that it does not take very much in the way of brainpower to make remarks that may wound another? Try the opposite of that. Try handing out compliments."

"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well being of ones companion."

"We live in the world. We work in the world. But we must rise above the world as we pursue the work of the Lord and seek to build His kingdom in the earth."

"There is room for improvement in every life. Regardless of our occupations, regardless of our circumstances, we can improve ourselves and while so doing have an effect on the lives of those about us."

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-01-26T15:04:00.001-08:00

Feliz Dia de San Valentin!!. Ya se que todavia faltan algunos dia para el 14 de febrero pero como ya he decorado mi casa de San Valentin pese que deberia porner algo en el Blog sobre eso. Hay muchas fotos que me encantaria compartir con ustedes pero no las tengo en la camara digital por lo que no podre hacerlo pero si encontre algunas que espero les gusten. Me encanta el Dia de San Valentin por que esta lleno del color rojo ...ya se navidad tambien pero en la navidad puedes ponerte melancolico por la ausencia de personas con quienes deseas estar mientras que el dia de San Valentin no es una gran fiesta entre familiares excepto en mi familia jajaja. . Aqui puse algunas fotos que me traen buenos recuerdos espero que los difruten y feliz dia de San Valentin!!!

The Johansen's are coming through town!!

2008-01-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

Ashley is such a great helper... at least that's what she thinks

She was so excited with so many different heart shapes

Here are Brent and Lucas.

Here are Kaylee and Ashley. Kaylee loves icing!

We are always excited to have friends over and it has been great for us to have the Johansens over at least once a month in our home. This week was tough for me with the kids and the weather didn't help a bit but their visit made us all feel great (especially me). Ashley and I decided to bake some Valentine's cookies for them and us:) Here are some pictures of our fun visit with them and as always we all had a great time!! Thanks for stopping by; we love it!

Blessings...

2008-01-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

As we begin this new year I just wanted to let my family and friends know how much they mean to us. This Holiday season was a time to reflect on the things that matter most and I got to thinking about all the blessings I have in my life. Last year was a great year for us and it was great because of you all. Luke Russell was born on the 28th of June and everything went well and weeks before he was born I graduated from OSU with a Bachelors degree in Sociology and I couldn't have done it without the help from friends in Owasso and Christie. Alyssa, Tim's sister left on her mission a day before Lucas was born and she is doing great. She is serving in Phoenix, Arizona. We also sold our first house after being in the market for exactly a month( it could have been after 2 days but we weren't that lucky:) My family was here for a month in January and then my mom came back to help with the baby and stayed for another month (by the way my mom got here at 10:00am and hours later the baby was born). Later my mom took Ashley to Paraguay with her for a month!!! talk about being blessed:) and after 4 weeks I went to Paraguay with Luke and came back with both kids...I know it was crazy but it was so much fun!. The Dorius Family came to visit several times and as always it was a treat to have them here. Now we are looking forward to having Grandpa Dorius here visiting us. Tim started medical school and believe it or not he is enjoying it a lot and doing very well!! Things are going great for us, more than we probably deserve but we won't complain!! Christmas break was great. We visited friends and spent time at home as a family:) What else could we ask for?

I am so glad that I graduated from college last May!! This is something that means so much to me and my family and though it wasn't so easy to do it with a toddler and a baby on the way I always thought of my mom and what an example she is to me. To mention just one thing she did, she went to Austria to finish a part of her years of education when she had just found out that she was pregnant with my oldest sister. She left my dad and everyone behind and moved on to achieve this dream/opportunity that was presented to her. My sister was born there and somehow she was able to get her degree there and take care of my sister all by herself when my dad and my mom's parents thought that she would come home soon before or after the baby was born. I often wonder how she did it since I can't imagine doing it without her help! Thanks Mom...:)
This is Lucas at age 1 month! He is a big baby, can you tell? We are so happy to have him in our lives. He is quite different from Ashley in every way. He is our cute and happy baby boy! Thanks Grandma Dorius for all the outfits you send for the kids! She is always buying tons of things for them and we appreciate that so much! I think that she has been sending new sets of outfits for Lucas every other month since he is growing so fast. Thanks Christie! The kids are always very stylish with their new outfits:)

Tim's white coat ceremony. It was such a great ceremony and I couldn't believe that Tim is now part of the medical field. They discussed the question "What kind of Physicians do you want to be? I always knew that physicians in general are important but I didn't understand/appreciate till that night how amazing this field is and what a great opportunity to serve others and also the trust that people have in physicians and the importance of keeping that trust and in doing all you can to cure/save/protect a person. I am so glad that Tim is involved with it. I am so proud of Tim I can't even explain it. He is loving medical school and I am so happy for him. So far it has been great. It hasn't been like most people talk about, it has been like a regular full-time job. He is always home for dinner and the kids and I love to have him home. He studies on the week between and after classes so on the weekends we can go out and do fun things as a family. We are so proud of you!!

Christmas break, Christmas Day and New year!

2008-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Ashley got a tricycle and many other toys! Thanks Grandma Dorius and Mama Cristi:)

It great to see how excited Ashley got with every gift.

Before going to our Ward Christmas Party.

Ashley asked for a Baby Doll, as she did last year, and she got more than that!

Going shopping to Toys R Us.

Ashley enjoys playing with her dad.

We spent lots of time baking cookies and cup cakes! We all enjoy them:)

Isn't she adorable? She loves when anyone takes pictures of her.

Christmas Day opening gifts!

Ashley is painting her Christmas tree/ brownie tree.

They have enjoyed riding their new car. Thanks to the three Kings fro that:)

We had such a great Christmas break and we definitely took advantage of being together as a family for 3 weeks!! Our first week we went to an OU basketball game and we all enjoyed it! We just love OU. There is something about OU that makes us proud and happy to be a part of the things that the University offers. Our treat as a family is to go to Norman to eat at The Greek House and take the kids to Sooner Mall; we try to do this every weekend if we can.
Later that first week we got an invitation from our friends in Fort Worth to come and visit them; needless to say that Friday morning we packed and left for Texas! There we had a great time going out to eat, visiting downtown Fort Worth, and even seeing Santa Claus! The kids enjoyed playing together as they used to do. It was great to see the Johansen's again and to spend a weekend with them. We are glad to get to see them quite often as they travel back to Oklahoma to visit family. On our way out we stopped to see Matt ( Tim's roommate in college) and Monica. It was kind of late and we wanted to drive back to Oklahoma that night so we didn't have much time to hang out with them so we went to the Mall to eat and walk around. I haven't seen them in years so it was nice to see them after a long time especially now that they are expecting their first baby!
Christmas Eve we went over to the Lusk's home and had a great time! They are one of the coolest families we have met and we enjoy being with them. Christmas is a big thing for them as it is for my family so they just made me feel at home with gifts for EVERYONE, including us. I am telling you they are so nice! On Christmas we spent time as a family as well as that whole week.
We celebrated New Year's Eve as we do back in Paraguay, BIG! We had the Lusks over for dinner and later did all the traditional things that my crazy and fun family does. We ran down the street with suitcases, touched a fish, counted money, and got down from the chair at 12am with our right leg among other fun things I have done my entire life! Although I missed my family tons it was so nice to do the same things that they do back at home. I even tried to set up my table as my mom does hers and we cooked a lot of food representing abundance. The only thing we missed is the big breakfast on the 31st to say good-bye to the old year but we definitely had a BIG dinner to welcome the New Year!
It was so fun to relax, eat, watch movies, eat, go shopping, eat and play with the kids. On Sunday we celebrated Three Kings' Day like we do in Paraguay and we all liked it, especially Ashley who is very excited about opening gifts! Thanks Mama Cristi for the gift, the kids are enjoying it very much.

Our trip to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

2007-12-23T20:50:00.001-08:00

Nuestros amigos en Fort Worth nos han invitado a ir a visitarlos antes de las fiestas de Navidad y ano Nuevo por lo que un viernes empacamos y salimos para TEXAS! A Tim y a mi nos encanta visitar Dallas, TX ya que tienen una variedad de cosas que hacer aunque no quisieramos vivir ahi debido al trafico que hay en la ciudad. Nuestra visita a la familia Johansen estuvo muy divertido. Los ninos no pararon de jugar y hasta nos fuimos a verle a Santa Claus. Ashley y Brent le pidieron un tren y una muneca. En Fort Worth salimos a comer a Cheddar's y Joe T. Garcia's y la comida en ambos lugares estuvo espectacular!! Highly recommended. Ben y Alicia nos llevaron a conocer Down town Fort Worth y otras partes de la ciudad y la verdad que nos gusto bastante. Ben tambien nos llevo a ver su lugar de trabajo y el gimnasio al cual va todas las mananas a las 5:30pm ( maybe not hahaha). Gracias Ben, Alicia, Brent and kaylee!! La pasamos super bien. Luego a la venida fuimos a ver a Monica y Matt que estan apunto de tener su primer bebe. Primero fuimos a su condominio y luego a Northpark Mall a caminar y cenar. Este Mall es enorme! Ashley la paso re bien corriendo por todos lados y Lucas como siempre se porto espectacular! Luego de 2 dias de viaje nos regresamos a Oklahoma y adivinen que??? Habia nevado el fin de semana y todo se veia hermoso... Gracias por un divertido fin de semana

Christmas!

2007-12-20T21:49:00.001-08:00

Our two precious children

2007-12-20T21:35:00.001-08:00

Navidad!!!

2007-12-12T10:01:00.001-08:00

Our beautiful Christmas Tree. I just love Christmas, especially when you get to spend it with family! I am hoping my mom will show up one of these days!! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The Nativity set from Paraguay that mom brought me last year. Thank you mom!! It's beautiful.

Ashley's Christmas tree

Lucas' Christmas tree

Nosotros terminamos nuestra decoracion de Navidad el 30 de Noviembre pero no hemos sacado fotos por lo que pense que seria una buena idea hacerlo para que puedan ver como ha quedado nuestra casa. Este ano no hemos puesto luces afuera pero si hermos decorado la puerta principal y la entrada (fotos otro dia) Como siempre todos los cuartos tienen un arbolito y algo de Papa Noel. Ashley este ano le pidio a Papa Noel una muneca. Ojala que siempre pida una sola cosa.jajaja yo sin embargo tengo una lista de cosas que por vergueza prefiero no compartir...

My little Princess

2007-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is her first princess dress. She wore it every single day!

Doesn't she look like a model?

She is so happy when she gets to dress up.

Ashley woke up this morning asking for her Cinderella dress which was dirty but she insisted that she needed to have a princess dress on so I decided to give her one of her Christmas presents since she is going to have quite a few anyways. She was so happy when she saw it that she literally wore it all day long. We went to Panera Bread and she wasn't going to take it off.

Lucas' first solid Food!

2007-12-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

This is my cute little boy.

Lucas has been crying every time he sees us eat so we figured that milk is not enough for him anymore. By the way he weighed 19lbs 2 weeks ago and he just turned 5 months! Ashley was 20 lbs when she turned 2 years old! Anyways I got him some Oatmeal cereal and fed him today for lunch. He did very well for it being his first time.

Reasons to go to Paraguay

2007-12-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I was on the phone with my mom when Ashley told her that she wants to get on an airplane with her and go to Paraguay. Then she kept telling her to come visit and it was cute the way she asked my mom to come. Anyways as you can imagine my mom is planning on coming to get her again! We told her that January is the best time so Tim could spend time with her over Christmas Break and Ashley is very excited about it. Today she got mad at me because she wanted to go inside a friend's house when we were just dropping something off so she said " Mama Cristi, Paraguay, Ok Mommy, Ok, No silly, Paraguay, Paraguay" I laughed so hard. I could not believe that. Later I thought of reasons to go that Ashley might think of when she thinks of Paraguay and here are a few that I came up with.

Mama Cristi let her wear pants with her dress on the top of it on her way to Paraguay. She looked pretty funny and she thought it was the most fashionable outfit.

She doesn't look too happy in this picture but I just wanted to mention about her "Chita" meaning Chocolate Milk. Ashley drinks about 4 cups of it everyday and Papa Luis (Grandpa) made sure, every single day, that she had her "Chita" even if that meant going to the store late at night or early in the morning. She got the special kind and when one day she ran out of it I made it with milk and chocolate powder and she yelled "I want Chita" and didn't take it. I said " Sweetie we are going home pretty soon and remember that's how I make your Chita there. Thanks Mama Cristi and Papa Luis for the gallons of Chocolate Milk. She misses it!

Ashley got her hair done every week by my sister Nancy ( she is not the one in the picture) at her salon. She loved to have her hair washed and done. As a matter of fact she loved being there and playing with all the things she found there including writing on her couch with pen. Oh no!! My sister never complained!!!

She went to school every morning and met tons of kids. She was very famous and known as the Exchange Student or the International Student. They all loved her and she loved them all. By the way she was the youngest student too. Another advantage she had was that whenever she wanted to quit being in the classroom she went to hang out with my siblings or my mom and got to play there with them until she decided to go back to class. During recess she went to the cafeteria and got whatever she wanted to eat. Towards the end of her trip she didn't want to wear the uniform anymore and she was allowed to wear her favorite pink dress which at the end became her uniform. She loved her dance class and music class.

She enjoyed playing in the pool table with her cousins and friends.

Food!!! Ashley really liked the food there. Sweet treats and steak where her favorites. I am pretty sure she remembers her snacks there:) and the meat she had there!

In the afternoons she danced with Cristi and Mama Cristi and if you know something about Ashley you know she loves to dance! and especially latin music; it's in her blood:)

This is how spoiled she was there! All her cousins love her to pieces and did anything to make her happy. I know Ashley misses them and they miss her.

Of course I can't forget the bowl of candy that aunt Karina prepared for Ashley. No wonder why Ashley left her classroom and went to visit her. Aunt Karina truly knows how to spoil her nieces and nephews.

This is how she looked after school. I am sure you can tell that she had tons of fun.

Now I don't wonder anymore why she wants to go there. It's very obvious to me:)

Smiles

2007-12-04T18:58:00.000-08:00

I just love her smile!

What can I say? I just love my kids.
These million-dollar smiles don't come cheap.

I can't even put into words how I feel every time I see the kids smile, especially if they are smiling at me. Ashley has grown so much and it is so cute when she says to her friends, "This is My Mommy" and she gives me a kiss and a hug. Now that she has a baby brother and sees my affection towards him she has become more loving than ever. In the morning when Ashley and Lucas see each other they both have the biggest smile and you can already tell how much they love each other and I can't explain how I feel when I see that. Lucas, on the other hand, is always smiling. No matter what I am doing, he gives me a big smile that turns any bad day into a blessed day.

Thanksgiving Break

2007-11-27T17:24:00.001-08:00

Dorius Family 2007

Us and Great Grandpa Dorius

Tim, Ashley, Lucas and me.

Tim and Ashley having fun in Nashville.

Tim and the kids visiting Nashville.

Thanksgiving Week was great. We left Moore earlyTuesday morning and got to Memphis around 2:00pm. It was great to see everyone there including Matt and Tina and Emily who flew back from Provo to be with the family for Thanksgiving. We were also able to spend some time with Grandpa Dorius and it was such a treat. We even went out for lunch with him and it was great to hear about his past and his anecdotes. On Friday morning we went to Nashville on a family trip. Ashley enjoyed the trip more than I would have ever guessed. Ashley and Tim got to ride the carousel for more than an hour!!!! You pay $ 4 per person and get to ride as many times as you want and needless to say that Tim and Ashley took advantage of that. It was funny to see people ride 2 or 3 times and leave and then watch Ashley and Tim riding again and again. The highlight of the trip for me was to see Ashley and Tim spend time together in the carousel. She was so happy to be with her dad and riding the horses and he was so happy spending time with her. I really enjoy watch them interact. She admires and respects her daddy so much and he adores her! From Nashville we went back to Memphis and spent the night there and then Sunday morning we headed back home.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Let's have some fun

2007-11-18T19:28:00.002-08:00

Come play with me, Lukie! Just sit back and relax and I will make you my little plaything. Here are some sunglasses for you and me to use. How do we look?

This is kind of fun.

OK, now I am not so sure about this. Why is everything so dark? Is it time to sleep? Mamaaaaaaaaa!

Thanksgiving 2006

2007-11-14T13:48:00.001-08:00

This was last year in Memphis,TN on Thanksgiving Day.

Daniel, Tim, Ashley, Grandpa and Grandma Dorius and me.

Tim and me.
This year we are going to miss Great-Grandma Dorius and Alyssa who is currently serving a mission in the Phoenix, Arizona Spanish Speaking Mission.

Daniel and Ashley.
Every year we go to the park by the house to feed the duckies and sometimes we even play. Last year we had a lot of fun playing in the park and Daniel helped us with Ashley who kept trying to run away from us.
We are looking forward to going to Memphis next week!! I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!