Loves her Toast!

I don't like the mess that it makes because I literally have to wipe her down about 3 times before I get all of the crumbs, but she really doesn't care, because it's so Darn Good!

Our Little Tiger Cub

There's another tiger in this house besides Sassy!

Gabe is really enjoying Cub Scouts. He's learning that it's not all about tying knots and other "boring" stuff.

We went to tour the local fire station last Thursday night. The first picture above is Gabe showing that he will NOT be afraid if he ever sees one of these guys searching for him in a burning building...something I PRAY NEVER HAPPENS!!!

Something I've noticed about myself...

That I don't like to cut my hair while Phillip is gone. I mean, I trim and shape it up when it's needed, but as for the length, I don't cut any off.

And here's why:
My hair grows at an incredibly slow rate. And while Phillip is gone, time goes by at an incredibly slow rate. So, by not cutting my hair, I can look in the mirror and physically SEE how much time has gone by.

It's not something I planned. I didn't cut any length off on the first deployment either. I just have no desire to do it; it's almost like I'm cutting off and making major changes to something that BELONGS to US. Get it? I know it's kind of deep thinking, but...

So the same hair that's there when's he gone, is the same hair that he will come home to.

I do it all in the name of LOVE.

(Now where did I put the phone number to my therapist?)

Not much going on...

Hey there!

I'm writing to tell you that not much is going on over here. I see it's been over a week since I've posted...

Sarah is back to being her old self again. Pulling herself up to get into some kind of trouble is her main thing these days. Poor Gabe, when he's playing with his Wii, she just loves to just stand there and play with the remote wire and he's constantly moving to get away from her, so he can play in peace. Of course, she follows him step for step. And it's kinda depressing to be shopping in the toddler section for 12 month sizes; no more shopping in the baby section.

Oh, and on this past Sunday, we were waiting for a table at a restaurant in Dallas. I hear this noise like some poor animal is killing it's squeaky toy. Gabe tugs on my arm and tells me to look at this little toddler who is wearing these Mary Jane shoes that squeak with every step she takes. Oh, I have to have a pair for Sarah!!! Phil's sister's friend, Toni, said that one brand of this shoe is called Wee Squeaks (some brands can be up to $80), so she'll keep an eye on them for me (she owns a second-hand store for children). But by checking out the Wee Squeaks site, I think I might be able to shell out a few bucks for them. It's a must have, ya'll! And I've never been "cheap" on good quality shoes... wink, wink.

Gabe has been doing so good in school. It amazes me on how much he can read these days and I have to remind myself not to do something stupid like leaving Christmas lists lying around. So long are the days when you spell things that you don't want him to hear! He's also matured quite a bit in the past few months. If it's "babyish", don't bother buying it; that goes for clothes, toys, etc.

I've started on the dreaded Christmas shopping. Not actually purchasing just yet, but plan to start ordering in the next few days. If I can, I'll do most of my shopping via the internet so I can have it shipped to Louisiana; because we're spending Christmas there. I hate to mention it to jinx us, but it looks like Phillip will be able to spend the Christmas holiday with us! We are very excited that Gabe will be out of school while Daddy is home.

That's all for now folks. I hope everyone is doing well.

Wii Fit! Me Fit?

Last night, while I was bathing the kids, my doorbell rang. At almost 7 p.m....gotta love the UPS guy.

For my birthday, on August 20th, Phillip ordered a Wii Fit for me that never came in. So, we called the company that he ordered it from and canceled with them. I was supposed to just go buy it in the local area and take the money out of Phillip's account, but I've been too cheap to do it. So, Phillip took it upon himself to send it to me via BestBuy. I was not expecting it. And this is about the only time in our 9 year marriage that he's been able to surprise me. LOL No...just joking.

I must say...I LOVE IT! I had fun setting it up today and I'm sure that Gabe is chompin' at the bit to try it out himself (we didn't have time to set up last night).

I'll let you know how it goes, because I know that some of you are curious. As for now, I rate it 4 Stars and an A+!

Thanks, baby! I Love You!



PS. I've finished the photo collection and I have our Halloween pictures up. Enjoy!

Update...

Hey guys!

It was a crazy past couple of weeks.

In an earlier post, I mentioned how exhausted I was mentally and physically, and I think my Creator wanted to show me just how bad things could get with Sarah getting sick. And then, to make matters worse on the needing to rest thing, Phil's sister called that Monday after "the post" to ask if she could take Sarah for the week (she swears she did not see the post or talk to Phil's Mom, who I cried to the night before); well, she couldn't have Sarah for the week, because Sarah was so sick. I think Murphey's Law was definetly working on this situation!

Sarah is much better now. She is eating, drinking, and growing like a bad weed. She is even pulling herself into a standing position now! Still no sign of teeth yet...they've been in there since she was 3 months old, but they refuse to come out. My dental hygienist said that once they do decide to come out, they will come out all at once and I'll have some fun times!

I am so very thankful that Phillip's parents could come out to help when Sarah was sick. They truly are wonderful people. With their help, I was able to physically rest, get a little sick myself (ha, ha!), spend some time with friends, get my head on straight, and enjoy my anniversary gift from Phillip with no guilt or fuss with having to find a babysitter (I was treated to a day at the spa, etc.).

And I must give some credit to Gabe. He is such a great kid. He totally understood that I needed to meet Sarah's needs and that I was worn out. He helped whenever he could, and a lot of that help came from just being an all-around awesome little man.

Here's a few other things for ya:

• Thanks to all that called to check on us while Sarah was sick. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern.
• Sarah is "gumming" toast and french fries these days! If only she had teeth....she loves table food.
  
• check out Pandora.com. It's an great little music site that I was told about yesterday. You can create your own "station" by typing in the name of your favorite artist.
• I am still working on my photo collection. So, from time to time, visit it to see "new" pics of the Lopez Four.
• We are getting excited about Phillip coming home soon for R&R. We also have some answers, though not concrete, on our future path with the Army. I'll give you details as we feel it is a safe time to give them. It does look like we will be staying here in Texas for a while, I'll give you that much.
• We've decided to not do the combination Disney Cruise/World thing that we were planning on for our post-deployment celebration trip. We'll save the extra thousands and just spend more time in the Orlando area doing Disney World at a slower pace, and maybe check out Universal Studios and NASA, etc.
  
• Because we will most probably be staying here in Texas (and will have what looks like a very busy summer), I think that it will be time for me to start looking at going back to work in the Fall of 2009. I'm anxious to get my hands bloody again.
• You may not know this about me, but I am a STALKER! (tee hee hee, chuckle, chuckle) I bought a map of the sights in Austin. Check out http://www.austinstarmap.com/. For my local gals, if you ever wanna participate in a day of driving around and taking photos, just let me know.
  

I think that's all for now.
You guys take care, and I hope that you are all safe, happy and healthy.