About a year and a half ago I started praying for my family.

Don't get me wrong, I've always prayed for Scott and the kids, but this was different. My heart was heavy...unsettled. I couldn't really express how I was feeling at the time, I just knew something was changing. It was this stirring in my soul that I  had never experienced. It left me not really knowing how to pray so I very simply starting asking God for His will to be done. I needed to let go of my own thoughts and feelings, wants and desires and instead focus on His plan for our family. I prayed for Him to break our hearts for what breaks His. I wanted us to feel compassion for others like we had never felt before. I wanted His eyes so we could look at others the way that He does. I felt like we were just going through the motions of Christianity but not truly living like disciples of Christ. So I prayed...asking God to change us...and has he ever.


We've gone through a lot since I began praying that prayer. 


Scott started working a second job...
A night job.
All night.
Five nights a week.
That made for a happy family. 


Teenage girl drama. 
Enough said.


The ups and downs of homeschooling.
Something I love and am so grateful for, but there are some days it's...well...
Hard
Inconvenient
Exhausting
Frustrating
Demanding
I'm out of adjectives so I'll stop, but you get the picture.


My crazy annoying health issues...I won't bore you with those. Let's just say since December we could have bought a car with what we've paid in co-pays...a nice car.

Extended family issues...another day...another post. 


But the big one for me...the thing that I think God has used the most...the most painful thing I've ever gone through in my life, yet something that I have learned so much from and thank God for everyday...


My miscarriage.  

It's summer. That means no school, swimming, BBQ's, sleeping in (I wish) and for me... lesson plans. Lots and lots of plans. I am easily overwhelmed at times when I think about all that goes into educating my kids at home. Especially now that I will be doing more with all three of them. My first year (2 years ago) I tried making my own planner. It was OK, but I was always adding things and taking things off. I spent more time working on that than actually using it to plan our school day. Then I came across this beauty...



Trapper Keeper style. That's how I roll.



The Well Planned Day...we shall see.



Had a rough week this week with the little ones... Isabel came down with a terrible infection Wednesday morning. She was getting sick every 20-30 minutes for the entire day. I took her to the Dr. mid-afternoon and they gave her a suppository which eventually helped settle her little tummy and she was able to get some rest. She was still very weak on Thursday and running a temperature; by Friday morning we were back at the Dr.'s office. After taking blood and urine they determined that she had a UTI and her white count was high...a shot of Rocephin and by Friday night she was as good as new! In the meantime Joaquin was having diarrhea on and off and ran a low fever for a few hours and little Lola started complaining of an earache. She's now on an antibiotic and feeling much better. All in all I think (I PRAY) we are on the mend from all of the yuckiness!

Also having quite a time with Ali Anne...sweet as can be, also 14. Poor girl has so much on her plate that I don't even know where to begin to try to help her out. I talk with her, pray with her, pray for her. I just want her to realize how much her daddy and I love her, how we accept her no matter what and only want what's best for her. I also know she's longing for acceptance that may never come and that breaks my heart. She is such a beautiful young lady inside and out, I want to much for her to enjoy her teenage years. To be a kid for the short amount of time she has left of her childhood...

My prayer for Ali is this...

I pray the the Lord would graciously protect HIS daughter. That Ali will cling tightly to the truths that we have taught her about who she is IN HIM and not base her worth on what the enemy would want her to believe about herself. I pray that through all of these tough situations Ali will see that God is working everything together for good because she loves him. That he is with her and will never leave her or forsake her. I pray that she will feel his presence in her life more and more everyday and that she will develop a faith and a boldness for Christ because of  her trials and not grow weary. I pray that Ali will grow into a woman who loves and serves Jesus Christ before all else.


I love you and thank you all for lifting Ali up...and my whole family up in prayer. It means so much to me that I have family and friends interceding on our behalf.

Took my little man in today to get his cast put on. I can't believe how big he is getting! He answered all of the Dr.'s questions before I even had a chance. During the exam Dr. Gabriel was looking at J's left arm (he broke the right) and he informed him that he didn't need to look at that one because it wasn't hurting. Such a smarty pants...here are some pics of his big moment...

I had the best day yesterday. Raul and I had a wedding to go to in Manhattan and decided at the last minute that it would be a lot more fun if the kids stayed here with Greema Teresera (as Lola would say). I know it sounds totally lame, but after the week I've had, really the last few weeks we've both had, we really needed yesterday. We headed out around 11am  and talked for 2 hours straight. No radio, no iPod, no books. For those of us who know my Raul that was amazing!

The wedding was so beautiful Shauna looked stunning and I loved her bridesmaids dresses...black with a little bit of green...and cowgirl boots! The groom was Scott's cousin Brian, he was so sweet and tender with his new bride...awe young love (should we have warned them)? Totally kidding!!! The reception was held in an old opera house in downtown Manhattan, it was very cool. We got to see all of the Sanchez side which is always in interesting time!

Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, Raul had to work last night so we left early. The drive home was gorgeous. We took the scenic route through the Flint Hills and it was beautiful. There were two storms in the distance and an amazing sunset, last night Kansas was not boring. (We must be getting old).

The ride home was just as awesome as the ride there. We had wonderful conversations about God and his amazing creation, our marriage and family, moving, our friends who are moving...sniff, sniff. I realized just how much I have been missing my husband. Even though we see each other every day and talk every day we don't take the time we need to really just be together. It is something that we just don't do anymore...we hang out at home (with our kids), we go out on the weekends (with our friends), but we don't date. We really need to date.

There is a verse in Isaiah that I love; it says "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19. I wouldn't call my marriage a desert or a wasteland, but sometimes it can feel that way! We struggle just like everybody else. When something isn't working in your marriage it might be time to try "a new thing." It might be praying together, seeking out trusted Christian friends for advice, counseling or simply taking the time to date your spouse. Whatever it might be God can and will make a way in our deserts. He can and will give us streams in our wastelands. As I'm learning in bible study right now, sometimes it is God that chooses the wilderness for us. He brings us there so we can learn to depend on him for everything in our lives. He brings us there so we can truly experience Him, the God of the universe, in a personal way. He's all about relationship with his people. When we finally learn that we can't do life on our own, and surrender it all to him; we can truly experience God in a way that didn't know was possible.

It's been a crazy week around here...between broken bones and sleepless nights I think mama needs a vacation! Wednesday we went over to the McClure's so I could have some much needed cuddle time with new baby Lily. After only being there for about half an hour Charlie comes up and says that Joaquin hurt himself. I went downstairs to find my sweet little man in tears holding his right wrist. I held him for a while and he settled down but just kept saying how bad it hurt. I made an appointment to take him to the Dr. just in case, but after watching him play and perk back up I thought I was over re-acting so I canceled it. Throughout the rest of the afternoon he would be OK and then all of a sudden complain about his wrist again...there was no redness or swelling, he could move his fingers and wrist, I had no real reason to believe that anything was broken, but Joaquin is really not a complainer...I decided to run him up to immediate care just to be on the safe side (and look like an idiot when the Dr. says there is absolutely nothing wrong.) Well...we go to immediate care and they took him right back for x-rays. It was cute, he was sitting on a stool beside the table where the technician wanted him to put his arm and she said, "OK Joaquin go ahead and lean over." Joaquin took that very literally and leaned all the way over and laid his head on the x-ray table...pretty funny... Dr. Thomas came in a few minutes later and asked Joaquin what he was doing when he got hurt. J explained how he thought it would be easier to dunk a basketball if he could stand on a chair, but then he fell off the chair instead. Dr. Thomas just shook his head and told us that he does have a fracture. Our first broken bone...(except for the time Daddy broke his wrist, now that's a funny story.) Joaquin has a buckle fracture in his right radius. Nothing crazy serious, he's in a splint until Monday if the swelling goes down he will be put in a hard cast for 3-4 weeks. It should heal completely on it's own without surgery...Thank the Lord...mama couldn't handle that!


Lola had her 2nd birthday on the 11th. I can't believe how big she is getting! She went around telling everybody "It my birday, I have Dora party, I eat tookies."


We decided it was time to take down the baby bed (after all the other kids were done with it by 16 months.) That was harder than I thought, I guess just knowing I'm not going to be setting it up again made me a little sad. She was very excited about her big girl bed and stays in it pretty well. Except for last night...last night was a long one. She didn't like the sound of the rain on her window so she came to my room, then she didn't like the sound of the rain on my window, then she woke up Joaquin (who was asleep on my floor because of the storm) and they had a 5 minute conversation about the rain on ALL windows...this went on from 2am to 5:30 AM!