Stories

5-1-08  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW!!!!!!  Well, Matthew's birthday was a resounding success at least in Matthew's eyes (which is what counts anyway!)  Matthew turned five on Monday, something he has greatly anticipated ever since Sammy had his birthday back in January.  He got to open his presents during lunch, and then Papa took all three boys to Mr. Gatti's (a pizza and game place) for supper.  They all had a blast!  Then on Tuesday afternoon we all went to Clear Lake Park, so Matthew could float the new boat he received for his birthday.  It was such a wonderful afternoon!  I thoroughly enjoy the chance to let the kids run. It is hard to let them run at the park near our home because the roads are so close and there are no fences.  Clear Lake Park is well away from the roads and also has fences, so I just let them run.  Lucy got her first taste of "freedom"!  She was hard to contain after I let her go.   She ran and ran and ran!  I have quickly found out that she is much more of a scrambler than any of the boys were.  She has NO fear and excellent balance which made her able to go places I didn't think she would even try!  Speaking of that, I found her in the middle of the Diningroom table the other day.  She had pushed a booster seat over beside one of the chairs, and from that she climbed on the chair, then on the bench and onto the table.  The boys never did anything like that. And here I thought she was going to be my little lady!  I can see I have my work cut out for me.  Along those lines, I had better get back to my "work".  Have a great day! 
PS  The other pictures I uploaded are ones a family from our church took during our Easter day celebrations.  Enjoy!

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4-21-08  Well, here are the rest of the pictures of Lucy's birthday, and, as you can tell, they are the real birthday pictures, not the set-up ones!  Lucy enjoyed her chocolate cake, but she liked her presents even more!  She fell in love with the new doll Abuelita Hernandez gave her.  The doll says a prayer in Spanish, and Lucy loves to make it "talk"!  She also enjoyed the "sparkly" socks she recieved.  She wanted me to put them on her right away, and then she watched them as she walked around the house (and subsequently ran into the wall, couch, etc. several times because she was not looking where she was going!)  The boys enjoyed the birthday about as much as Lucy, mostly because they got to have cake and blow the birthday horns.  Leo thoroughly enjoyed teaching Lucy how to make her doll talk.  He had to be told to stop when he continued to take it away from her "just to show her how" as he put it.  Matthew is in great anticipation over his coming birthday, just a week from today.  He has been waiting for this day ever since Sammy had his sixth birthday back in January.  He just can't wait to be only one year away from Sammy in age.  (No competition there!!!)   Well, I must be off.  Have a great week everyone.  Please leave us a note if you stop by.  The boys love to find out who is checking in on them and read what everyone has to say!  God bless each and every one of you. 
Mama Hernandez and the rest of the crew

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4 -2-08  Hello again to family and friends!  Happy Birthday, Rose!  Don't worry, I won't mention your age!  You have been a treasure to our family.  We love you very much. 

We have been trying to get outside as much as possible lately as it hasn't been raining, and it is starting to get hot again. Pretty soon it will be too hot to go outside for a good portion of the day, so we are trying to enjoy the outdoors while we can.  Last Friday, I took the kids to the park across the street and Dave suggested I take the camera.  I am not usually the one taking the pictures so that was a change for me.  We had a great time, and I did get some cute pictures.  Then Dave was off work Monday, so we went to a park a little further away that the kids had been begging to visit, but we had not had the chance.  It was a lot of fun, and of course Dave took the camera and got some more pictures (much better ones I might add!).  So, I will be putting quite a few pictures up for your enjoyment.  Don't be too surprised if you see a majority of Lucy in relation to the rest of the kids.  This is for a few reasons.  First of all, she holds still a lot longer than the boys!  Also, she is definitely a camera nut.  She poses very well!  But thirdly, she is her Papa's little girl, and of course gets a little extra attention!  (Which I must say is the main reason!) 
Well, for an update on the kids.  Sammy and Matthew's newest thing is, they love to "sign onto Google" as they put it.  They had asked Dave about a certain plane and he checked it out for them on Google.  They were so entranced that they ask to check things out on Google regularly.  Their usual request is for information on planes, helicopters, construction equipment and wild animals.  They have no end of inquiries and each time they learn something new it spawns a dozen new requests!  Leo has been so funny as of late.  He learned the song "This Little Light of Mine" recently, but he didn't quite get the second verse right.  Insteasd of "Hide it under a bushel, No!"  he says, "Powder in the bushes, oh no!".  He works so hard to say all his words properly, that it sometimes takes him several minutes to get a whole sentence out!  He likes to learn memory verses along with the big boys.  His most recent one was Proverbs 3:5-6.  We are studying Proverbs in our Bible time each morning, and we have memorized several verses along the way, but that is the one set of verses Leo has really enjoyed.  He says them every time the bigger boys say their latest memory verse.  Lucy has been running around the house non-stop lately.  She took her first steps a couple of months ago, but three or four weeks ago she finally decided "I can really do this."  and now there is no stopping her.  She is rarely still now a days.  She has become more and more of a lady every day.  She loves to wear dresses that she can "swish" around herself.  She loves to have something in her hair, and even likes nail polish!  She talks on the phone any chance she gets and even turns toys into phones (kind of like a boy turning anything into a gun!).  She wears her emotions on her sleeve and goes to pieces over the littlest things.  She is definitely Papa's little girl!  When he gets home from work, she drops whatever she is doing as soon as she hears the door open and runs to meet him.  She likes to cuddle with him while he is working on the computer, and any time he leaves the house, she wants him to take her along! 

It has been such a joy to watch my children change and grow.  Each time I see them smile or run up to give me a hug, it reminds me of the verse in Psalms that says "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward."  I hope you all are enjoying the little ones in your life as much as I am enjoying mine!  May God richly bless you. 
Mama Hernandez

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3-08-08  First of all, Happy Birthday Auntie Reanna!  Hope you have a wonderful day! 

     Well, Lucy has been very entertaining lately.  She's really getting around very well now (though not quite running yet!)  Yesterday she was going from sitting to standing and back again - like a jack-in-the-box!  And everytime she stood she clapped for herself!  It was so funny to watch, especially for the boys.  They got to laughing so much, I think Lucy kept it up just because they were laughing at it.  It was great!  
     This past week, we have been busy "cleaing house".  I guess you could call it Spring Cleaning, though it is more like Spring Pitching!  I am trying to get rid of anything that is not absolutely needed and useful.  Space has been at a premium and I feel like I am drowning in "stuff" sometimes.  I mean, how many small red Indy racer Matchbox cars do you need?  If you ask Sam it is about 14!  Actually, I have been clearing out my stuff more than theirs, for I seem to be able to accumulate more stuff in my corners than they do in their toy boxes!  Anyway, it sure feels good to be able to walk through the house without something impeding my progress.  It will be very nice when I finish (if I finish!)  : )  Dave will be getting a few days off for Easter, so we hope to get the majority of it finished during that time. 
      We hope everyone will have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Ressurection Sunday in a few weeks.  It humbles be greatly to remember all the Lord gave just so that I could be saved.  Praise His Name!  We pray the Lord will bless each one of you.  Love from all of us. 
Papa, Mama, Sammy, Matthew, Leo, and Lucy

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2-15-08  Well hello to one and all!  Sorry I haven't updated everyone recently.  We have had so much fun as of late.  Our weather has been so nice that we try to get out as much as possible.  We have "checked out" just about every nook and cranny in our neighbourhood, all except Bay Area Blvd. which is actually our street address.  It is a three lane road (both directions) and is just too busy for little ones!  We take "exploring walks" as Matthew calls them, which is just a walk to see something which we have not yet seen.   I have a double stroller so Leo and Lucy get to ride, but both big brothers have to walk.  They don't seem to mind as long as there is something interesting to see.  Within five or six blocks of our house we have a library, a park, the courthouse (which is a highly prized place to visit seeing there are at least a dozen Constable cars parked outside at any given time!), a Firestone car repair center, a grocery store, CVS and Walgreens, a laundromat, a park-and-ride bus station, Mr. Gatti's Pizza, a baseball and tennis complex, a community center...... and those are just the ones the boys enjoy checking out.   I would add that there is a Hancock fabric store as well!  Anyway, there is never a lack of something to look at, so we usually do get to explore on our walks. 
And that leads me to the fact that spring is most definitely here (though most of you reading this probably don't even consider that we have had a winter!).  We are getting temperatures in the 70's- 80 during the day, though it still cools off some at night.  That will change as the summer arrives, but I am enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts.  Speaking of that it is pouring rain outside right now.  I wish you all could hear it.  It is still my very most favorite sound in the world.  Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.  Have a great weekend and a blessed day in your own home church on Sunday.  May God richly bless you!  Love, Mommy Hernandez

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12-06-07   I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays so far.  We set up our Christmas tree this week, and the boys did 90% of  the work!  They sure had fun!  It still amazes me to see each of their personalities coming out even in something as simple as decorating the tree.  Sammy was all business: this goes here, that goes there, don't touch the lights they could burn you, don't put too many so close together, etc., etc. Matthew tried to put all his ornaments in one section so he can easily find them all when he wants to show them off to company.  Leo didn't want to put any ornaments up; he wanted to keep them for himself!  Lucy was content chewing on a candy cane (plastic, of course!), just as long as she could see what was going on, and was allowed to be in the middle of it.  I enjoyed just watching them!  I don't know about any of you, but I won't need any gifts for the holidays.  I already have four of them filling my home with joy!  Have a very Merry Christmas full of the Lord's blessings and cherished times with friends and family remembering the birth of our Saviour. 
-Mommy and Papa Hernandez and the four little bundles of joy!

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We're back!  We had such a wonderful trip to Dave's Mom's house.  Everyone did so well on our bus ride.  I think it lived up to the boy's visions of it!  They didn't stop talking and asking questions until two or three hours down the road.  I had taken a few things with me on the trip, hoping I could get something accomplished, but I never had a chance to touch a single thing!  I was far too busy answering questions, getting drinks and snacks, holding sleeping babies, etc., etc.  I must admit, I was glad when we arrived!  The three youngest took naps on the way down, but Sammy didn't sleep at all.  Even after getting up at 5:30 AM. I guess he didn't want to miss anything.  Our visit with Grandma was a treasure.  We had not seen her since last May, and all the kids had grown so much since then.  Lucy ate her first solid food while we were there -- papaya from Grandma's back yard.  (She can grow ANYTHING!)  Lucy just loved it.  Dave got some really cute pictures of her eating.  The boys wanted to play outside the whole time, but it rained a lot during our visit, so they had to find inside things to do.  They were highly entertained when Grandma brought out the old pictures, and slides.  They laughed and laughed at Papa's baby pictures, and how all the aunts and uncles looked many years ago.  They also enjoyed seeing all the pictures of themselves that we have sent Grandma over the years.  Leo was just sure that every baby was Lucy, and every little boy was Leo. 

Well, I could go on for a while but I better get the pictures up here and then go get dinner.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and pray that the Lord will bless each and every one of you this Holiday season.  We love you all.   Mommy Hernandez, and Family

PS We decided to get a little bit of snow here in Texas, even if it is just on our website!  Hope all of you who do have snow are enjoying it for us!   : )

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Well, We're off!.... Well, almost.  Tomorrow, we are headed down to Abuelita's house ( That is Grandma in Spanish for those of you who did not know!).  Dave's mom lives in the Rio Grande Valley, and we are going to visit her for Thanksgiving.  The boys have been in a state of anticipation bordering on a nervous breakdown for the past week.... ever since we decided we would take the bus down instead of driving in our van.  I don't remember the last time they were ever this excited.  And the excitment is over the bus trip, not the visit with Grandma!  The only thing better, in their minds, will be their first airplane ride!  They have gone so far as to plan this entire past week with all the things that needed to be done before we would be ready to go.  (Though their ideas of what needed to be done, and Mommy's ideas of what needed to be done were quite different).  Anyway, they have been very helpful this past week, even going so far as to help me clean the entire house yesterday.  They were beat last night, but we got everything done.  I only hope the trip does not dissapoint them.

We hope each one of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We have so much for which to be thankful.  May God richly bless each one of you. 

The Hernandez Family

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Well, we sure have been busy since my last post.  Lucy is crawling.....I still haven't decided if that is a good thing or not!  It is nice to know that she is progressing in her development, but I am now having to progress in her training!  I think she hears the word "NO" more than any other word in the English language, but she sure learned it quickly.  We have our collection of cds on the bottom shelf of our bookcase (mostly because they are heavy enough to keep the boys from knocking the bookcase over!).  Well, Lucy has been very intrigued with them.....to say the least.... and she has been told no several times now.  Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and I heard someone pulling out the cds.  All the boys were in the bedroom, so I knew it had to be Lucy.  I peeked into the livingroom, and sure enough there she was with a cd in her hand, looking rather pleased with herself.  I was behind her, so she did not see me come in.  I said "LUCY", in that firm "motherly tone" that every child knows so well.  As soon as she heard it she dropped the cd, her hands flew in the air, and she had on the most guilty expression I have ever seen!  (I must admit it took quite a bit of self control not to laugh at this point!)  It amazes me that they can learn right from wrong at such an early age.  I am really glad for it though, because my days would be impossible if I was not able to train them to obey.  
Speaking of that,  Leo has gotten tired of being "pushed around" by his big brothers.  He has decided to stand up for himself, and had become a bit of a bully.  He has been taking things away from his brothers, and when asked who they belong to, has insisted "It's mine!".  Upon giving him that "motherly look" (much akin to that motherly tone) he says in a resigned voice, "It's brothers." He has such a defeated look that it is hard to correct him at that point.  He really loves to repeat everything he hears, but he was saying something the other day that I couldn't figure out.  I had him repeat it several times until I finally figured it out.  Dave had checked out a DVD from the library on the treasures of King Tut.  Leo was going around the house saying, "Tut the boy king, Tut the boy king."  He was so pleased with himself!  It was hilarious.  He has also gotten his sentances mixed up on more than one occasion.  He was sitting on the couch, and wanted Dave to read him a story, so he said, "Papa sit on my lap?" : )

Matthew's favorite thing now is "sayings".  He loves to use any saying he possibly can.  He has incorporated many into his vocabulary such as, "flat as a pancake" and "quick as greased lightning".  Yesterday he heard a loud noise from the other room and getting his saying a little messed up he said, "What was that in the world?" 

I should say something about Sammy's sayings, but he says so much I have a hard time catching one thing to put up here.  The other day he was playing with his animals and he said one of them was using a special weapon to defeat their enemy - a jawbone (remembering Samson).  My comment was that Sammy's jawbone could kill anyone - with as much as he uses it, he could talk anyone to death.   

Well, I better get going.  Thanks again for all the comments you have left in the guestbook.  Have a great weekend!  God bless.
The Mommy!

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Hello again everyone!  First I wanted to say Thank You to all who left us a note in our guestbook, or via e-mail.  It is so nice to hear from each of you, and catch up on each of your lives.  Sometimes I feel as if I live in a box.  I rarely get the chance to "do things" outside my home.  But being a mom is the biggest and most important job I know of, and the one with the greatest spiritual impact and reward.  I praise the Lord for the little "troupe" He has given me, and only hope I can raise them to make an impact on this world. 

Well, on to a lighter note.  We had such a beautiful day today, that I just couldn't "waste" it inside.  So instead of doing our usual school work, we went to the park.  It is just across the street from our home, so it is one of our favorite places to go when we get the chance to be outside.  (The second being the library which is just across the ajoining street from the park!)  We did "outside school" today, consisting of math and sightword flashcards, finding and reading several Bible verses, learning to swing (without Mommy-power!) and improving their jumping-jacks.  After the official school was over they dove into playing.  They had such fun digging in the sand, and making sand castles.  It really amazes me that they have an entire park of swings, slides, monkeybars, junglegyms, etc. and yet they are perfectly content to play in the sand the entire time!  I wonder if that is just a boy thing?!?!  Anyway, we had a great day.  Hope yours was just as wonderful!  God bless each of you.  
Sammy's, Matthew's, Leo's, and Lucy's Mommy

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