Thursday, April 30, 2009

Old Immigrants vs. New Immigrants

Although I do agree with this letter because I live in an area where I see this daily, OF COURSE it's not everyone. That's obvious. When I see the marches that go in the streets of America holding their own country flag and having their demands, that's when I think, "Wow, this letter does have some merit". There can be an ungratefulness. Just like how other people can be grouped together and have a stereotype, doesn't mean this letter is true about every single new immigrant. I thought I should clarify for those who might get offended easily and think this letter was written specifically about them. :)

Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and otherports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France , and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan .. They were defending the United States of America as one people.
When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German- American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2009 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges, only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a bet! ter life I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

My Nephew's 10th Birthday!




























Last week was my nephew Geoffrey's 10th birthday party and I couldn't believe how much he's grown. He is my daughter's favorite cousin so Ivy couldn't wait to see him. You can see my beautiful sister Tammy in a couple of the pictures. She had lots of games planned out for the kids and they had a blast. My son Chaz loved the bullhorn and used it for playing games and also singing to Geoffrey. LOL. I was able to use that bullhorn when I needed to call the boys from across the park. It was great to see they could hear me from far away. I need to invest in one! Ha ha!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

We Love The Sun!




Our favorite, favorite thing to do is go swimming! After field day I snatched up the boys before school was even over and took them to the YMCA. So fun! We all love the sun and it's the reason we I'm such a summer girl. :D I sure miss the beach when we were on our awesome vacation! Such a beautiful place to enjoy the sun with such a beautiful sound of the waves whispering in your ears.


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Week 17 of Pregnancy! Yay!

You can see my pregnancy blog by clicking HERE. :)

Ryan's Field Day



















On Ryan's Field Day, I got to volunteer and spend time with him at school. I also got to sit by all three of my boys at lunch time. Yay! I was so happy and I always miss them when they are at school. I'll be happy once I don't have to ship them off to school everyday. There is a pic of the nurse putting sunscreen on Ryan (she even put some on my face) and his face is all white. She just lathered it all over him! LOL. It took me awhile to blend it all in.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Hip Hop Flight Attendant

Daisy Has Her Couch Back




My friend and her three kids moved out. They were here a month. They also had brought along their Mastif/Great Dane mix. So Daisy and Henry became good buddies. We also didn't let the dogs come in during that time because they were both just so big. Now that Henry is gone, we didn't want Daisy to be sad so we let her back in once it's evening time. As you can see, Daisy is one happy camper. Ha ha!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Surprise in the Pet Door!

Passionate Blogger Award

I received this award from The 'K' Family. I used to go to school with her also back in High School for one year! :) Thanks for passing this on to me!
The Rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog
2. Write five things you are passionate about apart from blogging
3. Tag 5 people on your lists and let them know you tagged them.
Things I am passionate about:
1. First and foremost, my relationship with Jesus Christ. My testimony is that I was raised in a Christian church from the time I was in my mom's tummy. I served God as a little girl but as I grew older I began to shun God and shun His Word. I found every way to turn my back on him by rebelling against my parents and anyone with any type of authority. No one could tell me what to do. I thought boys were the answer and I figured that there was something fun out there that I was missing out on. By the time I was 18 I was in a terrible relationship and I was so beat down in my mind and body that I was 15 lbs under my healthy weight. I lived alone stubbornly and away from church. I tried to be religious and go to a church where I would never be confronted of my sin (of immorality). I even wore a cross around my neck to make me feel okay. Eventually I came to the rock bottom of my sin and misery and I fell on the floor of my apartment and asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. He did! I was able to get back up with a complete changed heart and it was immediate. I moved out of my apartment and cut off every sin that I had allowed in my life. I cut off every avenue. It's been 11 years since then and I've never gone back! I thank God for what he's done in my life.
2. My family. I loooooooove having kids and an incredibly awesome hubby.How did I get so blessed? People give me a hard time for having kids but I don't regret it. I don't care what they say. They can have their nice house and fancy cars. I'll take this family God's blessed me with. They have their treasure.... I have mine. :D
3. Animals and Gardening. I love caring for chickens and animals and plants. It's so fun to go out and feed the chickens, look for the hidden eggs and such. Something about animals. They just lower my pulse and keep me calm. I can be a very hyper person you know. So this is something I need. Watering my garden and eating it's vegetables is so cool. My very own. Just awesome.
4. Sleep. I have to agree with my friend. I even day dream about how awesome it is at night to just lay down with a good book and drift off to sleep. I love it so much! My mom said when I was a baby, I'd sleep so much she'd shake me to make sure I was still alive. I don't know how people can not care about sleep. Sigh. It's just beautiful. The whole thing. I really hope God will allow us to sleep in Heaven just for the fun of it even though we won't need sleep. As long as I don't miss out on any great food.
5. Discovering new recipes. It's so fun to try something new and it turn out great! Especially baking. I like baking so much more than just cooking. It's so great to pull something beautiful out of the oven and it just turn out fantastic.
Passionate Bloggers I pass this award on to:

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Melanie's Wedding


My sister-in-law Melanie got married! Whoo hoo! We had a fun day and Maureen made us Crab and Steak. It was so yummy! We partied (you know, clean like) and had fun to celebrating together as a family. My husband and I are on the right in this pic and my sister-in-law of course in white. :) You can click on picture to make it larger.

My Cousin Comes To Visit!





So just as we are leaving Globe, my cousin, who is from Globe but now lives in the valley calls and says she wants to come over. I have not seen her in YEARS! I was so excited and said "come right and come right over!!! She came to church with us and spent the night. I was soooooo happy to be with her and I was sad when she had to leave. :( I hope to visit her much more because now I know where she lives. My kids loved her and I loved my time with her.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Witnessing in Globe!



































On Saturday my dad, my two boys and I drove to Globe for the church outreach. It was great also because I got to visit people I hadn't seen in years from when I was little. I'm so proud of my boys knocking on doors and sharing about Jesus with them! Afterwards we visited my relatives and had fun. :D By the way! Do you see this funny Toilet sign? I thought it was so weird how they said toilet instead of restroom. LOL! Oh my gosh, that picture of me with my son Chaz in my aunt's backyard is cute. Well, I'm 4 months pregnant so you can totally see my pregnant tummy. We got up at 6am to head to Globe so we first went to Denny's for breakfast. I thought my boys would do great together in the car but, oh my gosh, it was like this, "he touched me, mom! He won't leave me alone..." I was always saying, "arghhh, knock it off guys." But you know, they're siblings. I'm just getting payback. :P

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Hunt is On!

The pics speak for themselves! :D In the morning, eight kids woke up to the surprise of an Easter basket. We kept the tradition this year of new summer beach towels. They loved that! Lots of candy and even more candy was to come as they hunted for eggs at our house after church. Once we released the kids for egg hunting, I just knew to stand flat against the wall. LOL! So you can see Ryan and his granddad in the first picture counting the money he found in the assortment of eggs. I love the picture of Ashley and her daddy (my awesome hubby) holding her bag. Martin and Maureen, Charles' parents, came and they brought eggs also for us to hide. The kids had lots of fun. :) First and foremost though, we visited God's house to celebrate Jesus on the special day. The most important event and glorious to celebrate!










































































Loving the New Van




I'm loving the size of our new van!!! It's big and so comfortable. Not only that but I feel safe! Ha! Our kids love it too and now they have tons of space. That is hard to find for a family of eight. Suburbans are beautiful but they are 8 cylinders. It's a Dodge Ram and this van is only a 6 so gas is great. :) I'm so happy with it! What a blessing!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

It's a Boy!

It's a cute little boy! Little Caleb Joseph it is. I'm only 15 weeks and it was so easy to see it was a boy. We brought my oldest son Chaz with us and he was so excited the whole time. He could point out everything he was seeing. His mouth dropped when he heard the heartbeat. It was so cute. :D The other kids were so excited. That means we'll have 4 boys and 2 girls. The boys said they are excited that they have another brother to wrestle with. LOL.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Bachelor Fun!








My sister-in-law is getting married this month and so we had party to celebrate. Kind of like a clean bachelor party. :) The girls went out to Red Lobster and the guys went bowling and to Arribas. Then we all came back together at my mother-in-law's house to play games and have fun. The picture on the bottom is of my husband's mom and I. The two girls is my husband's two sisters. Then you see Martin (my father-in-law) and My hubby sitting together. Desiree made little miniature wedding cakes for us to decorate and that was totally fun. We played other funny games. It was just a nice time to get back together and visit. I always miss the little ones when I'm gone for too long though. :)

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

After Church Snack











After church my friend's kids came in the kitchen (they live here, they didn't just appear out of nowhere) and said, "can we please have some cereal?" Of course! My kids were already laid down and so I got them some and then we sat and talked with them. Their mommy was out so I just chatted with them and laid them down. Before I laid them down I said, "hey, while you guys are sitting there so cute, you want me to take some pictures"? Kids are always game it seems (unless of course it's a professional that costs you lots of money). The bottom picture is of Jeremiah playing swords with my daughter Ivy. So cute!