Mini-Mansion

Armando and his friend Sef have started construction on a playhouse for Esperanza! What I envisioned as a little shack with four walls and a roof has turned into what will soon be a mini-mansion complete with two stories, a deck, a sand box and a swing set. Here are a few pictures of the progress so far.

DAY 1

DAY 2

Naomi & George Update

We've recently been in contact with my sister Naomi. I'm still a little in disbelief. We've all somewhat mourned over her in one way or another over the past several years, not knowing if she was alive or not - and now she's back in our lives. It's hard to know what's next. We'd all love to actually see her, to hug her, to cry with her, to yell at her, for Esperanza & Roman to meet her, to kick the crap out of her for putting us through such grief...but things are complicated. We're all thankful to know she's still with us, and thats all that really matters at this point. She contacted my mom the day after Mothers Day and has been catching up with all of us ever since. My blog post awhile back had nothing to do with her contacting us, it was George. She had a feeling something wasn't right and felt compelled to check in.


George's health has been really, really bad for about a year (well, since Vietnam to be excact). For those of you who don't know, he has liver failer, Hep C, he's on dailysis 3 days a week b/c he has no kidney function, he has diabetes, he's had at least one heart attack and one really bad stroke, he has epilepsy (though the stroke seems to have reversed that), and the list goes on. Over the past month things have gotten even worse. After a bad nose bleed followed by him being given blood he shouldn't have been given at the hospital, he was in and out of ICU for a few weeks. The last time he went in he was put on a ventilator and feeding tube and was sedated. He was out for a week. It was scary. We weren't sure if he was going to pull through it or not. Then last Thursday he woke up. I got to the hospital a few minutes before my mom did. He made eye contact with me and struggled to say something but the tube in his throat prevented that. Through tears, I told him Naomi was okay. His eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows! A response! A miracle (two miracles in one week). They took out the tubes that same day and he's recovering quickly. Things are looking up.

Please keep George and my sister Naomi in your thoughts and prayers.

A Little Getaway

We took advantage of the nice weather this past weekend and rented a cabin on a lake not far from home, just the three of us. We only stayed one night but it was really nice to get away and enjoy some peace and quiet away from home.

Shorts look pretty good on this girl huh?
Playing in the sand

There's the cabin

Esperanza leading us on a hike

Esperanza's first smore sandwich

Morning campfire and breakfast

Off for a stroll

After we hung out by the water for awhile and checked out of our cabin, we drove a little further north to the annual herb festival on a farm. I was on the hunt for lemon verbena - It makes a wonderful iced tea by itself or with a little bit of fresh tarragon leaves from the home herb garden. Unfortunately, my lemon verbena got mowed down a few months ago on accident and didn't survive. So, hunting I went for that sweet smelling plant to add once again to my herb garden at home. I didn't find it. Sold out! I did get some other herbalicous plants though and will continue to look for the hard to find lemon verbena (if you see some, please let me know where). Esperanza got some honey stix and we enjoyed the rent of the afternoon on the farm.

Esperanza really loves being pulled around in the wagon

She also loved the honey stix

Strolling threw the herb garden

They even have a little fairy garden hidden in the big herb garden - oh so adorable! Esperanza goes crazy every time I try to get my picture taken with her lately. Here she is throwing herself backwards (you'll have to just imagine the screaming part)

This was the best we could do - I think we both have silly faces, but from a distance - not bad

Sunshine At Last

I was finally able to get my tomato starts in the ground this past week and was thankful I did because we had a few warm & beautiful days for them to get settled in. They seem much happier in thier new home. While they danced in the light breeze and warm sun on Saturday, our little family was out and about enjoying a bit of sunshine ourselves.

First, we went to our niece Addy's final soccer game of the season and watched her and her team kick the ball around the field. I honestly don't even know if her team won the game or not - I spent most of my time chasing Esperanza around and keeping an eye on her. I did steal a few glances of the game and even managed to take some blurry pictures.

Here's Addy chasing after the ball

Our niece Marissa with EsperanzaMando's brother Chili with Esperanza Look at that big field! She ran her heart out.Esperanza made friends with these two dogs - she loved the puppy so much, they gave each other tons of kisses

After the game, we headed downtown to the Farmers Market where Val and her family met us. It was a little bit insane there, everyone else had the same idea we did. I'm no fan of big crowds, so we strolled threw once, grabbed some food and hung out under a tree in the park for awhile. Then we took the kids to the other side of the park to cool off in the water fountains.

Armando pulled Esperanza around in her wagonEsperanza ran, danced and jumped around the park

Wearing mama's sunglassesI couldn't convince Esperanza to play in the waterBut somehow we convinced her to look at the cameraSorry Annabelle, didn't mean to cut you off Me and my little Espy
Val and Jamo's beautiful kids Annabelle and Carter

Though it had already been a long day by the time we left the market, we were headed to a party. Armando's older sister Aurelia is getting married this summer and she had a little pre-wedding party so her family and her husband to be family could meet and mingle. Esperanza took a short cat nap in the car and when she woke, she wasn't very happy. We toughed it out though and still had a great time eating some yummy food and meeting some really nice people.

Aurelia and Gary - the happy couple!Esperanza's cousin Rafael always takes the cutest pictures. It's like pulling teeth to get this kid to smile. But really - who needs a smile when you look like this? Espy and Raf playing together

In 14+ Years

We got a new used car recently. It's not my favorite since it has no AC and it's a stick shift! Yes, this summer will be hot, sweaty, sticky and uncomfortable in the car...and no, I can no longer reach in the back with a free arm to pick up the dropped toy so Esperanza will stop shrieking! Please, don't ask because I'm still kicking myself for this decision. But, it only costs $30 to fill up where the Jeep cost at least double that. And, Esperanza seems to like it. A little too much in fact. I experienced some mixed feelings when she sat in the front seat of my car, with keys and a big smile. One day this will be a very scary scene. I'm hoping that they change the legal age of driving to 30 sometime soon.

Tea

Esperanza asks for tea several times a day! It's not as quick and easy as a cup of water, but I'll usually make her some in the evenings before bed. Her favorite so far seems to be cinnamon apple spice. My mom gave me the perfect toddler size mug she had made years ago and had dug up in the move recently. Here are a few photos of Esperanza sipping tea from her cute little mug...

This post has just made me realize that I'll need to get her a little play tea set one of these days!

New Knits

I'm about half way done with The Sweater. Because it's kind of a long project, I keep myself from getting bored with it by knitting other things too. And since I'm still pretty giddy and excited about my knitting hobby, I feel like I have to share with you all that I've created lately.

A ruffled edge hat for me - or maybe it'll be a gift, haven't decidedLots of dishcloths A pretty ruffled edge washable wool hat for Esperanza...I think I'll do one in cotton too for summer. I started & finished this in 1 day!The Sweater/Cardigan - and bad picture of me
This neat purse. It took me more time to sew up a lining for it with a pocket, add a zipper and put all the pieces together than actually knitting the purse itself. I love it thow!

And a matching pink hat and scarf for Val's 30th birthday

K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1...