Family Pics

After much prodding by my husband, I am going to try and keep on top of my blogging. I have always kept a journal and for a while thought that the blog was a great way to keep others informed of what was going on with our family. I still love the idea of sharing how our family is changing and growing and about our life experiences. I think there is a great deal we can learn from each other and that is why I love blogging. Unfortunately it seems that life gets so busy and the internet is the last thing I want to be looking at when I get home from a stressful day. I love my family!! Love, Love, Love my kids and I really do not get to spend enough time with them. Work is busy and I miss them terribly when I am away. So I may not update very often, but I will make a valiant effort. I do love being able to look back and see what we have endured and enjoyed. So these pictures are our most recent family pictures. I am learning to accept that it is very difficult to get all of us looking good at the same time. That's okay though, I am finding Joy in the Journey.

Early Easter

The Kellers had an early easter egg hunt this year because it happened that all of the family was in town for a wedding. It was fun to get to spend some time with the cousins. I enjoyed seeing them playing and getting to know each other. Can't say that I have loved all the candy, but the party was fun.

Breakdown

So we pulled over near Ozona Texas and the car just didn't sound right. It was "riding rough", no other way to explain it so we stopped at a truck shop and the owner said that he would be happy to look at it. Nearly 5 hours later we were back on the road with a prayer to get us home. The horrible sound never went away and now that we are home we have found out that our TrailBlazer will be a bit better in about another week and 1600 dollars later. What a trip. Actually not sure how the car made it home. We are sure that Heavenly Father really did not want to see us stranded on the highway. The people in Ozona were quite friendly and we appreciated them letting us use their break room to sleep and watch cartoons. Always a story with us-it wouldn't be right to just have a great trip, free of any problems.

we finally made it home. What a rough couple days in the car. It was a wonderful trip, despite the delay.

Hard to say Goodbye

The night before we left we had a BBQ at my Aunt Nora's home. I have loved that home and every time we came upon it, I felt a peace rush over me as I spotted it. My Aunt now lives in the home that used to belong to my Grandpa and Grandma. Mama and Papa as I called them. I miss them so much as I am remembering all the trips and memories that were spent in Texas. Their home was like a magical castle and I loved the intricate maze of rooms. It was not grand in appearance or maintenance. Actually it deteriorated from visit to visit, but I loved that home. I loved the people that greeted me at the door and offered their home to us. I loved my Grandma's noodles and the cheez whiz she had waiting for me. I loved the music playing and the smile on my Grandpa's face. I loved the smell and the warmth. I still can feel it. I am grateful for the experiences that I have had and grateful for the simple memories that I will always cherish of my beautiful Contreras family.

River Walk

Another enjoyable part of the trip was all the delicious food. We had the best fajitas at Tink a Taco and the best Hamburgers at Chris Madrid's. Definitely Recommend them both. It is difficult to explain my love for San Antonio. Wouldn't necessarily want to live there, due to the heat, but I always love the energy and feeling that I get when I visit. The food tastes better, the colors are brighter and relaxing never felt better. Of course I only go there when I am on vacation and that freedom from life's stress does make a difference. Regardless, I loved our trip.

Six Flags

Second attempt at trying to get some pictures on here from the trip. We spent Spring Break in Texas this year. It was such a relaxing and enjoyable journey. Little setback on the way home, but great none the less. The weather was perfect, just warm enough. We were able to swim, shop, eat and play all at our leisure. I forgot about work the minute we started driving and enjoyed every second of the trip.

birthdays

Miguel had a mario and luigi themed birthday cake. It was fun to see him so excited about his birthday. 5 is an exciting age full of wonder and eagerness. He had a great time and it was fun to get together.

 

Then, Maleena had her birthday and she turned two. She wasn't fully aware of what a birthday meant, but it was so fun to get her dressed up and ready for the party. Thanks to Aunt Sharen, who helped with all the decorations and her cute skirt and shirt.

 

 

 

Happy New Year!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. 2010 was a great year for our little family. I am happy to say that we made it through free of any emergency room visits. We are contemplating a surgery for Traeton this year with the hope of freeing him of his adenoids and allowing him to breathe a bit easier. Waiting to hear if the specialist in Salt Lake feels the risks of stopping his aspirin regimen to allow for the surgery are worth the benefit for Trae. I hope we are given the okay to have the surgery because he really needs it. I am so thankful for the blessings of 2010. Both Jeff and I ended the year working full time and getting ahead instead of falling behind. The kids are all doing great and we are preparing for Miguel to start Kindergarten in the fall. Miguel is struggling a bit with his speech and letter sounds. He has an assessment in a couple of weeks and I am eager to see what the therapist says we should be working on. I know he will feel better when he can pronounce words and have others fully understand what he is saying. I worry about my kids and would do anything to make their lives easier. Maleena is doing fabulous. She is a bundle of attitude and heart. We all love her so much. We are all hoping for the best this year. Praying for many blessings to come to our family and to our friends. Heres to 2011!

2010 pictures

What a relief to have some family pictures to capture this time in our lives. It was interesting trying to get all five of us looking good. Maleena was not really cooperating and that made all of us a bit frustrated, but the boys were angels and we caught some quick glimpses of Maleena's sweetness. It was fun and I am so happy to have it done.

 

 

 

 

Swimming?

For the last four days Maleena has been obsessed with swimming. More specifically her swim suit. She loves the darn thing. She asks to put it on when we put her in her pajamas and then it is a fight to get it off her in the morning. For a while it was her Dora jammies and now it is a swim suit. Should I be concerned about this for the future? She is quite particular for such a young age. I must not care too much because I could always hide the swim suit, but what fun would that be and she is so dang cute! Gotta love this little one.

 

 

 

Beauty and Basketball

Our little Maleena will be two in a few months. She has grown to be so sweet. Such a great personality. She has spunk and I am so proud of that. She likes to put her brothers in their place and she really doesn't let them get away with much. I have loved having the boys and now a girl. It is so fun to see their differences and I do believe that they are different. Maleena looks in the mirror when I am done fixing her hair and tells me whether she likes it or not. She usually says, "Don't like it!" Where did she learn to be so strong willed? It is something I love and will probably hate at the same time. I consider myself so blessed to have the children that I have. They are not perfect, but neither am I. Traeton is old enough to tell me just that on occassion. I will admit that it is not easy to be a parent. I am trying to raise them to be honest, considerate and caring. They are teaching me so much more. I look at my kids and am in awe of their different strengths. I pray that I can be the mom that they need.

Okay, so this is a bit extreme for a one year old, but it looked so cute. The curlers didn't last, but they were fun for a minute.

 

 

Traeton is loving Basketball. He is getting better and better. I am proud of how far he has come. Almost undetectable that he has had a stroke. I took him to a different doctor than his normal a few weeks ago and the Doctor almost didn't believe that he actually did have one. He is a miracle to me. I know where he was at a year and a half ago- I will never forget what a stroke on a 5 year old looks like. I thank my Heavenly Father often for the blessing of all of our health, but especially for Traeton's miraculous recovery. The ability of his brain to rewire itself is not a simple task and I know Heavenly Father played a part in that. Some may think it is all science, but we know otherwise and I am grateful for that knowledge.

 

 

Miguel is in preschool now and loving it. He will be 5 years old in January and it seems like yesterday that he was just a baby. He is so excited to go to school with Trae and I will be forever nervous about him going to kindergarten. He is quieter than Trae, but he speaks up when it matters. I love all my kids. They are unique and different in so many ways. Sometimes it is difficult to navigate their strong personalities, but I am so proud to be their mother. I wouldn't change that for anything in the world.

So, Traeton-Miguel-and Maleena, I love you with all of me. All together you make up so much sunshine in my life. My day is brighter because I get to witness your growth. Please know that I will always love you!!

Halloween 2010

Lately it seems I can't quite keep up with all that life demands. I wanted to post a couple pictures of the kids for Halloween. It turned out to be a pretty nice night. Maleena was very upset that I put something on her nose and it only lasted a minute or so. Trae was the Thing from Fantastic Four and Miguel went as Iron Man. Maleena was the adorable black cat.

 

 

 

 

Ups and Downs

It seems that my emotions have been all over the place lately. I work in a field that comes in during some people's darkest hour. I sat with a mom a couple of days ago as she cried while telling me that she just can't take care of her child anymore. She has a difficult child that justifiably needs intensive mental health treatment and hospitalization, but her agony over deciding that she can not provide him with the love and attention that he needs, was almost unbearable. I cried a few tears myself, trying to maintain my composure. Trying to assure her that she is making a brave decision that is in the best interest of her child, but then I think, how can giving up your child be in their best interest.

I get it, I know why I work for Child Protection and I know why I feel so strongly about what I do, but it doesn't make it easier to justify in a court report why a parent's rights should be terminated. The impact of my words seems so overwhelming. I am learning to accept the good with the bad. I do see lives change and parent's step up for their kids, but I wish sometimes that all the ugliness had a remedy.