Being Busy...

The girls have been very busy since the beginning of summer...here is just a small glimpse of the "Goings-On."

 First we have the girls, helping mom, babysit Serena's adorable twins EJ & Frankie while mama got some much earned R&R.

Next we dressed up like "Cow's" for Chickfila's Annual Customer Appreciation Day with the Vasquez and Flores Families. It was  a lot of fun and we got to eat some delicious food! 

Early summer we went to visit my long time dear, dear friend Betty Dovalina and her little miracle...Jeffery! Betty has the most special place in my heart. She gave me a chance when I needed it and chance turned into a treasured friendship. We have been friends over twenty years. Betty has seen the hand of Jesus transforming clay from brokenness to beauty. What a sweet, sweet friend!

July 4th we turned our attentions to the flag and foundations of our country. We made a beautiful flag cake with the Flores Family. We read, ate treats and made American Flags as we celebrated the birth of our nation and the freedoms we have in the United States. Thank you Lord for the mercies you have shown to our country. Forgive us for not living out your ways and help us to turn our hearts to you so our land may be healed and you may receive all the glory.

Jorgie having some cooling off summer time swimming with "Old Faithful"...her long time buddy...Athan. How sweet these little ones have each other and build such sweet memories. Truly friends!

May brought my dear brother and his precious family to San Antonio. Although we were happy to see them we wished it would had been for better reason for them to make their visit to SA from Oxford, Mississippi. Sadly, Sadie, Lexy and Little John had to come because their sweet mom passed away. It was such a hard loss. I know I will always remember their mamma and I know these kids are blessed to know where she is. This is a photo of most of the cousins as we watched fireworks at Fiesta Texas then we took pictures with area Firefighters. Love you kids.









In May Jeri was awarded the first place prize for winning, regional and state in the local Immigration Council's Annual 5th grade Essay Writing Contest. This years topic was "Why I am Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants." She was

nervous to read her poem in front of 900 immigrants being sworn in as American Citizen but in the end she rose to the challenge and was successful. I am so super proud of her! :)

Jamie also found herself exploring new territory. In May she interviewed and was accepted to partake in the Blue Jay Volunteer Program at Methodist Hospital. She is amazing. She has escorted patients all over the hospital, worked in Labor & Delivery, Gift Shop, Information Desk, SICU and now she is on the "Popcorn Committee." Next week she stands in for her boss while she is on vacation. Jamie is growing in time management and responsibility, which were my goals for her through this program. Love it!!!

Jorgie was busy too! Ever keeping us on our toes, this time she was busy making the perfect Father's Day Gift for Daddy! She made a striking tie for Daddy to wear and she posed for a picture in front of a mural that has her orange hand print in the design. Love you "Jorga"...we will be celebrating your 4th birthday very soon. Our lives are fuller because you are in them. What kind of family would we be without you? I shutter at the thought!

Finally the girls and I were given some sweet Missions Tickets to see San Antonio's Minor League Baseball Team. So we set out on a Sunday evening to watch our first ever Missions game...and it was soooooooo much fun. We can't wait to do it again! Thanks Nana, Popo and Marcus!

VBS...Panda Mania

Jamie & Jeri with their crew.

Jorgie with Panda Mania Pete.

Best Buds.

We had such a wonderful time.

Phileo,

Patsy

20011 Texas Wildflower Project

Our Star Students 

Texas State Flower "Bluebonnets"

They did a great job!!! And what was the goal, you may ask? Results!!! And boy did I see results today. The students got an "A" for effort, an "A" for participation and an "A" for academics. Sometimes these little projects we do with our homeschool children seem like a waste of time. We may tend to think to ourselves, what's this really going to accomplish? Or, I have so many other things to do, I really don't have the time to do this right now. Or we can do the next one. And yes it is true many times, there will usually be a next time. But I think it is important to take the moment by the horns and run with an opportunity. The things our youngsters learn is invaluable. They learn to communicate. They were asked to share the "story" of their project and how it came to life. They learned the life of the flowers and the deep history intwined within them. They learned to critically think. And what I mean by this is that they had to think critically by prioritizing the various jobs they needed to do. Surely they couldn't create until they had picked flowers. And they couldn't have researched until they gathered the flowers they were going to research. They learned (in a subliminal way) how to sequence events by whats important first. And that my friend is a skill they will need life long, doing the most important things first and then working your way down the list. Next they had a chance to put their creativity to practice. They used crayons, markers, fresh flowers, printed images, photos, laminating machines, contact paper and on and on. Over all they grew in leaps and bounds and I say, "BRAVO!!!!" Job well done!

It was Amazing!

Lone Star Classic Volleyball Tourney 2011

It was an awesome experience. There must have been 400 volleyball teams from all over Texas and surrounding states last weekend at the dallas Convention Center.  The courts went on and on. These girls were all 14 and they all came for one purpose... to win!

It was so exciting to see Jamie be apart of something so great. Her team arrived Friday afternoon and they played against four other teams on the same court. They were ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Jamie's team placed 2nd. From there they were placed in the winners bracket..woohoo!! Saturday they started playing but lost all their games. Going into Sunday it was win or go home. We went home. The competition was good. Her team fought but in the end it was a great experience. What does team sports achieve? I believe it has a great potential to achieve so much more then a competitive spirit or poor sportsmanship! I have seen great growth in Jamie. And for the first time all season I saw her try and try in her last game to win. It was the first time I saw her really make an extreme effort to rise above and fight the good fight, regardless of how it ended! Yes, there is a lot to learn. Commitment! She has learned to stay committed even when the team is losing and you want to quit! She is realizing that her mistakes don't make the game, neither do her achievements make the game! She works as a team with seven other girls to accomplish the same goal. So she is learning teamwork, a skill she will need as a wife, mother, nurse or friend. She is learning to be physically fit. Jamie has been working hard these past few months on her diet. She is finally becoming aware of what she is eating, how much and which foods fuel her or defeat her. She is growing a desire to try hard things. She wants to continue on in this sport and see how far she can go. And most of all she is learning to develop socially. She is growing more and more confident and less and less shy. She has grown some beautiful friendships with her sweet teammates. All the girls are uniquely different from one another and that has been great for Jamie. I think it is a valuable life lesson for Jamie to see that we are all different. We are created for different purposes by God. It has been a wonderful year in club volleyball for Jamie. We look forward to all the great things God does in her life through this sport.

A Great Life Lesson

Proverbs 19 Lesson

Current Conduct in Red/ Desired Conduct in Black

 This was an absolutely great lesson. My girls are learning the Book of Proverbs this year for their Bible Curriculum. We use the AMO Enrichment Guide with the New King James Bible and it has been an excellent resource for learning the book of Wisdom. Today's study was this simple format:
Key Word
Conduct (noun): personal behavior; manner of acting or conducting yourself.
Principle
The conduct of the young child builds the man.
Memory Verse
It is by his deeds that a youth distinguishes himself if his conduct is pure and right. (Proverbs 20:11)

After we learned the Key Word we took a few minutes to write down what we believe our current conduct to be. The girls were very accurate in their self perceptions. They didn't think to highly of themselves, nor did they think themselves things they were not. For instance Jamie was right on when she said she was happy, kind and giving. Yet she was also right when she said she was selfish and mean. Jeri shared that she tends to be selfish and silly, yet she is also funny and nice. Yes, these accurately desribe my daughters' behaviors'. They were able to identify what kind of "conduct"...behavior they have, both good and bad. They see they don't always behave with acts of kindness, love and obedience. They tend to want to behave in ways that are comforting to them usually resulting in acts of selfishness and meanness. Had we stopped there the lesson would have looked hopeless. But we continued on and learned the Principle of this lesson and WOW!"The behavior we develop as children builds us into the man/woman we will one day be. We took some more time to write down what we hoped to be built into someday. And the girls said some hopeful things. Jeri said she hopes to be built into a woman who serves, loves, is nice, gives to others, not selfish, doesn't get angry, listens and as does what others ask of her, and is calm. Jamie said she wanted to one day be a woman who was nice, follower of Jesus, skinny (not really a conduct issue) and gentle & quiet. I am hopeful for them. You see I didn't have the insight's they have when I was a child. The adult I grew into was straight out of the child I was. I became a grown woman full of selfishness, jealousy, anger, pride, arrogance and conceit. Yes, I was kind and nice. But that was not the essence of who I was and wanting to be. I had no desire to follow the way of righteousness because I didn't know what the right ways were. The Book of Proverbs and the Bible itself tells us what the right ways are. Gods way of growing things, doing things and becoming the way He desires are all found throughout His Word. I didn't know them or Him because I didn't know His Word. So I behaved the way I wanted and did what I thought was right. The Bible says "There is a way that seems right to a man but the end of that way leads to death." That was the way I was headed and my "conduct" proved it. But what grace God has shown to me and my children. At age 37 he is reshaping and building inside me a new way and better way of doing things and being. And I am changing from that old person I used to be into a new person that God desires. And you know what? My daughters are reaping the rewards. As children (young children) they are learning Gods way of proper behavior and decision making. They are learning wisdom and seeing it expressed in their choices and desires. I am so thankful the road for them does not resemble mine. And I am so grateful He is giving them a desire for Godliness, and they are accepting it! Amazing grace!!!
Indeed!!! Great life lesson learned.

Phileo,
Patsy

Another Exciting Day!!!

SA Pumas 2011

1st Place 

Congratulations to Jamie on bringing home the GOLD!!!! Yesterday Jamie played in a Volleyball Tournament in Lockhart, TX where her Volleyball Club Team... The San Antonio Pumas (14 year old girls) won first place. Her team played three games and won all three. They went on to the championship round to play for first and second place. It was an exciting, yet heart-racing, game to watch. They endured to the end and walked away the CHAMPIONS!!! What thrill and joy at the effort of accomplishment. Nothing feels as good as trying your best and reaping the rewards. Challenges are never easy, in fact the essence of a challenge is difficulty, but when you try and try with all your best effort, challenges are worth every ounce of difficulty they bring. It produces more then tiredness. It reaps forth the fruit of accomplishment. The understanding that hard things can be done. The self realization that perhaps "maybe I do have what it takes." Yes, nothing good ever comes easy. But the hard things are worth fighting for. And the fruit it bears is worth all the effort. Way to Win Girls!!

Me & My Girls!!!

What Comes Out Reveals Whats Within

The girls are now day eleven into their science experiment. Remember they are speaking positive words to cooked rice in one jar and then speaking negative words to cooked rice in another jar. And you know what....this little experiment has got me thinking. Anybody who really knows me knows that I am a deep thinker. Sometimes maybe even too deep. So last night I got to thinking about a book I recently read called War of Words by Paul David Tripp. This book is one of the best books I could recommend besides the Bible itself. I was thinking about a passage in the Bible that Mr. Tripp states as his source of reference. 

Matthew 12:33-37                                                                                        (New American Standard Bible)                        

Words Reveal Character                                                               

33"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; forthe tree is known by its fruit. 34"You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35"The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Jesus spoke these words. He was talking to people who thought their status and affluence would determine their holiness. The Pharisees looked the part, as do many of us. Wait let me make it personal, as do I. But Jesus had another standard to measure my sincerity. He measures me by my words and my actions! 

Day 11 Still White

Day 11 Turning Black

Look at these jars, once opened the only thing that will come out is what is inside. For the jar that has been spoken to kindly, good white rice will come out. And for the jar that was been spoken to negatively, mold, bacteria and a stench will flow. There are no other options. Those are the only things that can come from them because that is what is contained in them. To me, these little jars represent the heart of man. My heart, your heart, every single created being. Now I don't want to get caught up on the external factors that cause negative and positive results within. Because we are dull sheep and we can easily be lead astray of the importance of the lesson. Yes, it is true! Many people are what life has made them to be...divorce, abuse, poverty are just a few of the factors that bring about rot. All of which are apart of what has shaped me.But even if that is true there is a greater Truth at work. You have the ability to determine how any external factor is going to influence your heart. Will you let the hurt from unkind words rot away at you? Or the hypocrisy of the foolish eat away at your heart? Will you allow your inability to forgive that very one who hurt you build bitterness within you? Or will you trust in the Savior? Trust in the above scripture? Face the fact that you cannot hide. Your words will always find you out and you will be measured you by them.

You see I'm passionate about this topic because it hits straight at my heart. It makes me face my sin! No matter what caused it. My sin of unforgiveness, reconciliation, extending mercy and grace. All of which the Lord commands me to do regardless of the situation.You can always tell what is in my heart by my face, my words and my actions. No matter how much I try to "fake" it I just can't. Why? Because Jesus Christ is so much more on to me then I know! But I need Jesus more and more. I need him to change my words! I need him to change my thoughts and I ultimately need him to change my heart. So that I may be the good man who brings out the good stored up in him. How about you?

Phileo, 

Patsy

For more in-depth study read Matthew Henry's Commentary by clicking here

It's A Great Day in SA!

 

 

SNOW...In South Texas! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. But here it is and we have the pictures to prove it. What FUN for the kiddos! I remember the Big snow of 1985. I was in the 5th grade and I still remember that beautiful snow. What a treat for my kids, they will have something to remember too!