Monster Jam 2013

Have I mentioned how awesome my husband is lately? Well...he is super awesome! We have been having so much negativity going on lately in our life, but he always finds a way to cheer up me and the kids.
He purchased tickets to monster jam at the Cowboys stadium and we had a blast! And to top it off we were in the very first row.
We saw trucks flip over, wheels fly off, and boy was it loud. It was such a great night with my little family.
Here are some pictures :)

Meet Hershey

This is Hershey!  He is a full breed standard poodle.  He has been such a joy to have around.  We got him when he was just about to be 8 weeks old, and now he is 13 weeks.  He has grown so much!

 Having him has really helped with the process of moving forward.

A NOT so Merry Christmas

December was the toughest month I have had in a long...well actually EVER! 

I literally had to keep reminding myself that I will get through this... Last month I had to go to court...AGAIN, My brother passed away at the age of 28 from a severe asthma attack, and my dogs were hit by a car and we had to put them down in the wee hours on Christmas!  AND to top it off, I have been sick with this cruddy cough for like 6-8 weeks!  And now poor JC and Eevie both have it.  It is the never-ending sickness!!! 

Just typing about all of  it makes my stomach turn.  We were so blessed to have such great people in our life!  People brought meals over, people from our Church stopped by for visits and also to bring food, everyone sent their words of condolences, we got to see family we haven't seen in a long time...All of those were great things.  BUT it would've been better if my brother would have been here. 

Rest In Peace

The kids stayed in pretty good spirits as they don't really understand the whole process of death.  They truly believe in their heart & mind that when you die you go to heaven (Which is true)  So they feel there is no need to be sad...They are truly so happy for them to get to go to Heaven and do all kinds of fun and amazing things with Jesus.  I love their innocence of it all, and it IS amazing to go to heaven, but it is sad when you know you will not see them again for a long time.

I tried to keep their normal schedule and do things just like I would've if we weren't going through such a rough time.  We went to Six Flags with Eevie's Girlscout troop (Season Passes come in handy), We went to Ricky's baseball team Christmas Party,  We went to the Christmas Eve service at Church, watched WAY too many movies.   But we just tried to keep things normal for them. 

 Here are some photos from Christmas Eve service & Christmas Day

 

Our church has something called Candyland every Christmas Eve! It is so awesome. The kids church is completely decorated like the actual candy land. They go around and get hot chocolate, popcorn, cotton candy, CANDY, and then they go out and see Santa and his reindeer (LIVE REINDEER!!!)

 

 

 

Christmas was quiet...I sadly told the kids about our dogs passing away, then we watched the kids open presents.  Later in the evening my parents and Aunt from out of town came over to eat dinner (That was my favorite part)  and then we just relaxed.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Christmas is in Full Swing!

Christmas is in FULL swing at the Herrera house. 

The lights are on the house, the decorations are put up, the elf has returned (kinda), and well...the stockings haven't been hung yet, but I'm getting to that. 

The tree has been put up, and the mantle has been decorated! 

We even took our Christmas card pictures...FINALLY.  Now it's time to start shopping.

I love this time of the year,  the music, the smells, the lights, and of course all of the many traditions that we have with our little family!  I can't wait to show off the really good photos that we have from our photosession...but I am going to wait until we send out our holiday cards!  (If I don't have your address, make sure you send me a email with it so that I can send you a card!)

 

My Thankful Heart

As thanksgiving gets near, I have had the time to really think about the many things that I am so very thankful for.  Ya know as life gets busy you just seem to go about the days so quickly.  (Or at least I do)   Everyday I get up get the kids ready, do whatever needs to be done (As much as I can that is) cook dinner, gets the kids ready for bed, do some work and then when my eyes can't stay open any longer, I drag my feet like big heavy bricks to my room and I crash onto my bed.  It seems like I barely get one minute to think about being thankful.  But as we go into the holidays I always get this warm feeling of happiness & thankfulness.  I am truly blessed!  It also helps too that each year I do the 30 days of thanks.

It has been busy as always lately, the kids have had more field trips.  We had Halloween festivities! Everyone went to the pumpkin patch, Eevie went to the Dallas World Aquarium.  We had 2 birthday Parties last month.  JC turned 3 (Gosh...can you believe it?!) And Eevie is growing into a beautiful young lady at 11 years old. 



JC's little boo boo, he fell onto the sidewalk, running in crocs.

 

  

And Eevie had a surprise birthday party at the local skating rink. Oh my gosh...THAT was fun, it just happened to be the same day as her field trip!

 

(Here is a video of a game that they played at the skatium it was not a skating game, but if you look closely you will see JC running for his life.  It is hilarious!)

  

OH & How could I forget about MY birthday this month!!! Rick and I stayed in Dallas at the Hyatt Regency (AKA The ball in Dallas) It was GORGEOUS! It was so awesome!!! Plus he took me to cique del solei, and to a full day at the spa! I don't know if it could get better than that!

 

Here is the view from our room

The big kids saw the story of the Christmas Carol on stage

 JC's birthday party was a Jake & the neverland Pirate party at home. We had different stations set up around the house, it was pretty neat. I wish I would've put it on pinterest, but I have been too busy to do anything like that lately.

 

Right now I am in full on Holiday photography mode!  I am like a mad woman, it has been session after session!!!  It is so much fun but so much work.  I love every minute of it!  I love meeting so many people.  Plus the kids think I am like a celebrity because whenever we are in town people know me! 



Louie made a surprise visit last week

I am so ready for Christmas!  We got Christmas lights put on our house for the first time ever!!! I am ready for all of the traditions that we have built throughout the years with our kiddos, I am ready for our elf on the shelf Louie, and our Advent Calendar, and Christmas music, and just everything!!! YAY for the holidays!