HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!

Mark, I wanted to thank you for being an awesome brother and friend to me these past 6 years. You have helped me through positively some of the biggest battles I have ever faced and have been there whenever I needed someone to talk to.

You have been a great example to many of holding on and keeping the faith even through the toughest of times and I dare say that last year was probably one of the toughest for you yet, but you still held on and kept fighting... and you still found the time to style your hair, ha!

I admire the way that you constanly have witnessing on your mind and love to tell others about Jesus. You have always been a sample to me of an instant witness and a true missionary.

You really have a vision to reach out to people and draw them closer to God and teach them to have their own personal link with Him, and it is this drive that I have see in you that has inspired Me to do the same.

You are an awesome dad to your little ones, an excellent husband to Gia, un buen Mexicano, a good Jack of all trades and a great handyman. The list can go on and on because you are one talented individual, but all in all I wanted to wish you a happy birthday and thank you for the years of friendship! I hope to be able to work with you again in the future, or at least to live close enough to you so that we can hang out...and .. so I can kick your butt in some sport that I am better at than you (that'll be the day right?)

I hope this year is your best year yet Mark! May God bless you for all that you do for Him and others!

Chris

All you need is a cape, ha!

Pics from April

Here is a hodge-podge of pics that I haven't posted yet from April:

We went to Nikki's birthday party and all the boys wore the matching outfits Grandma got them. Txs Grandma! (Getting them to sit together long enough to take this pic was quite the feat!)

Justin loved Nikki's skateboard.

Sunday picnic by a lake.

We had a couple of days of warmer weather which we REALLY enjoyed.

This is their "fort". It has provided hours of fun playtime. Ben is still in his pirate/dinosaur phase so we've had lots of pirate battles on this fort.

Grandma brought him this cute outfit from the Philippines.

Going out for Dinner to celebrate Kris' (Rose's fiancee) birthday.

My little 'group'.

Taking up all of my bed.

We gave Justin a haircut. Doesn't he look cute? These pics were taken right after he got it so his head still looks a little white, heh. It's evened out now.

He LOVES dandelions and has learned how to blow the little seeds away. He still gets confused and tries to 'blow away' just about every flower though.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know this is late, but I just had to let everyone know how I feel about a very special mommy in my life!

I am so proud to be married to one of the best moms in the world, and that is my Naty! I honestly don't know what I would do without you honey. You are so amazing!

Every day, you work so hard to make our breakfast's and lunches and walk the kids to school and then you clean up and take care of Justin and other little ones and on and on the list goes.

You do all of this without complaint and then you tell me after supper to relax and that you'll clean the kitchen because I have been "working so hard" all day. I am amazed that you have the strengh to stand up at the end of the day after all you've done!

Your tireless labors of love amaze me Nat! You are an amazing mom and you deserve a mountain of praise for all that you do to make my and others lives easier! I love you so much Nat! You truly are one of Gods greats!

All you mommies out there are tops! Your work never ends and still you don't complain but just keep right on going till one job is done and another begins! You are bold at all the right times and meek at the right times, strong at the right times and weak at the right times. You know how to change to fill every need and you bring balance to our otherwise hectic lives. I salute each mother out there! All of you who give your lives daily to your children and husbands and everyone else, I salute you! You Rock!! May God bless you all!

Here is a list of some Amazing Mommies in my life.
(These names are in no particular order)

• Naty (You are perfect and so exceptionally beautiful and I love you!!)
• Mom, aka, Elvira Brown, aka Grace (Thank you for bringing me into this world and for teaching me about Jesus at such a young age. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made throughout your life to give us kids a better life! and lastly, thank you for never forgetting my birthday, ha! You are the bestest mommy I ever had!
• Susana (Gracias por el regalo de tu hija y por todos tus oraciones y consejo, Y consuelo durante esos ultimos 8 anos! Eres una mama tremenda y estoy feliz de la vida que eres mi Suegra! Mil gracias Susana, eres muy cool!!)
• Irene (You have been such a sweet friend and sister in law! Thank you for all the talks and advice you've given me and the prophecies you've gotten for me and the prayers you've prayed for me! You are a wonder mom!)
• Carolina (I admire you so much for your fighting spirit and how you never give up even when the going gets really tough! You are an amazing mom!)
• Rose (I am so proud of you! You are an awesome, giving, caring, loving mommy and a totally sweet, protective little sister! Thank you for the talks and encouragement! You are such a wise one!)
• Ruth (I am so proud of you! You struck out on your own and started your own business and made an exact replica of you when you were a baby! Yup, Shia is definitely your clone, except that I think she got a double portion of your temper in the slice! Thank you for all that you've done for us, Ruth! You are so giving and unasuming, and you are a very cool mom! ... especially for the unique way you taught Shia how to crawl, ha!)
• Clara (You drive!! Need I say more? I would have bet my life that you would never learn to drive and you just smacked me in the head with your drivers license! Good for you! I miss you Clara, especially your beautiful voice!!! You are an awesome mommy and I know that Julie adores you as do we all!
• Stephanie (I have never seen such a tough mommy in all my life! When we were on that 12 hour trip, you didn't get sick or bothered even once, even though it was so rough and you were 7 months pregnant! I was amazed! You are a trooper mom and you made a super cute little nephew! I can't wait to see little Aaron again!)
• Nadia (You are an awesome mom to so many little ones! When are you going to have one of your own? We miss you!! Sniff!)
• Aunty Joyce (You are a role model mom! I would give anything to spend some more time with you and uncle Gabe and have an amazing Bible Study! I miss you so very much!)
• Liza (My sweet cousin! I love you so much Liza! It was awesome to spend as much time as we did with you and Jon! I wish we were living closer to you so we could visit you more often! You are one of the most amazing moms I have ever met!)
• Joanna (Marks mom) (I have always admired you Joanna! You are one of the most patient and loving moms I've ever met and I am so happy that I was able to live with you for as long as we did! I know that Nat feels the same way!)
• Marianne (I love you so much! Thank you for having faith in me and for your tireless prayers! You are a top mom in my book!)
• Mama Maria, the humble Queen (I love you so much Mama! I so enjoyed talking with you when you visited the CTC! I saw clearly that you are a mom to so many and probably your greatest example to me was the way that you prayed for each person the Lord placed on your heart as if they were your own child. That really stuck with me! You are the most annointed mommy I have ever met and I love you!

There are so many other moms that I would like to highlight but it is getting late and I am extremely tired, so I will say this: To all the moms I know all over the world, I admire each of one of you and love you all very much! God bless!

- Chris

Chris is 30!

Yup, he's really that old! And to make sure he was aware that he's getting old Lily made this card for him:

Ha ha! I loved it!

I know I'm a bit late in posting for his birthday but better late than never. To celebrate, Chris and I first went for dinner to an awesome, all-you-can-eat, chinese buffet. I've never cared much for chinese food but man! I'd never tried it like they make it here! It was SOOO good! Of course, I have no moderation so I ate so much that I got sick, heh, but we both had a really good time.

The next day Chris' family and friends got together at Ruth's house for a potluck, some jammin' and a poker game (Chris' newest favorite pastime). He got some harmonicas for his birthday so he was able to try them out and acompany the guys on the guitars. Pictures follow.

Chris thought it would be funny to greet his friends wearing this...

Our unsuccesful attempt at a family birthday photo.

Grandpa and Grandma gave Chris this delicious, peanut butter and chocolate flavored ice cream cake.

Posing like Kronk.

The kids started to go bonkers in the house so we found the perfect solution.

This is the only photo I got of their musical session.

I just had to add this photo because he's so cute! He found this little car and was pushing himself all around in it; he even makes the sound with his lips!

The poker game continued back at our house and went on till the wee hours of the morning. Chris won the first game for which I was very happy.

All in all, it was a good day and I think Chris enjoyed it!