Wow! My last post was in January????

Where does the time go??? February FLEW by with a fun annual visit coming and going from my mom and dad, Kaylynn's party, rescheduled due to illness, and UPWARDS Basketball/cheerleading...oh and Ethan started baseball practice this month, too! Not to mention I worked a full month's time and salary in the last two weeks of the month! I still have Bday cards and presents that I didn't mail out on time...can you imagine it, me? late with birthday greetings????

We ended the month with a family bout of the crud and find ourselves here on the 2nd of March home at sick again! The Olympics were fun! I am a new fan of Short Track Skating, Four Man Bobsled and dare, I say...Hockey? Of course, the characters in all those sports have everything to do with it.

Our final basketball game is this Saturday. Larry and I made it through, still happily married as the Head/Assistant Coach roles of Ethan's team. Opening Day for baseball is on March 13, Mom's 75th bday celebration on the 20th and the following weekend, for Spring Break, we will be headed to the Great White North (well, Clarkston, Washington via Susanville, CA) for a visit with Larry's Uncle Bill. He is having heart trouble and Larry hasn't seen them for quite some time. The kids and I have never met him. It will be fun...road trip with the in-laws! Maybe we should get that video camera before we go and document it all...it could be worth a Reality Show or some Funniest Home Video footage. Larry's Uncle Bill, also known as Wild Bill, was a good friend of Evel Knievel, and probably has the scars to prove it, as I understand he was much of a daredevil himself, as well as boxer who fought in Madison Square Gardens, once upon a time.

Mia initially bounced back after taking some antibiotics for her mouth. Now she seems ever slower and not so comfortable. Just last night we noticed that she is having difficulty bearing weight on her front right leg. Maybe arthritis? She sleeps a lot and has difficulty moving around. Larry and I have a few difficult decisions to make about her treatment - so we appreciate your prayers over that. She is my first dog, so this is going to be difficult.

Well, that catches us up to March. I thought i could do a full year in review, but we're already in the end of the first quarter of the year....and we haven't started doing our taxes, yet, so I think I will just head right into 2010 and hope for a post per month. I know blogs are more fun with pics, so I'll work on that next.

My Scripture for these past few weeks has been grounded in Proverbs 2. In church we are studying the promises to believers in Galatians as Paul was defending the new covenant against Judaizers. This is an example of an "if...then" promise.

Proverbs 2
1My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding,

3and if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

6For the Lord gives wisdom,

and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7He holds victory in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair—every good path.

10For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

11Discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

12Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,

from men whose words are perverse,

13who leave the straight paths

to walk in dark ways,

14who delight in doing wrong

and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

15whose paths are crooked

and who are devious in their ways.

16It will save you also from the adulteress,

from the wayward wife with her seductive words,

17who has left the partner of her youth

and ignored the covenant she made before God.a

18For her house leads down to death

and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

19None who go to her return

or attain the paths of life.

20Thus you will walk in the ways of good men

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

21For the upright will live in the land,

and the blameless will remain in it;

22but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

God's promises are to those who are HIS!!!!

"I Have a Dream Today..."

"...that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."


A few reflections on what my children are learning about a very important person in our history. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When I asked them, who Dr. King was this is what they told me:

Kaylynn came home from school and announced, "Today in school we learned about this king who had a dream. There were people with light skin and people with dark skin. They didn't get to do the same things and that's not fair!"

Ethan said, "[that Dr. King] you know how black people used to have to do all the work and whites got all the free stuff, so he freed the blacks and now they don't have to work anymore!"

Hmmmmmm....looks like we have some 'splainin' to do!

How would I answer the question, who is Dr. King? I believe he was a man that God used in the movement against injustice and oppression. I love that God used a man of the pulpit to deliver some of the greatest messages about injustice in our time. For it is God's word that holds the answers and the direction about oppression and injustice and how we are to judge one another....John 13:35, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." as King put it "according to the content of our character." Our character is manifested in how we demonstrate our love for one another! Lots of scripture on how we are to love one another...and our love is enabled by God's work of righteousness in us.

This is from Colossians 3:1-17.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is youra life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.b 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

...and of course the instruction in 1 Corinthians 13 about love. God's holiness is the standard for our character, "You shall be holy as I am holy." 1Peter 1:16 and God's word gives us rules for such holy living. I believe that this is what Dr. King meant about "our character."

There's a lot of work to do in my life, that's for sure. Help me, LORD, to be an instrument of YOUR peace, of YOUR love, of YOUR righteousness.

A Year in Review....February

February brings lots of celebrations to our family! I think in total, I know 15 people who celebrate their birthdays this month...and it's the shortest month of the year. This past February Kaylynn turned 5. She was so excited to be "of school age" and while it meant lots of shots to register for kindergarten, it also meant that she got a new backpack, learned how to tie her shoes and already had about 3 months under her belt riding a two-wheeler, thus the need for a "big girl bike-this year's Bday present!

Our little monkey!

Kaylynn is a vibrant young girl! While a little shy at school, she definitely lets her hair down at home. When she's not busy fighting with her brother, she enjoys puzzles, singing, climbing trees, riding her bike, drawing, scooting (is that the right word?) and making us meals in her kitchen. She loves Jesus and has much passion about Him! I love having a girl...never thought I would be a good mom for a girl, but God knew what I needed! :0)


We celebrated Kaylynn's 5th with a garden party!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

A Year in Review...

I guess this could take the place of the CHRISTmas letter....but I will attempt to highlight something from each month of Last year. Should also make up for lost blogging tim, right?

January 2009
Christmas always comes and goes so quickly. You know it's the start of a New Year, when American Idol starts again, and Larry and I coach Ethan's team in Upwards Basketball. We are known as "The Munoz Dynasty." How so, when we don't keep score? ANyway, keeps my blood pressure up!

This last year it started off with Ethan losing yet another tooth. (Wish I would have blogged them all, for I don't scrapbook (yet!). But here's a taste of his toothless journey....

Ethan begs the tooth fairy to leave his tooth and some cold hard cash!


..and then falls asleep, waiting....



Here is how he or she responded! The TF didn't know a recession was in the works!

UPWARDS Basketball begins!!!


Last year Kaylynn she was our Team Manager. This year she will be cheering brother on from the sidelines as an Upward Cheerleader. She is so excited. Dad keeps trying to recruit her to the BBall team, but she wants to be a CHEERLEADER!!!




Ethan shootin' for 2! I think this might be his sport. We have A LOT of time to figure that out, though!

On to February...

Brand New Year!

...and hopefully some brand new habits, replacing bad ones with good ones! I am not one for New Year's Resolutions, because I don't like disappointment, but on Sunday, December 27, our pastor taught on the significance of the first day of the civil year, known more commonly to us as Rosh Hashana. While we as believers are not bound to Levitical law, the ceremonies and celebrations give us insight into our new covenant relationship. In Lev. 23:23-25 it says, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites;" On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest (Sabbath), a sacred assembly commemmorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.'" This is a time to reflect on God's goodness and mercy. The shofar horn was blown on New Year's to: assemble God's people, to "perk up our ears" spiritually, to call to repentance and to remind us of God's forgiveness and mercy. This was also a time for repenting. In Romans 2:4, we read "and do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness? Do you think lightly of His forbearance and patience not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" God set apart the first part of the year as a time for His people to repent. God's goodness draws us to repentance...and a desire to live our lives differently.

And so at the end of Pastor Jim's message, he asked those who want to commit their lives anew to Christ, who want a brand new start, to come forward and pray....and so I did-(not usually one to do that either). I want this year to be different, and while I am not one for resoultions, this year I am resolving simply to "Na as vaneesma" to "listen and obey." I want to look back at the end of this year and when the shofar blows again to bring another year, it will be a time for rejoicing. My daily goal will be to simply, LISTEN and OBEY. So if you pray for me this year, please pray that I will hear God's voice clearly, LISTEN to Him and OBEY!"

Here's the poem/prayer that Pastor Jim ended with. It is my prayer, too!

Dear Master, for this coming year,
Just one request I bring.
I do not pray for happiness,
Or any earthly thing.

I do not ask to understand,
The way Thou leadest me,
But this I ask, Teach me to do,
The thing that pleaseth Thee.

I want to know Thy guiding voice,
To walk with Thee each day.
Dear Master, make me swift to hear,
And ready to obey.

And thus the year I now begin
A happy year will be,
If I am seeking just to do
The thing that pleaseth Thee.

Lashing Tova--Ketivah ci-chatima Tova!= May you be inscribed and selaed for a good year!

La Shanah Tovah Tekaten! = May You Have a Good Year!

(You can hear Pastor Jim's message by downloading it from campusbiblechurch.com, click on the podcast for Dec. 27, 2009)

Don't give up on me....

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I haven't had time to do a lot of things....after I clean my house I will try to blog again!

Stay tuned...

God is near to the brokenhearted...

God brought to mind these passages as I was praying this morning, especially for Ethan and his school stuff! Amen? Amen!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. "


Psalm 34

The LORD, a Provider and Deliverer.

A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.

1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Ethan's Oral Report for School

He called it a "presentation!" This was his project for school this week. He had to interview mom or dad and then prepare an oral report. He was worried about choosing one of us and not the other, he's so sweet like that. Of course, I told him that Dad should go first, because he's the head of the family!

He picked the picture, he cut out the maps and we learned some geography! Also, mom taught him a few pointers about public speaking and he learned that I used to teach that to college kids! So he paid attention to my pointers. :0)

So here is his practice run! Mom patrol will take notice of the time. Children do inherit the "sins" of their mother! It's almost the eleventh hour and he's up finishing and practicing his report!! Add that to my "mother of the year" application! :0/

When I picked him up at school today, he said he did a great job. He was the loudest one in his class (that was one of the criteria). We are so proud!

Singing this since Sunday...

Amazing grace how sweet the sound!
Amazing love came flowing down
From hands and feet that were nailed to a tree.
His grace flows down and covers me!

This song has been on my mind all week. It's amazing how God knows exactly what you need to get you through a week, the day, even moments! I have really drawn on His grace this week! I confess, I haven't extended the grace that He's given me...thank you Lord for the reminder!

The First Day of School posted on the Last Day of the First Week...

I didn't want to wait this long, but with the first day, really week, of school comes a whole new schedule packed with so many Back to School time adjustments. The first is getting two U8's ready each day, including hair, teeth, tummy and backpack. Not to mention the newfound love each has for tying their own shoes, not once or twice but at least three times before we head for the door.

The first day was great! Kaylynn was so excited! (Ethan could take it or leave it really. He has my morning syndrome; doesn't come alive until after 9:00 a.m. and that's only with a solid 8-10 hours of sleep!) Dad was able to come, too! He surprised us all when he got in the car with us. He made arrangements with work to go in late!

Our school does a good job of previewing "Life in Kindergarten." About 2 weeks before, each student meets the teacher for the Kindergarten Assessment. Kaylynn did a fabulous job! I didn't have any doubts. So the first day she got right into the routine. Hang up backpack, name tag in cubby, to the floor...now it's straight to group time at her table. On the second day she came home with a "Love Ball" for helping a classmate. (Ethan's Kindergarten teacher called them "Warm Fuzzies!" So cute....Friday's big event is the Treasure Chest. Not sure what it all means, but I'll find out soon enough!

Ethan had a gloomy first day. He had pretty good smile, but you could tell he was feeling terrible. Some kind of throat infection...went to the nurses office ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! He stayed the whole day, his teacher said he was in a daze the whole day, poor guy. So, Day 2 was spent in bed....already doing make-up homework. He learned that staying home sick meant in bed and no Wii. When I went to pick up his homework, the class was playing Dodge Ball, Ethan was so bummed he missed out. He went back the next day! (Even though he only felt marginally better). He certainly won't miss tomorrow. It's Corn Dogs on the hot lunch menu and Root Beer Floats in class to celebrate the end of the first week, two of his favorite things.

Bittersweet...

On the eve of sending my littlest to Kindergarten I am definitely feeling...oh what's the word? It's already been bittersweet, the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one! I told Kaylynn that I don't want her to go...and she said, "Really Mom? Then maybe Ethan can stay home with you now!" She's ready!

I can't believe it's here already, though! I am wondering if the time I got to "stay at home" with her was enough? Did I do it right? How will or would I know? It's a little scary. I wonder how she will do in school, who her friends will be and will she be "good" for her teacher? If PreSchool is any prediction, she'll be just fine, and now she's off to the BIG TIME! She tried every outfit on today and on Saturday worked tirelessy to learn how to tie her shoes....SHE GOT IT and has been tying and untying them since! She worked on writing on her name all this last week (and her last name tonight) and wanted to watch Leap Frog's Letter Factory and Word Factory all last week. (I highly recommend them!) She's been pulling out books to "read" and is showing me how she reads....Yeah, she's going to be fine...no, she'll do great!

As a "public school mom," I realize that it's so important for us to be salt and light to those around us. We've been praying every night before bed that what we say and do will let others see Jesus in us! I will be memorizing Matthew 5:13-16:

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has become tasteless, in what way can it regain its saltness? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown away and trodden on by the passers by. You are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hill-top. Nor is a lamp lighted to be put under a bushel, but on the lampstand; and then it gives light to all in the house. Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven."

Sing with me, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!" Pray with us, that we will be a blessing to those around us as we interact with new friends and families at school. Also, that our lives will be an offering, pleasing to the LORD! and pray for me, that I will make the most of EVERY opportunity, with my children, with their teachers and friends and families that we meet! I will try to post photos tomorrow, but as I write, Larry' s trying to get our camera to work, oh no! Stay tuned....

Skip To My Lou!

We've almost reached the 1 week mark since Skip joined our family! We walk three times a day...Larry does the first before work and finishes the evening off like this...

...we are wearing out fast, but it's still a blessing....so far!

Night night you two!

Introducing.....

Our dog Skip!!! For those of you on Facebook, this was the BIG commitment decision in a short amount of time. I don't make decisions like this very quickly, but the circumstances of Skip's "adoption" went VERY quickly! Larry has been talking about a "fluffy white dog" for so long. I have resisted and teased him (and enlisted the help of extended family members, too!) trying to convince him that we just can't have a little "rat" dog around the house! I grew up with big dogs, Larry grew up with small dogs - and since Mia was part of the package when we got married, I knew this day would come, but not so soon!

I think it all started when the kids and I were walking through Target looking for birthday cards and Kaylynn brought me a card with a West Highland Terrier on the front and Happy Birthday on the inside. Perfect, right! We'll give him this card and say, "here's your fluffy white dog." We love to try and surprise each other big on our bdays, but this was HUGE-a commitment to a brand new member of our family. Then I made the "mistake" of looking in the paper, just to "see." There it was, just one ad, with a litter of purebred Westies, 8 weeks old and at a price I would never see again. God's will? So I called last Thursday morning and the owner said she was on her way to town to sell the last four to a person who wanted them all, but encouraged me to call back in the evening to see if they were indeed gone. Answer to prayer?

I called 10 minutes before we left for our softball game that night and she said the previous arrangement didn't work and she still had the four left; "I can meet you in 20 minutes in Riverpark!" An open door? Ahhh! Well, I couldn't arrange it with the game and all, so I told her I would call in the morning and make arrangements to come up to Coarsegold to "look at them!" When I called in the morning she said there were 3 people on their way to pick up a pup! One from Clovis, one from Parlier, and a couple from Bakersfield. A closed door?

Well, now it's decision time. I called Larry and spoiled the surprise, but he was so excited he said, "You should leave now and if there is one left, you should get it!" I raced to get the kids in the car, went to the bank and got on the road, trusting my GPS not to make any wrong moves! I was nervous and anxious for the first twenty minutes! God really helped me in this situation (maybe another blog post later to talk about my anxiety and difficulty trusting God's soverignty!) Well, I was the second to arrive and there were two pups left now, the runt and another male. (Having a fluffy white BOY dog is certainly better for a man than a girlie one, right?) So we left there with Larry's bday present....and a HUGE sigh as we walked down the driveway with our newest addition to the Munoz Family. We met Larry for lunch at PetsMart and celebrated with another $100 invested in a collar, leash, crate, dog treats, etc...and many more to come!

He is sooo cute and actually so far a real blessing in disguise! I have really needed some structure to my summer schedule, especially in preparation for school and both Larry and I needed a reason to get in bed earlier...so we can get up and walk Skip at 6 a.m. It's actually been a great start to our day!! (It's only three days in so far, but so far so good!)

It's the final countdown...

Only a few short hours before we leave to pick up our kids! Boy have we been busy this morning! It's amazing what you can get done when you only have a few hours to do it! PRESSURE!!!

What a great week - while not a lot of things were crossed off our household lists, we sure had a good time. Cleaning the kids rooms this morning, made me realize, though, how much I really miss the hustle and bustle when the kids are here. There's always time to clean, but never enough time to just enjoy family! That will be put on the top of our list!

While the kids are away....

Mom and Dad will play! Well, Larry and I had high hopes of working miracles in a week's time, but to no avail....we made a list a mile long on Larry's PDA and I think we tackled only a few items. It has been nice, though. We've worked out everyday, gone to lunch, the movies, shopping today, dinner with good friends and lots of Wii Sports Resort (all in the name of familiarizing ourselves before Ethan comes home!) Here are some of the household items we were able to do:

• Cleaned out hallway closets (the contents are still on the dryer)
• Played Wii
• Installed new light fixture and faucet in front bathroom (very chic!)
• Played some more Wii
• Decided we are going to install hardwood floors throughout the house (very expensive, but Larry's got the will and can do just about anything!) We're starting with our bedroom! GOODBYE CARPET!
• Maybe we'll play the Wii tonight!
• We took out the backseat of our Saturn and found all kinds of treasures! (Hot Tamales, Tic Tacs, a few raisins, crayons and a Hanna Montana sticker!)

We sure miss our kids, too! We have fun laughing and smiling about the cute things they say and do! It really is a good time to appreciate each other and our awesome kids! Thanks to my incredible brother and sister-in-law and their boys for letting us have this time every summer! It is soooo good for us!

give it a shot!

Well, I thought I might enter the 21st century with the rest of my family and friends. We'll see how we do! Check for updates from time to time. I think I can manage about 1 entry a week.