fifteen!

Dario turned fifteen today!  At fifteen it is nearly impossible to get him to smile for photos, this is the best I got.  Lol!  Dario loves basketball and was excited to have made the freshman team this year.  He is also excited to learn how to drive and has been asking when he can get his learners permit.  I don't know if I'm ready for that yet!

let it snow!

On Friday morning everyone woke up to a rare treat here in Texas, snow!  Everyone was so excited, especially the younger kids who have never seen snow.  We bundled up and ran outside to play in it. The kids made snowballs, snow angles, and the boys built a big snowman down the street with some friends.  Nothing brings on the Christmas spirit more than snow!

thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  This year we spent time with my side of the family and everyone was there except one brother and his family.  It was so nice to have everyone together and all the cousins had so much fun playing.  On Thanksgiving day we went to see the new movie Coco, which was the perfect Thanksgiving movie and was so touching that it even made some of the kids cry!  Later that afternoon we gathered for a delicious feast, followed by all kinds of pies.  Yum!  The day after Thanksgiving mom and dad treated the adults to a delicious Tex Mex lunch at Gringo's.  I had fish tacos and they were so good!  It has become a tradition to go to a park the day after Thanksgiving and this year we went to Brazos Bend State Park.  We had the perfect mild weather.  I love all the huge, old oaks this park has, that are dripping with spainish moss.  We even spotted a couple of alligators!

eleven!

  

Ava turned 11 years old today.  She now doesn't have enough fingers to hold up to show how old she is.  Ava had a fun day and she got a ukulele for her birthday.  Her music teacher in school is teaching the class how to play and Ava really wanted one. She also requested Chick-Fil-A for dinner, one of her favorites!  Grateful for such a sweet daughter, who is such a big help, especially with baby Evelyn!

halloween 2017

Evelyn was a sweet little lamb

Dahlia was princess Poppy from the Trolls movie

Laila was a witch

Ava was a dramatic vampire and Dario and Aiden though they were too old to dress up this year.

nine!

Laila turned 9 years old on October 29.  The day before Laila's birthday we celebrated Laila's as well as Ava's birthday with lots of cousins and family members, followed by a Halloween party that night. They had such a fun day!  Laila's birthday fell on a Sunday this year and in church the primary children had their annual primary program.  Laila did such a good job reciting her part and looked so pretty in her new birthday dress.  My Halloween baby is growing up way to fast!

pumpkin patch!

six!

Dahlia turned six years old on Friday.  It's hard to believe my once tiny baby is now a big six year old!  We are so thankful for the six wonderful years we've been given with Dahlia thanks to organ donation. Dahlia was so excited for her birthday this year.  She was able to have two fun parties with both sides of the family.  Dahlia just loves playing with her cousins so much! On Friday, we took her out to eat at her favorite restaurant, which serves Chinese food.  Dahlia loves Chinese food! When we got out of the car she said, "I can smell the rice!".  She has been eating so good this year and we have barely had to use her feeding tube.  She has also had a good growth spurt.  Here's to another wonderful year, with lots of new adventures, growth and no hospital stays!

finally the first day of school!

School here finally started on Tuesday, almost one month late, due to all the damage our town received from Hurricane Harvey.  I think this is the first year the kids were more than ready to go back!  Ava is now in 5th grade. Her school was so badly flooded that the 5th graders will be attending school in a building on the high school campus for several months.

Dario started 9th grade and is now a big high schooler! He finally doesn't have to ride the bus.  The high school is so close to our house that he can walk home.

Laila is now in 3rd grade and is our only child in elementary school this year.

Aiden is now an old pro at junior high school and is in 8th grade!