Because of all the Little Boys in the Family,

There's all the more joy and fun to all the Easter Festivities

We started the day at church, with the little boy dressed to the nines in pastel, complete with a little clip on tie. :)

After which, we adjourned over to Judith's house for

1. Lunch ( plenty of yummilicious food )

2. Birthday Celebrations - Walter's birthday celebration continues
- Azmari's 2nd birthday
- Joy's ( 27th? ) birthday

3. Easter Egg Hunt!!!!!

Jaxon made a beeline for the "toy corner" and soon forgot trying to tug his tie off :)

Of course, it was too nice of a day to stay indoors, and it wasn't long before the cousins were running around outside, shrieking and having gobs of fun

THEN came the event the Mamarazzis had been waiting for all day - EGG HUNT!!!

That having said, I have to admit I must have been the biggest Mamarazzi out there that day. Can't help being trigger happy with that camera when it comes to the little boy :)

Here's a couple of photos flashing back to last year's Easter celebrations...

Then it was time to survey the loot and presents time for Azmari!

And where would spring be without its showers?

Yes. I let our little boy run around in the rain in his sunday best :)

It wasn't long before the rest of the cousins thought that THAT looked like a whole lotta fun!

Until it started to hail, of course. That was when it was time for all kiddos to come in and get dried off.

A few hours after the party had wrapped up however, the storm became horribly worse, with baseball sized hail causing much damage everywhere, and tornadoes and funnel clouds spotted all over the place. We were very fortunate that we did not get the worst of it.

"Jesus said unto her I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live; And whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
~~John 11:25-26~~

Birthday Weekend

Grandad turned 92 today.

But the celebration started yesterday, and will continue on to tomorrow.

The ladies of Friday Bible Class have been wanting to thank and honor Grandad for opening his home to "host" the class. So, yesterday, we came in our work clothes to help clean up the yard and garden, and brought food for a birthday brunch.

A great time was had, with good food and company, and Grandad even donned on his famous pink hat and pink bandanna for the occasion. :)

He got to tell stories, which the women enjoyed, and had a grand time.

I got some food for the little boy, who scarfed down his chocolate cupcake

and then ran around, strewing junk mail all over the floor to get all that sugar out of his system :)

Letti Thursday

It's been way too long

since I've posted anything for Letti Thursday. It's still going on strong though. Plus now, David's sisters have joined us as well, which makes Grandad teary eyed sometimes, to have all his children sitting down to a meal with him in his home once a week.

This week's menu was nothing special, but I thought I should get the ball rolling ( again ).

Chicken Flavored Rice & Wild Rice




Chicken baked with Southwest Chipotle seasoning




Watermelon




Pineapple Upside Down Cake



There was a salad too, but I didn't manage to get a photo of that. :)

Wally World Strikes Again

Is there a subliminal message here that I'm not getting?

Smoke gets in my eyes

It's Wild Fire Season

and it's being called "the worst ever in state history", and "historic", and it is happening right around us here in Abilene.

It seems like the fires have been burning for a couple of weeks now, with new ones cropping up every day, causing towns to have to be evacuated. The sky is hazy with an orange/pink tint, and the smell of smoke lingers in the air.

( news articles and photos taken from Abilene Reporter News )

So, the other day when we were coming home from town and saw THIS in the general direction of our home, we started to worry a bit.

We breathed a sigh of relief, when we got to the turnoff to our home, and we could still see the smoke in the distance. We drove about 2 miles further, and came to this scene.

We were sad for the people who had lost their home, but couldn't help being very thankful that it wasn't us.

According to CNN, the fires have burned a million acres. :(

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/19/texas.fires/index.html?hpt=T1

International Day in Abilene

A couple of weeks ago, we dropped by the Alta Vista Adult Education Center for their International Day. A lady who helps babysit Jaxon during Friday Ladies' Bible Class goes to the center for ESL lessons, and invited us to the event.

The Abilene Reporter News has the event covered HERE

Once we found our way to where the festivities were held, the whole place was already bustling with students from >30 different countries.

We made our way into the gym ( I'm guessing that's what the building was ), where there were exhibitions from the different nations and a caligraphy demonstration from our friend, Xia Yu.

There was a table laid out with food brought by the students, which was very interesting. Some of them resembled food from Malaysia, and so that was quite a pleasant surprise.

The students were dressed in very colorful garb and presented dances from their respective countries.

The little boy was pretty oblivious of all the hullabaloo as he had found himself a sandy area on the playground and was happily pouring and mixing and play play playing. :)

Church Picnic

It was a blustery day,

but after church last week, we, along with some other church members, decided to defy the forces of nature and meet up at Centennial Park for a picnic.

I believe it is an annual event, but this is the first time we've actually joined in. That morning, I made the chicken salad ( for sandwiches ) that we would have for lunch, and invited the BIL to join us.

When we got there, the little boy took one look at the playground facilities, and screamed "PLAY PLAY PLAY!!!!"

While I made sandwiches for the boys,

Cindy helped me watch the little boy, who had loads of fun with his aunt, while trying to wear her out.

After a while, I manage to wrangle the kid over to the picnic table and get some food down him :)

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts"