I tried a recipe.  It was full of promise.  Delicious, healthy chocolate icing it said.  Easy to make.  Four ingredients.  Two steps.  When it was ready it looked fabulous.  It smelled heavenly.  So I dipped my finger in and gave it a taste.  It was awful! How could something so appealing be so bad?  I …

“Are we going to our mall or to a new mall,” asked Grande. “We are going to our mall,” I answered. “Yeah!!!  I like our mall.  There’s lots of books!” “Oh, you want to go to the bookstore?” “Yes!” And I smile and sigh contentedly about how my son is so smart that he readily …

The competition was fierce.  Grande and Mediano were teamed up and ready to go.  Markers in hands and excitement on their faces.  They attacked that blank poster board and turned it into a masterpiece.  Don’t you see it? The instructions were to draw a character from Sesame Street, but my boys like to blaze their …

The shell cracked and broke open.  The egg’s contents were poured into the pan.  Passed over the flame and transformed completely.  It became something more palatable.  And what I had previously admired for it’s smooth flawless appearance was made better and some could argue more beautiful in the breaking. Much like someone I know who’s …

We went to Chuck E Cheese last week with some friends.  In the play area there was this cute little school bus with three windows.  As soon as I saw it I thought it would be perfect for a picture of my three boys.  And I tried the entire time to get a picture of …

We went to walk along a stream in the middle of a shopping center on Sunday.  My boys have been very interested in streams lately.  We’ve been practicing the Spanish word for stream (arroyo) quite a bit lately although when they say it it comes out as “a yo-yo.”  Grande’s just beginning to roll his …

There’s my boy.  Grande.  Big toy gun in hand.  Shooting imaginary dinosaurs.  That’s my boy.  Courageous.  Confident and brave.  He knows his aim won’t fail when it comes to those big T-Rexs, Triceratops, and Spinosauruses.  They don’t stand a chance.  He’s in position.  Standing high on a chair.  Observing from above.  Not missing a thing. …

The table was set.  The food prepared.  Extra chairs in place.  Ready.  Empty chairs waiting for us.  Waiting for family to gather. Empty. And gather we did.  We filled our plates.  Filled our cups.  We filled the chairs.  Gave thanks and filled our stomachs. Full The table was prepared.  The food was delicious.  There was …

I heard giggles.  Loud giggles.  I was curious, but almost didn’t want to know what they were doing since they were obviously playing well together.  But I just had to know what they were doing that was causing so much laughter.  So I decided to peek in and that’s what I saw.  Chico and Mediano …

We were all dressed and ready, in the car and on our way.  When Grande asked, “why are we going to church?”  I’m beginning to get used to these deep questions showing up randomly.  It must be his age, but they seem to come out of his mouth when I am least prepared to answer …

I took this picture a few weeks ago at a church my husband was invited to play keyboard at.  I love it so much.  It totally captures who my boys are.  Grande’s being a dinosaur (looks like a T-Rex to me, but it could also be some kind of raptor).  Mediano has a cape that …

My sons and I went to a baby shower on Saturday.  I’m not sure why, but I had been thinking it wasn’t until next week so when I opened the invitation to check I went through a little bit of a mental scramble as to what to bring as a gift.  I quickly found a …

My boys get dirty.  I’m not talking about cute little dirt smudges on the knees of their pants.  I mean DIRTY!  As in covered from head to toe.  As in they grab handfuls of actual dirt and pour it on their own heads.  They get dirty. So we wash faces, hands, and little bodies around …

Grande gave me a flower.  It’s blue.  It’s plastic.  It’s made out of some sort of construction toys.  It’s 100% BOY.  He made it for me.  He asked if I would keep it.  He wanted me to put it in my hair.  It was a gift.  Days later he still asks where I have my …

This is Chico reaching out for his Abuelita on her front porch.  I love the arch in his back, the stretch of his little arms, and his head thrown back in petition to be held.   He doesn’t hold back when he asks.  He doesn’t try to hide his need for her.  He’s not embarrassed …

My dad texted me a picture of some tortillas on his griddle.  It was obvious that they were store bought so I had to text him the picture above of what my mother-in-law was making from scratch.   If it was a competition to see who’s griddle had something yummier on it, I won.  He …

I took the boys to the park again this week.  For those of you who may be wondering no I did not torture Chico by pushing him in the swing again.  I did slide down the big twisty slide with him on my lap though, and he loved it.   I have to say that …

I’ve been sewing lots of ruffles lately.  Ruffles for me, ruffles for friends, ruffles for books, and ruffles for babies.  The thing about ruffles is that their’s beauty in the imperfections.  It seems that the messier they are the more beautiful the final product is.   It reminds me of some testimonies I’ve heard.  Testimonies …

The water rushes as small hands grasp the garden hose.  The land parched by months of drought soaks up the cool stream as it passes over the plants, grass, and trees.  In times like these patches of green mix with brown as the grass struggles to survive through the scorching hot days of a Texas …

Ingredients: 1 year old boy  plenty of sunshine warm weather park baby swing push Procedure: Gather all ingredients.  Insert boy into swing.  Push gently while smiling and exclaiming what fun it is to swing.  This should elicit giggles and happiness from boy. I had all the ingredients.  I followed the recipe.   Chico cried. What …

Chico’s up high.  Sitting high on the wall.  But how did he get up there being so small?  Did he jump, did he climb, did he suddenly grow?  Does he have superpowers?  Could he have his own show?  Can he fly, can he run, does he swing from the trees?  No, most of his time …

We took a walk around the block today while my mother in-law made dinner.  About half way around Chico stopped and sat down.     He was exhausted.  His tiny legs just couldn’t keep up with our big ones, and his few months of experience walking just doesn’t compare to the years his brothers and …

My father in-law has a lasso.  And he knows how to use it!  When the family gets together one of his grandchildren’s favorite games is to run around him and be lassoed.  It’s a game filled to the brim with laughter, smiles, and lots of “na na na na boo boo you can’t catch me’s.”  …

My husband and I have spent the past week talking, praying, planning, seeking, and revising our purpose and direction.  We’re taking tabs on where we are and where we know God wants us, on what we are doing and the work God has for us to do.  And sprinkled into all the reality that encompasses …

I haven’t been in all that many photos since I became a mom.  And it’s not because we don’t have pictures.  I would guess that we take an average of 2o pictures per day.  And that’s not an exaggeration.  It’s probably much more than that.  Pretty soon after Grande was born my husband and I …

My boys baby and toddler years have been sprinkled with tears.  Although in the end the laughter outshines the cries and the smiles outnumber the tears.  There is a place for tears and sometimes even scars. Because through the tears we can see the promise.  In the ashes of grief we can see God’s promise …

Boys are LOUD!  Boys are rowdy.  Boys wiggle.  Boys shout.  Boys run.  Boys jump.  Boys ask questions.  Boys take risks.  Boys hug.  Boys race.  Boys play.  Boys pray.  Boys learn.  Boys teach.  And boys are LOUD! The sky is blue.  The grass is green.  Birds sing.  Lions roar.  Crickets hop.  Cats stretch.  The water of …

My sons make noise, loud noise, and lots of it.  Basically the only time my house is quiet is when they are sleeping, or we are not home.  To tell you the truth most days I really want them to be quiet.  I long for silence and my head tends to throb from the lethal …

My boys love to play in the dirt.  There’s so much you can do with it!  Today Mediano buried his car.  They often make roads, dinosaur footprints, mountains, dig for dinosaur bones and even shower themselves and each other in that dirt.  I’m sure if we let them add water they could come up with …

I made french toast this morning.  Grande was excited and waited not so patiently at the refrigerator while his piece cooled off enough to eat.  As soon as it was ready he was at the table.   Mediano was playing with Chico in the living room and didn’t even notice we were eating until Grande …

Mediano had fun in the sand this weekend.  He’s quite an artist.  If you look closely at the picture of his sand art you can see where his little fingers sculpted it just so.  With the right tools and expertise you may even be able to make out fingerprints left behind, evidence of the artist. …

We made a detour yesterday on our way home from a birthday party.  We stopped to see a few dino friends.  A few big dino friends.  I love this picture I took of Grande looking that stegosaurus straight in the eye.  It’s as if he walked right up to him to say “hello, Mr. Dinosaur.” …

I had just changed Chico’s diaper and he was anxious to get down and play.  He perched himself on the end of the changing table and looked down.  And his eyes lit up.  There below him was a huge box of . . . TOYS!!!  He was riveted, completely focused on what filled his eyes.  …

I just got this super cool photo prop!  So of course as soon as it came in the mail I had to run out to the backyard for a spontaneous i-phone photo session with Chico.  I stripped him down, sat him down, and began to shoot.  I got some cute pictures, I would call them …

My husband is a musician.  He gave Grande his first piano lesson last week.  He was all for it at first, excited to be able to play with his dad.  However after a while he grew bored and Mediano gladly took his place.  Mediano took right to the lesson, copying what his Papi was doing …

This was the first blog I ever wrote!  Originally published on November 17, 2009. This is a picture my husband took a while ago.  He works in construction and found this poor guy wandering around the site one day.  We have laughed a lot because of this picture and my sweetheart always shows it to …

This was originally posted on May 31, 2011 What started out as a Saturday morning drive with my boys turned in to a Saturday morning walk this weekend. A few blocks from the house the car died and wouldn’t start. I wasn’t going anywhere important. Just to check out some garage sales. So I pulled …

Originally Posted April 29, 2011 For those of you who don’t know, my husband is Mexican.  Which in turn makes my children half Mexican.  So let’s just say I’ve learned a thing or two about tacos.  I thought I’d share my insight in true Devotion Mama style today. Taco Tip #1  What you see in …

This was originally posted on September 27, 2010 My husband’s birthday was this past weekend.  We took a mini-vacation to Dallas.  Saw Veggie Tales Live on Friday night.  Stayed at a hotel, or as Josiah called it a “house for lots of people.”  And planned to go to the Holocaust Museum.  We could see the …

Originally posted November 23, 2009 I met some ladies from my mom’s group today at the mall playground.  We meet there once or twice a month to let the kids play, chat and pray for each other.  When we first got there Josiah stuck close to me as usual.  But after a little bit he …