HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CERA!

Today, Saturday October 25, 2008 is our niece Cera's birthday.
Happy 18th Birthday, Cera!!! We love you SO much!!!

Love always,
Aunt Pammy, Uncle John, Michael, Briana and Alexa

MY THREE LITTLE PUMPKINS (and their little pumpkins!)

Michael, age 7


Briana, age 5


Alexa, age 1 (20 months)






I LOVE this one!

KID BIT

After school today, Michael went down to the basement to "work out". This is something he started doing with John. After a while, he came upstairs and told me to feel his muscles. I said, "Wow! You're really getting strong!" He said, "I'm not as strong as Daddy, but I'm getting close!"

"HALLOWEEN"

My children will not be celebrating October 31st the way the world celebrates, but they will still have a lot of fun. We will be going to our church for their annual "Give God the Glory Night". I'm not sure how many years they've been doing this, but just to give you an idea, I used to go when I was a kid! Members of the church donate bags of wrapped candy so all the kids who participate will go home with a great big bag. (Thank God for toothpaste, toothbrushes and dentists!!!) There will be a moonbounce among many other fun activites for the kids. There will also be a time of Bible teaching. My Mom, who will have Alexa at home, will be handing out Gospel tracts along with candy to the "trick-or-treaters" who come to the door.

We live in an evil world and Halloween just seems to be the epitomy of all evilness. The devil wants us to live in fear. What seems to be an innocent holiday for kids is really a night the devil enjoys far too much. There are still cults in this world that practice human sacrifice on this night - usually children. I know that's going to the extreme, but think about the costumes kids wear - devils, ghosts, witches, demons, dracula, monsters, even masked murderers. I refuse to teach my kids that this is okay. God wants us to live in fear of Him, not the devil. The psalmist said, "I will fear no evil: for thou [the Lord] art with me." (Psalm 23:4) It is my hope and prayer that I and my children will give God the glory and not give place to the devil.

If you are looking for ideas for an alternative to Halloween, please visit my friend Amy's blog:
http://thesikorskifamily.blogspot.com/ (Post October 20, 2008)

ALL ABOUT ALEXA

My sweet little baby girl is 20 months old today! I can hardly believe it! There are many pictures here, but I hope you'll take the time to see each one and catch a little glimpse of the life of Alexa Maxine Cabrera.


Here she is wearing her big brother's school shirt. She hasn't figured out how to say "Michael" yet, so she calls him "Da Da". (John is Daddy, in case you're wondering!)


Now she's wearing Briana's necklace. She calls her big sister "Na Na". (That's also what Michael called Briana when he was 2.)


She loves her little pink hat. Whenever we're getting ready to go outside, she pats herself on the head. That's her way of saying, "My hat, please!"


She LOVES to play with balls! She can kick them and is starting to throw them pretty well, too!


Trying on Briana's shoe...


She managed to get both of them on by herself!


This day, she decided it would be fun to play with Michael's baseball cap.
"It's dark! Where did everybody go?"


"Hey! There you are!"


She is so much fun to watch!


"Look, Mommy! I can do it myself! Bye Bye!"


Opening a cabinet no matter how big or small is an endless source of enjoyment. In fact, she has a blanket and puppy that she sleeps with, and about two weeks ago, they disappeared. We couldn't find them anywhere! 6 days later, John and I were in our bedroom with Alexa and she went over to a small desk we have in there. On one side is a little cabinet. She opened the door and what do you suppose was in there? That's right! She had put her blanket and puppy in there and no one (but her) had thought to look in there!


"Anyone hungry? I'm making lunch."


She was playing Ring Around the Rosy with Michael and Briana. They taught her how and she did great. Then she decided to start falling down before they got to the "we all fall down" part. Michael and Briana thought that was hilarious, so she would fall down early and they would all crack up!


She likes to make us laugh with this face. It all started because we live next to a fire station. Any time the fire trucks or ambulances would go out with their sirens on, we would say, "Alexa! Do you hear the fire trucks?" And she would make that face. It's so funny.


Here she is with another one of Michael's hats.
"You can't see me!"


"Here I am!"


And there she goes! She's a busybody - always into EVERYTHING!


She's such a character! And a cute one at that!


Hamming it up for the camera.


Ride 'em cowgirl!


She does have her not-so-happy moments. She was less than thrilled when I put her in the ball pit.


But she loved bouncing on the trampoline while holding the balls from the ball pit!


She loves babies. Even her own reflection. She's a "big helper" in our church nursery with all the babies. She knows them all by name and can even tell you whose diaper bag is whose!


Even my little busybody gets worn out now and then. She has her beloved blanket (which I removed from around her neck) and her beloved puppy with the pink hearts (which she has underneath her!). For some reason, she likes to sleep with her feet up on the rails. Not always, but occasionally.

SWEET DREAMS MY LITTLE ANGEL!

POTTY TIME! ALREADY?!?

Alexa will be 20 months old on Tuesday October 14th. A few months ago I started putting her on the potty before her bath just to see how she would react. She had no problem sitting there, but never did anything. One night a few weeks ago, she surprised me by actually going on the potty! She went a few more times after that, when she was about to get in the tub. Then, last week, she started telling me "potty, potty" (which actually came out "bobby, bobby" at first, and now it's "otty, otty") anytime I took her diaper off. So we started making daily trips to the "otty", but she hadn't been going. She just wanted to sit there and then say "done". Until today. She went on the potty twice! Imagine that. I know she's not ready to be fully potty trained yet, but I'm encouraged by the hope that she won't be 3 like Michael was!

FAN OF FACEBOOK

I just wanted all of you to know that I will continue to try and keep up with our blog, but I think it will be more of what it's supposed to be - a blog! I've used it primarily to post pictures, but since I discovered Facebook, it's SOOOOOOO much easier to put photo albums to share on my Facebook page! I have found many friends (old and new) on Facebook and if you've never been there, I encourage you to go! It's completely free, and you have complete control over what info you put on there and who sees it. You can send friend requests and you'll also receive them - but you can accept or ignore them. It's been such a great and easy way to keep in touch with friends and family. If you don't have a Facebook page, come and join and look me up!

facebook.com

Pam :)

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

My Dad came to the United States (LEGALLY, I might add) from Lima, Peru in August 1972. 36 years later in August 2008, he became a U.S. citizen. When I asked him why now after all these years, he replied, "Because the cost keeps going up!" My Dad is full-blooded Japanese, but Spanish is his first language. Since coming to America, he speaks fluent English, has gone to college here, has been married to my Mom for over 32 years, and has been at the same job for nearly 30 years. He is proud to be an American, and I am proud to call him my Daddy!

We were all able to be at the swearing-in ceremony.

He gladly received his official certificate of citizenship.

One proud and happy new American!

Congratulations, Daddy! We love you!