Home & Season

We sure did have a blast on Christmas eve/Christmas Day. I and the kiddos baked cookies and decorated them for Santa. We even threw reindeer oats in our frontyard…because of course that is what they eat. The best part ever is when Solomon ran upstairs up to our room and screamed, “Mama, dada, Santa came!” That was so precious. The boys and my neices opened all their presents and of course I took lots of pics…priceless. We then got packed and headed out to Corpus to visit both sides of the family. We arrived at My in-laws where the kids opened more gifts. We enjoyed a dinner of arroz con pollo…yum. Then we headed out to view cool Christmas lights. We returned where my mother-in-law had warm chocolate ready for us. The next day we headed out to my mom and dads where of course the kids opened more gifts…and whata ya know…more food. Forget the calories! We had some awesome posole…oh so good if you’ve never had it. Talk about feeling like a balloon. I wouldn’t have changed a thing, no regrets. I know we have all put on some pounds! New Year Resolution….LOSE WEIGHT….of course! Above are some pics of our Christmas. Enjoy, from our family to yours.

I know I know it came and went, but come reminisce with me……. 

It’s Thanksgiving morning, 12:00 a.m. to be exact and I am still awake cleaning the remnents of cookie dough and sprinkles that the kids have left behind on the kitchen island. The kids are all fast asleep and I am placing the last batch of cream-of-tarter cookies into the oven. My sister-in-law is prepping the banana bread, Isaac is cleaning upstairs and Michael is nowhere to be found. My feet ache yet I am determined to have all desserts prepared for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Oh darn, I almost forgot the apple-butter pumpkin pie in the oven, a delicious recipe from good’ole Southern girl, Paula Deen (food network channel).

A few minutes pass and I realize I don’t have enough of the spice I will use for my rub on the turkey. Isaac and Micheal head out to HEB to pick up more…so sweet! They return with Taco Cabana…crazy, you can’t send those two out without having an agenda of their own! I quickly begin toasting the blend of spices as the recipe specifically calls for and then onto the blender it goes. I am beginning to get worried…”will it be good, was this a dumb idea to try and take on the big bird myself?” Ok, enough of the paranoid talk….gotta get the regular pumpkin pie out of the oven. Denise is now onto her pecan pies. I am finally done (2:00 a.m.)…at least for now. Time to go get some rest…at least what I can get.

The alarm sounds, it is 9:30 a.m. Time to rise and shine! The outside temperature has dropped significantly, God you sure know how to bring in the holiday and warm my heart. I am feeling confident. No one else is awake in the home, so I quickly run to the kitchen and begin peeling the sweet potatoes to boil. I get the defrosted turkey out of the refrigerator….Denise and Isaac join me. Denise slices the veggies as I prepare the chicken stock for the gravy. We’re moving now….all four burners are going and the turkey is now being stuffed with lemons and rosemary. Isaac pours the olive oil and I embed the special blend of spices onto the bird. Oh what a site! I run to my room to freshen up…guests will be here shortly. Three hours later its done…WHAT!!! No way, grandma would not approve or believe! All credit is given to the special blend which formed a nice crust and maintained the juices.

12:00 p.m. and I hear Isaac calling, “You’re parents are here.” I run down the stairs, take a quick look at everything. The house smells of fall spices, the freshener is of apple pie, the living room is neat and not to metion the aroma of a suculant turkey. As I open the door I am greeted not just by my parents baring gifts for the kiddos but also by my nephew James and Isaac’s cousins, Abel and Roxanne. Wow…perfect timing. Hugs and kisses are exchanged and we all walk in anxiously to celebrate together. We are later joined by my in-laws, who made it in the nick of time. Picture time….enjoy

 I was a happy camper as I heard many compliments on how delicious the food was. This was by far one of the most memorable Thanksgivings I will never forget. More family joined us later on that evening. Everything went so smoothly, everyone ate, laughed and asked for seconds. Oh Thank you Lord for family, food and fun.

Wow….I can’t believe the weekend came and went and now we are nearing yet another weekend! Not to mention Thanksgiving is right around the corner…..AHHHH!!! Time to pull out the recipes and make the grocery list and clean and decorate the house and …….I’m already exhausted! Well my parents  came into town and so did my mother-in-law and brother-in-law. My nephew also visted this weekend. Lots and lots of traffic in the house, I loved it. Its always nice to have family over.

Oh yes, and President Bush was here in SA visiting BAMC, or known as Brooke Army Medical Center. Isaac and I were on our way home, when we heard on the radio that Bush had arrived, a few seconds later my sister-in-law calls and says, “Air Force One has landed!” We happened to be passing the airport at that very second and lo-&-behold…..there is AIR FORCE 1…..Isaac took a quick snap, we got the tail end of it. Go to Isaac’s blog  and check it out.

 As I had mentioned previously in another post, my dad is a veteran. He was in the Korean war. My dad was honored at Solomon’s school for Veteran’s Day. It was so nice. My neice, Olivia is in the choir, their songs of tribute were beautiful. All the veterans were seated in the front while family members sat behind them for support. My dad had to stand and state when he was a part of the Navy and for how long. I really enjoyed this ceremony. The principal did a really good job at explaining to the kids of the importance and respect we should all bear towards our past and present soldiers. Here are a couple of pics of my dad at the ceremony.

     My Dad introducing himself     

    Grandpa Aparicio & the boys

The next day the whole family enjoyed an evening at Pico De Gallo, an amazing Mexican restuarant. Mmmm…..mmmm…good is all I have to say. Here are some more pics of our fun night.

 Say Cheese!       My mom and dad     

   My dad           Isaac and Jakob       

My parents will be back for Thanksgiving…yippee! Aside from celebrating Turkey Day, Denise, Michael, Isaac and I are looking forward to hitting up the stores for Black Friday! Hopefully we’ll SURVIVE and accomplish all of our Christmas shopping that night!!! Well thats all for now, love you all.

Ok so like I had to make this my title!!! You don’t know the SPURS until you’ve lived in SA, so the saying goes. It’s so true, man this city goes all out, its an official holiday every time the SPURS play. I have to say I’m loving it!!! Solomon went nuts watching them play for his first time. He and his cousins had little Spurs fans, they would scream and raise them high everytime the SPURS scored. Isaac and I are side by side working on our computers, I of course blogging, he is web surfing and watching the game. SPURS just won…yeah, 106 to 97 was the score.

Well we have been a busy bunch. This past weekend my mother-in-law, Ofie came into town with Michael’s mom, Bunnie. It was fun. We woke up early Saturday, had a good breakfast and then headed out to a local pumpkin patch with the kiddos. Here are some pics, enjoy.

Alright so I am a picture freak…oh-well! After a fun time at the pumpkin patch we headed out to do the tourists thing with the fam. Visit Isaac’s blog to see the sPoOky pics of the Spanish governor’s palace in downtown SA. Thought it would be fun considering Halloween is right around the corner.

Later that night we went shopping for last minute costume items…so fun. Can’t wait! I will post more pics of our Halloween fun. That’s it for now.

I think we are all settled in, except my brain! It’s been one crazy ride that’s for sure. I am completely exhausted from the move, yet anxious to get back into a routine, for the kids sake of course. Lots and lots happening…all good, thank God. Isaac became a member of the chamber of commerce here in SA and will most definitely link up with other business owners, thats a given. We have run into several people already needing business….God again. Talk about from Best Buy(someone he met there) to 5050 Broadway (a delicious burger joint by the way) to somebody wanting to start a golfing business and not to mention a company here in SA wanting to contract Isaac out. It is mind-blowing! I know he will do fine, it is only a matter of time until he establishes himself.

Meanwhile I want to give a shout-out to

“Last Minute Movers“,   the company that helped us move (by the way, Isaac , my husband did their website). They did a terrific job, I would recommend them to anyone. Thank you so much Frank, his lovely wife, Natasha Tingle, and all your guys, you all rock. I pray that God blesses your business and family ten-fold. Thank you so much for your encouraging words, believe me they were heartfelt.

Here are some pics from the move:

   Ready for the move. Blury, but too cute not to include.

 Their little faces can be interpreted so many ways, my baby boys.

  Can’t believe we’re actually moving!

   Filler up.

   Isaac driving truck, following behind with kiddos and family.

  Getting close to San Antonio.

       Oh so so tired and so so precious. My motivation and inspiration for everything.

Also, thank you mom, dad, Ofie, Brandon and his sweet wife, Renee  for helping us with the move up here. Renee thank you so much for keeping the kiddos entertained, you were awesome. By the way, I hope your foot gets better.  And thank you for the card, that was so nice of you guys. You all are welcome up here anytime, we mean it. 

Well I am taking vacation starting Thursday, August the 16th. I will start fresh on August the 28th except here in SA. I’ve already been in contact with my new supervisors and they seem pretty cool. The day of the move I received a call from one of them, they wanted to test my Spanish skills…well I passed with flying colors…so go-figure, I will be getting paid bilingual salary! Now, I will be honest, coming into this job I did not speak it at all. Now I understand it very well, however I did not speak it. Yeah that sounds weird, but growing up my parents spoke to me in Spanish and I responded in English, so I guess there you have it. Well I set a goal for myself to pick it up. There was a time that I had to attend numerous Adult Day Care enrollment events for my job, so I made it a point to sit with the Hispanic Senior Citizens and to chat about their lives. Boy, did I learn it quick, Spanish was the only way we communicated, I had to or I would not be able to complete my tasks. I have great respect for our elder population. You can sure learn a lot, that is where wisdom lies. I also saturated myself in the Spanish/English dictionary. Not only that, but when my biological mother lived with us in Corpus, all we spoke was Spanish. Now, moving to San Antonio gives me a whole different perspective on my culture. I feel honored by my origin and love who God made me. I am proud to be Hispanic, I absolutely love it.  Whatever God made you, be proud of your roots and know that God does not  make mistakes. “He does not called the qualified, he qualifies the called” (a mentor of mine, emailed me an inspiring story and at the end of that story was this quote). So true! Can’t wait to post more about our journey.