An old, broken and dirty Car!!!

Early this morning Isaac woke up because his ear was hurting. Unfortunately that only means one thing when you are 3 years old, ear infection. So, when the doctor's office opened I made the call and got I-Man an appointment. So as we were heading out the door he asks if he can bring a toy and I said sure so he grabbed one of his favorite cars. See picture below (this is the car he grabbed.)It is one of his very favorite. He has had this car for a little over a year and when he got it, it didn't look like it does now. As you can see it is now a convertible. (That means that when it first arrived it did have a roof over the cab.) It is missing a couple of tires and the muffler has fallen off. There are a few other things that have broken off but I think you get the idea so far. Needless to say this little car has been played with by a very rambunctious 3 year old and PARTS of it have lasted while some parts have not. It has also been filled with baby powder a couple of times so that is what gives the inside a whitish look.

The following picture is one I took of Isaac as he is explaining his favorite parts of this car. He likes the fact that the doors open (aka. wings which give it the ability to fly) and the hood also comes up (which allows this car to talk.) This is where this car gets interesting.

So this morning after we were headed home from the doctor's visit Isaac told me that his car wanted to say a prayer and asked if I could turn down the radio so that he could hear his car clearly. I agreed and also wanted to hear who his car was praying for and what it had to say. So his car started by praying for Daddy, Mommy, Jordan, Sydney and Isaac. He prayed for Isaac's ear and that it would heal soon followed with a loud "AMEN." O' to hear Isaac's sweet little voice pretending to be a car who was praying. It was priceless!
And then I start to think. This is a toy that I always laugh at when Isaac grabs. It is missing a lot of it's parts and doesn't work the way I would think it should. But then I realize that Isaac loves this toy because it is just how he wants it. "Perfect in His eyes!" It is just how he made it to be. When I asked why he took the roof off his reply was that he couldn't see the seats with the roof on it. When I asked why he tore off the muffler he replied that it didn't roll very good with that "thing" underneath it and the reason for taking off two of the tires (keep in mind the rims are still attached) was to make sure Sydney didn't eat them. (At this point I wonder if he thinks she won't eat the other two but I decide not to go there.)
So when I look at this car I see an old toy that is broken, has missing parts and is all dirty. But, when I hear my son speaking as a little, broken, dirty car and praying for our family, I see a perfect little car that was created just as God had intended. This afternoon I saw Isaac playing with this car and to him it was perfect. It has doors that allow it to fly through the sky and a hood that allows it to pray. What more can a mother want in a toy for her son.

I also know that I thought this car is imperfect in so many ways. In so many ways that I have almost thrown it away many times. While driving home I was so glad that I never threw it away. I now realize that to Isaac this car is perfect. He loves this car with no roof, missing tires and residual powder dust. To him it is perfect. In the same way that I am loved by the Lord. I am perfect in the eye's of our Lord. In the same way that YOU are loved by the Lord. You are perfect in the eye's of the Lord. The love that we are given through Christ is immeasurable. The love that was given and began with the birth of that baby in a manger. This is what Christmas is all about. I hope all of you had a great Christmas holiday. May you always know the love of the Lord in 2010. Wow, thank you Isaac for keeping me on track and thank you for a great morning.
Love Ya'll and God Bless, Tara G.

Sledding!!!

This afternoon the Gallegos Family ventured out and went sledding. We have had a lot of snow in the past 24 hours and is doesn't look like it is going to stop any time soon. I also caught a few pictures and videos of the events.

Here is a picture of Sydney as her and I were hanging out in the suburban!

And in this one she thinks she can drive. She is also wearing her snow suit just incase!

A short video of Isaac sledding all by himself! It was a big deal.




And a short video of Jordan going down the hills. (She almost takes some people out in this video!)

Overall is was a great time and the kids are ready to go back for more! I think this will be something we will be doing a lot of this winter. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a great New Year!

Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.

Big Girl Bed!!!

Tonight is the night! Yes, we put the toddler bed in Sydney's room and now she is sleeping in a "Big Girl" bed. We caught a few pictures of her excitement as we were putting it in her room. A group shot!


A solo shot! And at this point I think she is getting a little concerned.


A close-up

And now, as I am writing this post and putting up these cute pictures, she is upstairs screaming her head off. She has now realized that she can get out of bed and this is a new power. However, there is a gate keeping her in her room so I am thinking she will fall asleep in front of it! Let's hope she gets over this "new bed phobia" she has. We'll keep ya posted!

Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.

A sick Week!!!!

Well, last week Jordan didn't go to school Wednesday through Friday. And actually her fever didn't break until Saturday night. So, our week was a little different than usual but it was still a fun one. I caught a few pictures of the kids and some of the extra activities we did.

The next few pictures are of the kids with their sticker project. (And I use the word "project" loosely.) Some friends sent the kids each a sticker set of a Nativity Scene. We talked about where Jesus was born, the star in the sky, all the animals around and how the wise men came to visit. The pictures below are where the kids felt the stickers should be arranged. Isaac with his "closed eye" smile and his amazing work with stickers. I personally like how the wise men are falling over or in the sky with the angel!!!


And Jordan with hers. She did a pretty good job if I do say so myself.


I do have to disclose that I did help Sydney with hers. But she was just as proud as if she had done the entire thing all on her own. (The stars were all Sydney!)


And along with the stickers we made a ginger bread house. It was great. The kids were all coughing with runny noses and we were constructing a house made of cookie and candy that we would later eat when everyone got better (therefore reinfecting ourselves for another fun week of fevers and congestion!) However, it was a fun craft and the kids did have a good time. Here are pictures to prove it.

Sydney posing with the freshly made house.

And Isaac with the house. I am pretty sure he ate more candy while he was decorating than he put on it.

And Jordan, look how healthy she looks in this photo. You would never have guessed that she woke up with a fever of 105 that morning!


And finally a group shot of the three of them.

And I managed to get a picture of Isaac with his eyes open!!!!

And another thing Sydney and Jordan enjoy doing is riding the broom around the house like a horse. But Jordan insists that it is not a horse, it is a camel. "A camel?" I ask, "Yes" she replies, "a camel has two humps and can carry two people while horses only carry one person at a time." Camel sounded good to me so I just went with it.

Sydney and Isaac did have a good time while Jordan was home. Jordan, on the other hand, really missed school so she was excited to go this morning. But, I think she did have fun on her extra long weekend. I personally am glad that everyone now has a body temperature within normal and acceptable ranges and no one is coughing in my face. So, as the weather gets cooler here are to more sick days at home with the kids!

Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.

No School!!!

Jordan woke up this morning with a slight fever and I decided that she should just stay home and hang out with the rest of us. She was really upset that she couldn't go to school so I had to come up with something even more cool and exciting than school. So, we busted out the paints and made paper Christmas trees "Gallegos Style." And of course I grabbed the camera to catch some memories

Here is one of Sydney. She kept trying to eat the paint. It was kind of hard to snap pictures and keep her from eating the art materials!

And here is one of Jordan and Isaac as they are just getting started on their trees!

Jordan about mid way through.
Isaac is done! And yes there was just as much paint on the table as there was on the tree!

And Sydney letting her internal artist out!

And the final products as they were drying in the garage. (This is the only place I could think of where they wouldn't get paint on everything.) So, as they were continuing to dry I caught this picture of the masterpieces! (except that I couldn't get the picture turned so you will have to tilt your head to get the full effect.)

So, here's to sick days. I hope Jordan is feeling better tomorrow. I think we will be creating a gingerbread house this afternoon, so we will see how well that goes for us!

Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.

We've got a Kicker!!!!

Like any good parents do we went out this weekend, waited in 30 degree weather, ate candy canes and took a number to be seen the big red guy himself. Yes, that would be Santa. The following picture was taken at the beginning of the "Santa Trip." Key word is "Beginning." Notice how excited they all are. And yes, this is how Isaac smiles now. (His eyes are closed and all of his teeth are showing!) A close up of Isaac and his new found smile.

Sydney styling in my stocking hat!

And Jordan posing as well.
And after waiting for about an hour outside and then figuring out that our number wouldn't come up for about 3 hours we left, got some Christmas shopping done, and made our way back for our turn to see "Santa." Yes, everyone was excited; however, I don't think everyone knew what was in store. And when I say everyone I mean Sydney. She was not the least bit interested in actually going up and seeing Mr. Clause or Mrs. Clause. (As you can see from the following picture.)

Yes, Sydney is screaming and yelling as Patrick is attempting to set her on Mrs. Clause's lap. I have to say, it was pretty funny from where I was sitting.

Right after I stopped the video Mrs. Clause said "I think we have a kicker!" And I do have to say in her defense, she was right, she did have a kicker. So this is definitely a picture for the baby book. Also, notice how completely unbothered Isaac and Jordan are by Sydney screaming as if someone is abducting her. That also makes this video kind of funny. O' what fun we had this weekend! We hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season thus far as much as we are (except for maybe Sydney of course!)

Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.

Thanksgiving Time

Well, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. I am still amazed that Christmas is only about 3 weeks away. We had a great Thanksgiving and were very fortunate to have great friends to share it with. Our friends Jennifer and Erik from Iowa came over along with our friend Mike from Toledo. Erik, Mike and Patrick all did a residency together at Texas Tech so it was fun having everyone together again. I would have to say that overall we had too much food and a lot of fun.

We managed to get out a few times and show everyone some of the local attractions of the area. The following pictures are of our trip to Brandywine falls.Patrick and Isaac in front of the falls.

Patrick and Jordan in front of the falls.



A picture of Brandywine falls. (With no one in front of it!)

And we even managed to catch a shot of Sydney running around. And "Yes" that is Jordan in the background showing off her funky moves!

And the above picture is one of our "Thankful Turkey." We put a turkey body on the window at the beginning of the month and everyday we added a feather. And on the feather we put something we were thankful for. Everyone had a different color and turned out to be a really fun thing to do with the kids. It was fun to see what the kids were thankful for. And also what they thought Sydney was thankful for. The only change I will make for next year is that I will start at the bottom of the door. Towards the end of the month we had to bend over to see who was at the front door.

And here is a closer look at the turkey. Overall everyone really liked the "Thankful Turkey" idea and I think it may become a new tradition for the Gallegos Family.

And to finish this post there is a short video of the Brandywine Falls. Enjoy!!!

We hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Love Ya and God Bless, Tara G.