Rest in peace, Jerry

I found out yesterday that one of my high school classmate's passed away on Saturday. Not sure of the details, but I couldn't help but to become sad. He's only 27. He was 27. My age.

We're not supposed to go at this age. We have much to see and live out.

This is the second person from my high school class that just makes my heart sad. First, Amy Gutierrez "Little Amy" and now Jerry. I will always remember that Amy's birthday was on my anniversary, June 2. And sadly, I will always remember Jerry on my best friend's birthday, July 21.

I was especially close to Amy growing up. We had sleep-overs starting in the second grade and kept in contact with each other until the day we graduated. Actually, even after that thanks to Myspace and her brother who I always saw at HEB every time I went home. Still do. And every time I see him, I hug him and even though we never say it, we're reminded of Amy each time we do.

Jerry was a friend from high school who sang and laughed and always carried around his guitar. He made me and the rest of our school smile. He always had a smile on his face and could care less what people thought about him. In being so carefree and loving, we thought nothing but great things about him.

I remember talking on the phone and him singing me songs, chatting on AOL (yep, makes me laugh now) and giving him rides home. Well him and his guitar.

Sweet, kind Jerry, you will be missed.

Rest in peace.

What a week!

Well the kids came and went. We went to the library, Main Event, Putt-Putt Golf & Games, swimming, to church, a splash pad, a park, a bridal shower and to eat. And eat and eat and eat. It was a great week & they played with Nicholas until he was ready to crash out each night. My niece and nephew are absolutely wonderful with their little cousin and because of that I adore them so much more than they know.

Here's a few pictures from the past week -

Haircut time! Can you tell he's a fan?

Bowling at Main Event

Legos with cousin

Awesome chicken shredded nachos that I made.

Makes me hungry just looking at those delicious things!

Fun times at Putt-Putt

Go-Kart ride afterwards! We had a blast & I kept it under a 100 mph.

Gotta put on sunscreen before you go swimming!

Apparently you need to get your eyebrows as well.

Such a fun week! Loved it.

A few quotes that I enjoy...

Definitely an addict now

Yesterday I ran my first 5K (3.1 m) since high school and while my time wasn't the best, I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to run another race! Who would have thought I, of all people, would be saying that? Not me.

To get myself in shape for the half-marathon in November (which I already registered for so I have to do it), I would like to run a 10K (6.2 m) next month. Hoping someone will do it with me. More fun with others.

It was also great to wear my Trek t-shirt and have people notice it. I hope that by wearing it, someone will learn how awesome of a little boy he was and feel touched to know his story. Here are a couple of pics from the race.

Side note: I have 3 kiddos this week (my niece & nephew are visiting) so I may not be writing as much. Hoping to get out and plan a fun week for them!

The sacred title

I had a conversation last week about the sacred title known as "best friend" aka "bestie" aka "mejor amiga". The conversation went a little like this...

Her: She called me her best friend! I don't know what to do. "J" is my best friend. I feel like that title is special.

Me: I agree.

Her: Do you have more than one best friend?

Me: No, just Mandy...well...

And from there my mind began to think. Mandy is my numero uno, the bacon to my bacon & egg taco (yes, I just said that - I'm hungry), the one who my Dad refers to as my twin or comadre. She's it. She's my best friend. She's always held that title.

And then I started to think about El Stacie. (Yep, that's her real name) Her and I have gotten really close in the last 4 years. She's the one who brought me to the church I love, we knew each other before we entered motherhood and also kept each other sane through all of it. If I am sick, she brings me soup and Gatorade. She really does.

I can depend on her, share my secrets with her and laugh with her like a best friend would.

So I guess it is possible to have more than one best friend. No one will ever replace Mandy. We've been through too dang much. Things no one will ever understand or ever learn about. (Well, maybe if I piss her off.) Bottom line though, she's always going to be my best friend. And so will Stacie.

Guess there's just more bacon for me...and that's never a bad thing.

ATM update

Well I'm pretty pumped about how ATM went. I had been praying for my niece but ironically, my nephew is the one who really enjoyed the message. He even wanted to spend the night so he could go back the next day again. Instead they're coming to visit again this weekend! Here's a couple of pictures from this weekend.

 David is riding on the motorcycle because Nicholas wanted no part of it.

It meant he was that much closer to the Lorax and he was NOT ok with that!

Overall, it was a good day. We went to Fuddruckers afterward, and I ate a wonderfully cheesy burger with fries. Yep, not something I should have eaten. I definitely paid for it the next day when I went for my run. Was worth it though. Every cheesy bite!

After that we played some Wii and Nicholas definitely entertained everyone with his killer Michael Jackson moves. I swear, the boy can dance. Right now he's obsessed with "Smooth Criminal" and I love it! Oh and don't worry, I'm definitely taking videos of it so I can use it as black mail when he becomes a teenager. 

AT THE MOVIES

Today begins At the Movies, and I'm so so excited! This is a BIG time in our church where many people that don't know Christ will walk through our church doors and have their lives transformed as they hear about Jesus in a way they've never heard before. I think when you have seen it impact people the way that it does, you'd be just as excited as me. And not just adults, I've seen kids so excited and changed after hearing these messages about God. That is what really gets me. It's just amazing.

 Andrew & I prayed last night that lives will be transformed through these messages, and I strongly believe that they will.

My sister-in-law and her family are coming today to be apart of the opening day. I pray and hope that today's message impacts especially my 13 year-old niece. She's getting older and is officially a teenager this year. (Not sure how that happened. She was a tiny, innocent little 5 year-old when I met her.) She's being exposed to so much out there in the world, and hopefully this will resonate with her in a way that will help her tackle any peer pressures she may face this year.

I'll make sure to take some pics while I'm there. This year's theme for our decorations is, "The Lorax". Truffla trees everywhere!

Busy bee

I haven't posted in a few days because I've actually been busy. Not busy as in stress from work kind of busy, but just keeping myself occupied busy.

For Fourth of July, I actually woke up and hit the track. It was my toughest run so far, but I did it and am ready to do it again today. After that I came back home and made the family breakfast. Later on we went to my sister's house and enjoyed some great food, company & swimming. Nicholas LOVED the water this year which made for an even better time. We didn't stay for fireworks because little man wore himself out, plus everything is "loud" right now and we weren't sure how he'd react to the fireworks.

Potty training is complete. No more diapers! Pretty darn excited about that. I'm proud of my little guy!

Maybe because I haven't been changing diapers, I've been able to get more things done around the house? lol Yesterday, I did laundry, swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the bathrooms from top to bottom, and even cut and weed-eated the grass. I even cooked dinner and cleaned up.

Ok, I know I am tooting my own horn, but really...I'm pretty darn impressed. I don't have very many of these days so let me indulge for just a sec.

I think the next few days I'm going to work on getting my collage together on that large wall in the living room. It's still pretty bare and it's driving me crazy. Here are some ideas I have. Thoughts?