Friday Photo Favorites



Texas-sized Snowman

There are exceptions to nearly every rule. Recently, the Texas Blaxtons unearthed what is perhaps the only instance in which a thing is not bigger in Texas.

Last week, a major meteorological event occurred and there was actually snow and ice to suffice the construction of a snow man. The boys--myself included in this description due to the childhood-inducing effect of sub-freezing precipitation on the psyche of a winter-starved adult--bundled up soon after breakfast and quickly marred the 1.5 inches of pristine winter wonder yard. The "Making Snowballs 101" course was mastered by PT in no time and Avery set the curve in "Finding Used Snowballs On the Ground That Haven't Crumbled Yet 101." The wonderful advantage of Texas snow is that it is of perfect packing viscosity (no, this is probably not the most correct term, but its fun to say and we are talking about snow in Texas for goodness' sake) and in no time we were rolling the "legs" of The Lone Frosty. He ended up about as tall as PT, who is less and less short every day, and a knit hat, two branches and a carrot completed him...in PT's eyes that is.

You might notice that this post is strangely void of pictures, which I suppose is not so strange of Padron's posts. But since this is a family blog, it would seem rather...well...inappropriate to share publicly the only picture we captured of our creation. You see, PT was the one who placed the carrot and instead of giving him a face, PT decided to make ours, very definitively, a snow MAN.

Three minutes later, PT form-tackled the unfortunate fellow and less than 6 hours later, all that had not melted forever were his appendages, strewn on the familiar, brown, Panhandle in December lawn. His fate, not so unlike ours, should give us pause to consider the infinite love of our Creator, who did not doom us to oblivion, but humbled himself and assumed our frail, transient-as-snow-in-Amarillo nature so that we could share in his eternal, divine nature.

Not too bad...for a Texas-sized snowman, that is.

No Room for Santa!

If you haven't heard by now, there is no room for Santa in our Christmas Season (nor Advent season for that matter). As a child I was bewildered by the idea of Santa Claus and was much too practical to believe in him. Besides, as we celebrated Christmas with extended families it became apparent that Santa carried a heavier bag to some than others, which just didn't fit the bill for this "Magical Man." One Christmas I got fed up with the idea of "pretending" (or rather "lying" in my black and white world) for the younger cousins so as to not ruin the surprise. All I could think was that someday they will find out the truth behind the man in a red coat and what will the consequences be then? I had a revelation at that young age that if I want my children to put their faith and believe in something I must not shatter it nor take it for granted with pretend stories. Above all I want them to put their faith in the Virgin Birth, in the True Presences and in the wisdom of our Church.

More and more as we go through this Advent we encounter the same question, "Have you been a good little boy for Santa?" and "What is Santa bringing you?" Well, we are working on an informative and polite response to these questions. We are teaching the boys that Santa Claus is an imaginative person derived from the traditions of St. Nicholas. We have chosen to celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, by picking an angel to buy gifts for instead of filling the boys shoes. This gives us an opportunity to teach selflessness.

With so much attacking the faith from the outside, we have decided to take a more focused and honest approach to Christmas within our home.

A Virgin said,"Yes."

A man with integrity accepted.

A Savior was born!

Friday Photo Favorites

What's in a name?

While cuddling with Paul Thomas we talked about having a new baby in our family and how he will get to hold the little one and help mommy. Then I asked what he thought we should name our little one.

"Umm, I think we might should name him 'Orange Astrounant'."

So for now, our little one is going by O.A. for short. 

What did I expect?

Friday Photo Favorites

Sorry for the lack of post, morning sickness is lasting all day still. I will get back on the wagon as soon as this little one lets me, until then enjoy these cuties!

Friday Photo Favorites

Three of the best reasons to add another!

 

Friday Photo Favorites

This little boy has found an new friend.

Manic Monday Week #11

Last match up in Round 2

"PARTY"

"Hay Hoo Up High"



Friday Photo Favorites

This was my favorite picture from the airshow.

Because Moving Isn't Enough...

Adding an Arrow.

I put on a pair of shoes the other day and immediately suppressed a gag reflex. The shoes reeked of the old bakery where I worked while pregnant with Paul Thomas over 4 years ago! Yes, I sent Philip out right away to purchase a test. There have been other signs as well, such as not longing to be pregnant any more, but becoming teary-eyed and almost crazy when I see a newborn.  It is particularly hard to control myself Mass. I fight a serious desire to walk, bounce, coo and kiss every baby I see.

So, we are indeed expecting our third little blessing in June. We have been waiting and prayerfully discerning this little one for awhile now, so our joy seems doubled as does the "morning sickness."

Please keep in prayers my sanity as I try to ready our family to move and also please pray for Philip as he now has taken on the role of dinner prep as well as much of the evening obligations. He is a trooper and I am a blessed wife.

You know it's bad when your three year old is constantly asking, "Mommy, do you feel yucky?" "Oh that's right, because growing a baby is hard."

Who wouldn't want another?

Manic Monday Week #10

"Down by the River"

"Zoo Ballet"



Friday Photo Favorites

Kind of Dreamy

The Sound of Freedom

On Saturday, we took a trip with a visiting GeeGee and PaPa and Uncle not-enough-homework-to-do Tim to the Ft. Worth Alliance Air Show, which only narrowly beat out the other option for the day's activity--the Dallas Pumpkin Village (for those of you in Rio Linda, no, the decision was not at all difficult at all, especially with a 3 year old who transforms any semi-flat object into a fighter jet). What better way to spend a beautiful, late fall day than with 100,000 Americans and a few less, but just as exceptional, peices of American engineering? The sunburns and 90 minutes spent navigating an exit from the parking lot were a small price to pay for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The stunt planes redefined the word "flying" for me. I always thought there was an amazing force called "lift" created by the air moving over and under the wings of the airplane. Aparently, I have been lied to all my life, because these pilots were keeping the aircraft in the air going sideways, backwards and at complete standstills.

No, I cannot take credit for the pictures. As always that goes to my awesome wife.

Early in the show, a motorcade with full escort made its way to a "private area" of the airport. We were all convinced that, since he lives in Dallas, W and his family were there. I wondered if there would be a safer place for the former president to be than at a military air show with all branches of the military present... and in Texas?

The highlight for PT, I think, was the chance to go "inside the belly of a tilt-a-rotor."

There were plenty of old and new aircraft on the ground to explore, which created a few more photo ops.

Yes, that is the 50mm gatling gun on an A10 Warthog pointed at Dad's head.

None of this, however, prepared us for the last 2 hours of the show, which featured a F-16 Fighting Falcon, an F-22 Raptor and, of course, the Blue Angels. I CAN claim credit for these videos:

Standing in the near vicinity of this F-22 monster, one cannot say that he has "heard" it fly by, but that it impressed itself onto every sense besides taste. At this low altitude, the smell of jet fuel is awesome, too.

This display of seven decades of global air superiority sent a tingle down my leg.

Finally, not that any video can afford them justice, but this post would be sadly lacking without including some frames of the Blue Angels.

Just a few more reasons why I'm thankful I'm not Taliban.

Champions of Faith.

All Saints day is one of my favorite feast days in the Church. The depth and richness of our faith is really displayed in our saints. Today we celebrate their courageous lives and are reminded that we all are called to sainthood. 

Some of our family's favorite saints are:

 

St. Joseph!

I have always admired the great humility in this man and the sincere love for Mary and for ethics as he struggled with how to handle the out of wedlock pregnancy. During my sophomore year in college I was finishing up a novena to St. Joseph when on the last day Philip ask me out and our relationship began there. The funny thing was that I was merely praying the novena as encouragement with another friend who was struggling with a desire to be in relationship that would lead to marriage. A relationship at that time was not on my radar. My friend? She joined the Carmelites.

St. Monica.

She personifies motherly perseverance and total trust in the Lord. Even though her son went astray for many years she never gave up on his soul. All she had was prayer to aid her in the battle for her son's soul and she wielded it long and hard. As I look back and some erroneous decisions I made growing up I realize what a delicate place I put my mother in and how grateful I am that she never gave up on me and that she too was on her knees. (No, mine was nowhere near Augustine's story, but there could have been better choices made on many occasions.)

St. Thomas Aquinas.

He is frequently sought since Philip has returned to school. He is also Paul Thomas' namesake.

St. John Viannay.
Matthew, seminary, need I say more?

All the Saints in Heaven: Pray for us!

Who are some of your own Catholic Heroes?

Manic Monday Week #9

More from Round Two.

"Zoo Jazzercise"

"Just Can't Help It"

Friday Photo Favorites

First time playing with a Mobile Maher, the newest threat in Avery's quiet world.

Avery not so sure about the Dump Truck's new load.

Yes, it must be dumped.

Avery patiently, yet assertively watching as the youngest removes the debris.  A look learned from his mother no doubt.

Maher is curious as to why the clapper didn't make the cut.

Avery, a little menacing, decides on something else to fill the Dump Truck. A big grabber is employed.

The unsuspecting debris

"Whhhaaat! He will fit."

Sweet little Maher, your cousin has been taught by the best how the "big and little" relationship plays out.



Manic Monday Week #8

Oh yes, there are plenty of Manic Mondays coming your way. We are however on to Round Two which means our first contender is brand new as it received a bye in Round One. This was the first of the Hay Hoo series

"Hay Hoo"

up against "Avery's 1st Dance"

MMMM Random

Just another day at the Blaxton house.

Found this today and had to laugh at the view into life with two little boys.

Yes, wine is a must!



Friday Photo Favorites and then some.

Gia and Pop Pop have started the tradition to celebrate the gift of life in the HEBI family every year with The Birthday Bash! It's also a great excuse to get together especially as our families grow! This year we had great weather and tons of fun.

This photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox



Update

October has been a crazy month and it's not over yet. This weekend we are celebrating a first birthday with Maher and the following weekend GeeGee and Papa will come to visit and help us pack! "Pack" you say, "because of the flood?" Well, no and yes.

First, to answer a lot of concerns about the flood. Yes, we have renters insurance, however with all that water nothing of ours was damaged. The main down spouts missed our book shelf which has all of our photo albums...you know those things that hold pictures, back before digital. Our angels did an awesome job directing the flow. And even though the boys room and closet got completely saturated we have a great shelving unit in their closet so everything was elevated off the floor! Had the water gone the other way into our room and closet this would be a different story. Today we are finally getting new carpet after I turned in our second written notice for repairs. We are trying to follow the book and after two written notices and no repairs then you can legally brake lease. So that second notice got the manager hopping. So for two whole weeks we will enjoy new carpet before we move.

Move!!!! Yes, being somewhat like nomads we realized we have be in one place longer than a year and it is time to "Get out of Dodge." Okay it is not that crazy. The day we got back from the most amazing visit with Uncle Matty at the Mount brought wonderful news!

Philip got a promotion that will lead us to Amarillo, by morning. Okay, not by morning- that just follows naturally- but soon. Nov. 12 is Philip's last day in Dallas. We are so excited to be saying good bye to the Metroplex and hello to dusty, windy, grandparent filled Amarillo.  Besides, it's a dry heat!

So that is what is going on with us! Oh I am really back logged with posts so be prepared for some summer posts.

Manic Monday Week #7

"In the Mood," was the very first dancing clip we recorded. This was back in November the night before the  boys and I loaded up to head to Michigan for Thanksgiving. Avery is 9 months and Paul Thomas 2 1/2, crazy how quickly they grow.

"HayHoo Up High"

Paul Thomas picked these moves up at Aunt Ruth's wedding.

Friday Photo Favorites

Dinner with corn.

Wheaties

What did you have for breakfast?