Walking at the Park Pays Off

Who would have thought walking around the track at CFNI 2-9 months pregnant I would have gotten everything I prayed for. I know prayer changes things and calls things to existence. I have seen it happen through our 3 year old. When we lived in Dallas and attended Christ for the Nations (CFNI) I was in the stretch of my college career there and was about to have our 1st bundle of joy. I would walk the track and pray for the one who was inside of me and for her future to come. I saw the world as it was then and knew that it was only going to get worse. I prayed over her for peace and love to surround her. I prayed for her to make good decisions as she grew up and she would know the difference when she wasn't sure. I prayed that she would change the atmosphere when she entered the room. That people would feel peace when she entered the room. That she would brighten the room up with her sweet presence. As the years have gone by I have seen those prayers come to pass and she's only 3! Can you imagine what is going to become of her as she continues to grow in the Love of the sweet Lord and His Presence. I get teary eyed thinking of the times I have seen her raise her hands and close her eyes with a smile up to the Lord. How does that happen? PRAYER, leading by example, a good church family, and last but not LEAST the covering over her life that Jesus has on her. None of this is to boast, because I only boast in what the LORD has done not our own doing. He has been so good to us and I know as long as we decide to follow him and his word he will continue to cover us. I never want to be without his covering ......

All of this to say, prayer works and is real and a living way to get in direct contact with Jesus. If you need him prayer is the best way to contact him. Not facebook, instagram, twitter, or text but on our knees, in the car, or walking around the track at CFNI He hears you. Be encouraged

Love,

the alderetes

Vacation

The Alderetes havent been on a vacation in a very long time. That is until last week. We had so much fun! We went to Port Aransas, Texas and stayed in a beautiful beach house with the people we love the most, family. Though we would come home from 5 hours on the beach and walk around a sandy house we enjoyed every minute of it being around those we love the mostest :) Ava had never really been to a beach and played in the sand and salty beach , but this trip she wasted no time. She was in the sun almost the whole time we would be at the beach unless she was hungry, in which she would say , "Momma i Hungry." WE had a luau friday night where the family got together and we celebrated our cousin Jonathons birthday. Thursday was Jeremy's and I Anniversary, 4 years of marital bliss :) We had our brother and sister in law watch Ava and we went out to eat at a local seafood restaurant and walked the local shops. We then took a little stroll on the beach and reminicsed on our 4 years together. I love that man, Jeremy is a great father to Ava and a hard working husband for our family and I don't know where I would be if I didn't have his help. I don't know how single parents do it. I can barely do it with a partner , so if anyone reads this and is a single parent more power to you! We are now home and we are
going full  force for the next few weeks. We have our church's 7th anniversary services this weekend, we have school starting in about  a month, and we are planning Ava's 3rd birthday party. crazy! All in all we are enjoying life and learning along the way.

Some things I don't want to forget about Ava:

-She likes to get on her portable potty and yell, "Ladies and Gentlefam, al the boys and girls , now its Ava singing twinkle, twinkle little stars, (or here is freshbeat band, or here's ava)
- everything is a "great idea"
- she carries her babies around changing them and feeding them and saying the baby wants tea or dr pepper...... sounds kinda suspicious to me :)
- she is a care giver she hates to see people cry and wants to fix it as fast as possible
- her favorite shows right now are: wordworld, clifford, dora, and the bird movie a.k.a Rio
-she practically potty trained we just have the occasional accident and need to work on night potty training.
until then,

much love,

the alderetes

Quick Post so I won't forget

So If you don't already listen to SPOTIFY you so have to! It is so awesome, some would say better than Pandora. Yep I said it, it's better than Pandora. Anyway here you can listento any cd you want and it streams INSTANTLY! Awesome right? Well I posted in the last post that God has been up to something in my little family and I don't want to become one of those annoying bloggers that blog ALL the time and bore you with nonsense, but I established this at the very beginning this was more for ME then for YOU. Anyhow one of the members from my church a.k.a my BFF posted a song that seemed fitting for what our church is experiencing and so I looked up the CD and it's AWESOME! So get on SPOTIFY and look up ECHO by Free Chapel it will rock your socks! Ok  until then.....

much love,

the alderetes

I am gonna miss this Ava

"Mommy I'm not a baby I'm a BIG GIRL"
This has been Ava's favorite statement lately, and I am not sure how that makes me feel. She doesn't want to be held anymore like a baby and she wants to carry her own purse. It's all too much for me. Jeremy has said it before and I am feeling the same way, " I'm gonna this Ava." She may have times when she feels independent and wants to do things on her own and then there are days when she comes and wants to cuddle and love on us. She is in the stage of pretending and making voices. Everything is an exciting process for her. Ahh to be her age again , the only worries being if her  sippy cup is full and if she has enough WordWorlds to last her for awhile. Having Ava has definitely helped us see how God sees us. Everytime we correct Ava or teach her a life lesson I feel God always whisper in my ear," that's what I would say to you." When I lift her up from falling, comfort her when she cries I hear God say ," Beloved this is how I care for you, this is my love for you." Having a kid definitely changes things in your life. Some see it like a cap on their independence and see it as they can;t do anything anymore. Other's embrace it with arms wide open and run full force with their kiddos. I am not going to lie I was definitely the first rather then the latter when we found out we were pregnant, but the life lessons I have learned with Ava have been totally worth it.

Sometimes as a parent you have those proud moments, when you see the fruit of your labor. Lately at church Ava has totally made me one proud momma. When we found out we were pregnant ( and i promise I wont always compare my situations to this ) Jeremy and I sat in class worried that we wouldn't be good parents. We worried that Ava wouldn't want to love Jesus like we did and wouldn't know what to do. We have been really blessed to have found a church that loves Jesus and allows Him to move regardless of the time or the schedule of life. Ava has seen us love on God and she has also felt the love of God in her and I believe our church has a lot to do with it. SO LSWO thank you :) at church yesterday we were singing a song and Ava held her turtle and had her little hand raised singing the song along with the others. It was the sweetest thing ever. I really feel she is being sincere and loves to love on Jesus. She makes me love on Jesus a little more after times like those.

The Alderetes definitely are preparing for a great summer. We feel God is up to something and we are preparing ourselves so we are ready for the unexpected and we are waiting on God. Jeremy has been having doors open for him in different ministries, I have been hearing from the Lord to go for the things that have been on my heart and we have been waiting with expectant hearts. Lets see where it take us. until then...

much love,

the alderetes

And so it begins...

I was in Dallas this week for my best friend's wedding. If you know anything about Texas you know that in the middle of June 3 days after summer starts it's going to be hot as hell outside ( not that I would know or do I wish to know but Texas is the closest I ever want to get to the feeling of hell) ...... All to say it was beautiful. As we were there for the weekend the bride's mom suggested I start a blog. She said as her 3 kids were growing up she would say "oh this is too cute to forget. I wont forget they said this when they get older." In the end she did forget, and being around Ava, my 3 year old she said, " Start a blog Desi, even if no one reads it you will be able to keep the memories of the quirky things Ava did while she grew  up." I am not good withe keeping up with things. I lose things a lot and I probably would lose my head if it wasn'.t attached to my head. As a kid I kept a journal and filled them up pretty fast. I guess a blog is like the new age journal, and if you don't tell others about it it stays pretty private. Sort of. So the adventure begins. It may not be the most adventureous adventure you have ever been on but this is more for me then for you anyway.

"Mommy what is this"?
     I work for a charter school in the area right now. Summer has begun but I am still in the office. Rather then paying the sitter we decided I would bring Ava to work with me. The good thing about it all is that where the school takes place it is also a church so they have a play room for kids. I took Ava to the room because, poor thing she was getting bored in mommy's office. She is in that stage for pretending to be other things is fun. So she's cooking alot for us. She brought me a bowl and asked the robot a.k.a. mommy what is was.
Ava: Robot what is this?
RoboMom: That is a bowl
Ava: Mommy what is this?
Mommy: Baby that's a bowl.
Ava: That's what the robot said

I laughed so hard when she said that. She looked at me in a way saying " Mom I didn't say a joke." But to me it was the funniest thing ever.

"I forgive you"
When I was pregnant with Ava I would walk the track around the park alot and pray for her. I would pray that she would change people's lives, be a compassionate person, change the atmosphere of any room she walked in that when she would step into a place people would instantly feel at peace and have an overwhelming joy.  For the most part most of that has happened and she is going to barely be 3. And not to brag any but I think it also has to do with how the parents raise their kids as well. Jeremy and I are pretty compassionate people. Jeremy is always filled with joy and cane make you feel better in an instant when you're in the dumps. we strive to show love to everyone and live 1 Corinthians chapter 13 out daily. Verse 5 of the chapter says, " ...It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs." Ava is the real life picture of the verse. She is the sweetest kid, right now (because I know she is going to have her diva stage, and is so forgiving. I guess I say "i'm sorry" alot because Ava says it after she messes up doing something. She was in the kitchen playing with the letters on the fridge and I came around the corner and tripped over her.
Mommy: Oh Ava I am sorry baby. I didnt see you.
Ava: It's ok Mommy
Mommy: Are you ok?
Ava: Yah mommy, I forgive you.

Talk about wanting to start bawling. Wow a not even 3 year understanding the concept of forgiving. That's a lesson that adults still have a problem with these days. I just looked at Jeremy and about wanted to start bawling my eyes but Ava was around and I didn't want to scare her. Ava just kept  playing. It was definitely a proube moment.

"Mommy said no Ava!"
Ava has been "Testy Tina" lately. She tries to push her limits as much as she can and sometimes she pushed them too far. This was one of those times. She had found a lolipop from her Daddy's Father's Day bag and wanted to eat it before dinner. I had said "No Ava wait til after papa" which means food in our house. I put it on the stereo in our room and went on getting ready. I then hear push her mattress against the dresser and say "Shh hurry hurry hide." She gets in the guest bed under the covers and she tries to start eating the lolipop. I run into the room and see her and grab the lolipop out of her hands, and put her in her highchair. I tell her she gets no dessert and drinks water instead of juice for dinner, and no TV the rest of the night. She cried a little because she no longer had her lolipop but after that she acted as if she knew exactly what had happened. She didn't ask for juice but once and she responded to my no by saying ," Awe man ok", and didnt ask again. But man oh man after she did that I didnt even know how to deal with her because I was so upset. I was kind of hurt too because I felt disrespected . I really wanted to cry too I was genuinely hurt. Once again her loving spirit made me feel at ease after awhile.

Closing Statements....
My posts probably won't ever be this long again but these were some of the things I didn't want to forget. Jeremy says this all the time and I am finally feeling the same way, " I am gonna miss this Ava." She's soaking everything up makings things up on her own and doing this she porbably won't do again because she will be getting older. I am though with age come funnier things to post about. We will see! Until then .....

much love,

The Alderetes