Closing Out September!

Random hodge-podge again!

Then again, that is the story of our life right now... ;)

 Dinner or lunch-time at the Rink house is never a quick affair -- too many talkers! 

I like that, though... maybe 'cause I'm a "talker" too?!?  :)

 Every Tuesday night Joel and I take turns going on "dates" with one of the kids (an idea admittedly copied from some of our friends) and it has been a hit!  It's amazing to have one-on-one time with each of them -- especially since it doesn't happen that often in a large family!!!

Above, Candi and I went to the "new" Yummy Panda Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Magdalena (which is pretty good) for our date and she got orange chicken; which looked more like BRIGHT RED chicken, but tasted good!  :)

Grape-eater!  I lost count after the first ten, or fifteen, or...

 One of my joys while living here in Mexico has been learning to make salsas -- and it's always so aesthetically and aromatically pleasing, too!  

[I don't know that my husband would always agree, though... :)]

 Isn't Aron a sweetie???  :)

 Marcos was not feeling so good one afternoon and his DAD decided to take a bunch of pics of him -- so this is to chronicle that rotten experience!  ;)

 Little boys and big boys just havin' fun!

 Oh yes, we must dress up in Mom's heels and "perform," right?!?

[I have to admit that she will soon be able to actually WEAR my shoes... she is going to have big feet, this one!]

 And, of course, someone else needs to copy!!!

[I wonder how many pics there are of little boys wearing Mom's heels in this world?!?]

 Playin' in the mud, eatin' grass... life is good!  :)

 Yep.  We like to leave our baby on the cement slab.  :)

[Sidenote:  Can't do this anymore!  Now he would roll right off... yikes!]

 At least he was happy while there...!

 This guy LOVES to help Dad!

 So does this one!!!  :)

 Looking for the toy that rolled under the fridge... or was that the marker?  or the bink?  or the ball?  or the... the list goes ON and ON.  :)

Marcos and I after our date in town!  We had to laugh as we looked at this picture and realized that we both had something stuck in our front teeth... go ahead, click on the pic and zoom in close!  

Quote The Emperor's New Groove while you're at it, sistas... ;)

We'd appreciate your prayers as we wait on an update with the taking away of rights; please pray specifically for wisdom with decisions concerning our lawyer and that we would be confident in God's will, not man's opinions or strategies.  Thank you!

Mexican Independence Day...

... was fun this year!  The celebration usually starts with the school's program:

Candi all dressed up and ready to go in her wedding Independence Day dress!

(it's a little tighter than it was two and a half years ago!!!)

 Aron participating in the flag salute -- notice his very intense concentration while rounding the corner!!!

 Candi and her class reciting a poem...

 ... and then having to exit NOT SO GRACEFULLY from the stage!  hehe.  :)

 Diego's puppet show; his puppet is second from the left-hand side.  

A very happy puppet... :)

 Mili looking pretty cute in her sombrero!

 Making salsa verde with Ithan, who decided to eat my onions RAW.

{gross}

 The kids had a few days off from school so we decided to hike the cross mountain with ALL SIX KIDS one morning... :)

 Don't be fooled by my smile -- this was trepidation at its greatest since I hadn't hiked up the mountain for a good two years prior to this and KNEW it would be painful.  

And... it was!!!  :)

 We made it to the top...

 ... and refreshed ourselves with apples and Little Debbie treats!  

So much for the calorie loss, huh?  ;)

 Our kiddos!

 The youngest was "plum tuckered-out!"

 Yes, the boys had this idea.

Yes, I encouraged them to make it a reality.

Yes, this is about the fourth or fifth shot to get it right... 

... and no, Diego did not fall off the mountain afterward, although it was a close call!  :)

 "Wow, the sun was bright!" -- [you're thinking]

No, our faces really were that red STILL.  :)

 I love this picture!  Thank You, Lord, for siblings!

 The way down we actually were with the kids a little more... ;)

 A lot easier downhill!!!

 We got home and had huevos rancheros (soft-set eggs served on fried tortillas with a layer of refried beans and then covered in yummy SALSA!!!)...

 ... and mango enchamoyadas for a late-morning snack!

(frozen mango pops that are covered with chamoy -- a slightly spicy salsa -- and tajin -- a spice mixture of chiles and lime -- for all you gringos out there... ;)

And in the afternoon we headed to Juan-tan and Bere's for a wonderful CVE family potluck!

Yeah! for Mexican Independence... :))))))))))

A Day in the Life...

... of Ithan!

 I read with my best buds, my siblings...

 I go for froggie rides...

 I help Mom do the laundry...

 I listen to music...

 I play piano...

 I read from my extensive library... ;)

 I play with my brothers!!!

 I do "time out"... :(

 I make Eric give me horsie rides...

... and I STEAL SOCKS ALL DAY LONG!!!  :))))))))))))

Finally... the End of August Pics!

Like I wrote before... August was "experiment with the new camera" month.  The number of pics showed that all too well... ;)

So here goes!

Marcos graduated 6th grade and there was a small celebration in the CVE dining room -- can you tell he was being prompted by Todd how to pose for this picture?!?  :)

Now a 7th grader -- wow!!!

How quickly time flies... and he is really enjoying his junior high experience this year; we are thankful for his teachers!

One of the last days of our rainy season!  

Ithan really enjoyed the rain this year -- and his siblings enjoyed playing with him!

Above, dousing Marcos with rain and hose water!

A wet little pup!

Candi gets a turn in the wheelbarrow "dunk tank!"

It's so seldom that we get overcast skies that when we do... we enjoy it immensely!!!

The main "bath-giver"... :)

The oldest four started classes the end of August -- first day pics snapped right before heading out the door!  

(l-r) Aron is in 6th, Marcos in 7th, Candi in 2nd and Diego in 4th

This is a common early-morning sight as Joel walks the kids out to school!

When the older kids have reading time, Ithan often joins in!

He and Diego were pretty chill -- and even though Diego was silently reading his book, Ithan was singing his... :)

Father-son time in the hammock!

Notice the boots???  hehehe... :)

Mmmmmmmmmm... late-night burros!  

And patient owners who let our kids watch them prepare it... ;)

I truly think this guy's getting happier the older he gets... yeah!!!

We are so thankful for our good little helpers -- a NECESSITY in a life with six kids and two babies under two... :)

We had a couch photo session one morning when these two were in GREAT moods... laughing, giggling (more Ithan), screeching (more Eric) and basically having a blast!  I wish I could upload all the photos I took so you could see the progression, but... you might get bored.  :)

Usually these sessions end in tears or some sort of conflict -- this time it ended with snuggling!  :)

NERD of the NAVY... :)

Such fantabulous builders we have here in this house.

Oh, and, um... destroyers, too! 

In case you need help identifying:

Diego, builder (right)

Ithan, destroyer (left)

Oh these seeds... ay, ay, ay.

Long story short, we had two emergency room visits (Mexico and the States), lots of prayers and an unexpected overnight stay in Nogales.  Praise the Lord, nothing came of these toxic little beauties inside our little boy's body... but it was a LONG, LONG night.

And now the evil plant is GONE.  

Very, very gone and we were happy to say ADIOS!

 Candi and Eric with joy-building time on her bed!!!

It must have been a month for funny pics with this dude!

This one is... NERD of the WEED-EATERS?!?

(just following in his Daddy's footsteps... :)

Thanks for your prayers for our family -- we need and appreciate them!  We now have copies of both Marcos' and Candi's birth certificates -- both CORRECT!!!  Yeah!!!  We praise God for this and ask for your continued prayers as the taking away of parental rights has begun.  Please pray specifically for God's hand to not be shortened in the situation with the local judge, finding the birth parents and proceeding with the paperwork as well as Joel and I's permanent residencies.  We also ask for prayers for wisdom and for our daughter; she's passing through a rough time!

Thank you!!!