The Vivas Family! - It's a Vivas Thing!

Aug 21 2009

B-Boo

B-Boo is our oldest daughter, the exact middle child. And a middle child she is! Only eighteen months younger than the Talented-One, they were often mistaken as twins during the toddler years, although she is more like her oldest brother.

Ever the curious and stubborn child, B-Boo was not an easy baby at all. Well, I take that back. She was a wonderful baby, one who slept all night from the very night she was brought home, up until she turned 10 months old. And learned how to climb out of her crib. At three o'clock in the morning. Upstairs in her bedroom. The master bedroom was downstairs.

So, a friend gave us this crib tent to keep her safe at night. It worked; as long as we remembered to zip it! B-Boo continued to climb. She climbed up the handles on the cabinets to stand on the counters…and then moved onto the top of the refrigerator. When she wasn't finding something in the kitchen to climb, she would climb the stairs to climb on top of the entertainment center. Safety gates didn't work. She'd climb them! We even tried doubling them up one on top of the other. Nope! She'd climb those, too. The higher the climb, the more determined she became! Unbelievably, the only time she ever got hurt was when she climbed up onto the fireplace, not long after it had been turned off. She received a pretty bad burn on her hand, but it left no permanent physical, or mental, scars. On her, at least.

By the time she was three, we realized that she not only was a dare devil, but she also had an amazing flexibility. The Good-Looking One had taken a gymnastics class and she want in! So we enrolled her in a little class, which led to several years of gymnastics, including four years of heavy competition and three years of State Champion medals.

By the time she decided she needed a break, she was 12 years old. Not much later, she began to have health issues that would continue over the next year and a half. In retrospect, we were so glad that she made the decision to quit competing on her own, rather than to have been forced to quit! As her health continued to worsen, we began the lengthy process of doctors, waiting rooms, tests, and surgeries. It took us from Los Angeles clear to Kansas City, Missouri, but this past fall, we were finally given a diagnosis; endometriosis.

Ever the stubborn, competitive, hard-working girl who becomes more like her mother every day, nothing stops her. She can plan a party, organize anything, play soccer, fall on her face and keep her mom on track! She is very much my right-hand girl, and I'm not sure what I'd do without her. She has the heart of a servant, always putting others first. (Unless you're playing a game, then you'd better watch out because she shows no mercy!) And she loves her family…and can usually talk them into her way of thinking!

B-Boo & the Good-Looking One B-Boo & the Talented One

B-Boo & the Smart One B-Boo & the Drama queen

Recently, B-Boo has started a new ministry in our youth group. It started out from a simple concern for others. She fondly calls them "hobos." She doesn't mean this in a derogatory way at all, but out of a love for those who have so much less than she does. It seems that every time we go somewhere, we encounter one on the corner. She'd quickly start searching the van for a bottle of water and a possible snack. As a mom of many, there's usually something in our van!

From there it led to her wanting me to keep water bottles in the van for when we stop at a corner; just in case someone needs it. We've encountered teen moms, older men hard on their luck, younger men hard on their luck, etc. All kinds. And it got her thinking; what if we were prepared, ahead of time, for all of these people who just need a little kindness?

Her idea? To fill paper bags with snacks, a drink, little hygiene items, and a personal note of encouragement and keep them in the van. Then, each time we encounter someone on the curb/corner, we'll be able to give them a bag. And they will know that God has placed them on someone's heart. And that He cares.

But what if? What if others did the same thing? Kept a few bags in their car, so while they travel through the week and encounter someone on the corner, they, too, can help!

This Sunday, our youth will be filling up bags and taking 3-5 of them home with them. They will pass these bags out as they go around town this week. We're not sure what we're going to call this ministry yet; "Curbside Caring" "Caring for the Corner" "H & M"…but we're sure it needs to be.

This is B-Boo's heart. So much so, that it hurts her when she sees someone digging through the trash for food. She'll gladly give up her meal for someone else.

When I first decided to write about my family, I really didn't know what I'd say. Tonight, I thought I'd let B-Boo's heart say it for me. There's so much more to her now. She's starting high school, she's growing in her faith; she's growing into a beautiful young lady. That's what I'd like to share about her.

Aug 20 2009

The Talented One

We found out we were pregnant with the Talented One exactly one year after hubby had proposed and one month before hubby's adoption of the Good-Looking One was final. The holidays were full of celebration that first year! After a pretty non-eventful pregnancy, we were thrown into a surprise by the early arrival of this one. 7 weeks premature, weighing in at 6 lbs 3 oz, he just couldn't wait to join us!

By far the best baby, we often joke that he was great…until he turned three! He's also the clone of his father!

Hubby on the left, the Talented-One on the right!

He was a child who had a mind of his own, too! When he was four, I tried and tried to teach him the alphabet. He'd have none of it. Then, one day, he noticed the letters on Wal-Mart made up a word. A child who loved anything to do with reptiles, he turned to me and asked,

"You mean if I learn how to read I can learn more about animals?"

A week later, the boy was reading. If he wasn't reading books about snakes and lizards, he was reading the dictionary. Yes, the dictionary.

So why is he the Talented One instead of the Smart One? Well, because he has an amazing musical talent. And quite a gift in photography, too. When he was younger, about 8 years old, he picked up my clarinet while I had gone upstairs for a sec. Moments later, he was playing a song. He was the same on the piano. He would hear a song, and then play it. He's like that today. And I'm not talking simple songs, either. He watched, "The Phantom of the Opera" and then went into the other room and started playing. Same thing after attending a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. For years, he'd only play for us. Today, he is slowly starting to share his musical talents with his friends and others. His dream is to one day own a Baby Grand piano.

Really.

At camp this year, he waited for hours, just to ask someone to let him play the baby grand in the dining hall. He was refused. Mom prayed. Hard. And then we went in search of someone to talk to. And God answered that prayer. In His way. Which meant instead of playing that piano in the big room, we were taken to a small, private room. And my son was able to not only spend some time playing his heart out, but mom got to spend some time just sitting in the corner, listening, and praising Him, for the talents He's seen fit to give my son. Wow! It was a moment I won't soon forget; my own mini concert.

When he's not playing music (either on the piano or mp3 player!), he can be found manipulating photos he's taken. He's quite the talent for that, too!

His youngest sister, the Drama Queen

He never outgrew the reptile passion either. Really. Being the cool mom that I am, he's been able to have some friendly reptile pets…among others. For his 16th birthday, we threw him quite the party! You can read about it here.

Yes, that's a python around his neck!

Now that his older brother has moved out on his own, the Talented One has become the in-house older brother, not just to his younger siblings, but to his younger cousins as well. Yikes! But it's ok, because he can always escape to his music, which he does!

Aug 17 2009

The Man in My Life

Over the past eight months, I've blogged about the Vivas Adventures, but I've never really wrote a post about who we are. So, I've decided over the next week (yes, we have that many in our family), I will write about those who are near and dear to my heart. Of course, that would have to start with the main man, the love of my life, you get the picture.

The other day, my middle son asked, "So mom, how long did you and dad date before he asked you to marry him?"

"Oh, well you see, son, just because we did, doesn't mean you should, um, you know."

His eyes widened as I told him we'd had one date, yup, one date. I went on to explain that he told me he loved me a couple of days later, and well, the next week, he proposed.

"But, son, I don't recommend that you do it that way."

"Yeah, mom, because I heard the first year is the hardest."

I met my hubby at church right after I became a Christian. I'll never forget the first time I met him. I was with my mom, and someone introduced us. He was wearing a purple shirt. My favorite shade of purple, my favorite color. And that was that.

Several months later, I was at a single's Bible study and in walks this guy. He was in black biker shorts and a t-shirt; he'd just ridden his bike over. Yeah, I admit it, I noticed the thighs. And that was that.

And yet, even later, six months after the first time I'd met him at church, he asked me if I'd like to listen to some music with him while he worked on some audio stuff. Sure. OK. And so it began. I'll admit, I was a little panicked when he started to drive me out of town. And then up the mountain. Until we reached the lodge. Where we had a romantic dinner and talked and talked. And then we drove further up the mountain and talked some more. And saw several shooting starts. And he kissed me. And that was that.

Six months later, we were married. Our parents thought we were nuts. Who wouldn't? But, we were in love. And now, 17 years later, here we are! Still in love.

So, what is it about him anyway? It's in his kiss.

OK, but seriously, it's more than that!

He loves His God.

He loves me. Deeply. And he's not afraid to show it.

The man would do anything for me; and he has. He rarely tells me no; and when he has, it's usually because I am not good at saying, "no" myself, so he says it for me. 🙂

He does the dishes. A lot.

He'll do laundry.

I cook, he cleans. Sometimes he'll follow right behind me, cleaning as I cook!

He cooks, and he cleans.

He'll go to the store for me in the middle of the night. Even when I'm not pregnant and craving something.

Speaking of which, he put up with me through several pregnancies! That's not an easy task.

He makes the tough things look like fun!

He fixes things for me. A lot.

He's a soccer coach.

He'll plunge the toilet. That alone is worth an award after certain children mess it up.

He lets me mess up his garage…and only complains a little.

He puts up with my painting obsession; even if it's in the middle of the night with B-Boo & my best friend!

He puts up with coming home each night to who knows what chaos….or a houseful of children, or a houseful of animals, or….well, you just never know with me.

He's not afraid to have fun, or be silly, or laugh at himself.

He plays the guitar.

He sends me flowers for no reason. And chocolate.

He tells me he loves me, every day. Sometimes more.

He checks in with me every day; just to see how we are doing.

He loves our children. Deeply.

There's not enough space to tell of all the ways he's special.

Even less space to tell of the ways he shows how special I am to him!

There's so much I could say, and so much that I'll probably leave out.

I'm sure after I post this, I'll think of a hundred more things I should have said.

Or could have said.

But I'll leave it with this. I love him, and he's mine.

And I'm so thankful that God saw fit to save him for me.

Apr 17 2009

Laughable Moment(s) #8

Sleep walking, Sleep talking. We have certain family members who have become quite good at this. Throughout the years, I've learned to tell when they are awake or asleep. I can even tell dear hubby, "You're asleep, lie down" and he'll say "OK" and lie down and never ever know we had just had a conversation!

One of the most memorable sleep talking times that involved hubby happened when I was eight months pregnant with B-Boo. I was hugely pregnant and sound asleep. I was awoken at 3 am one morning to my husband yanking the covers off of me, straddling my belly and urgently telling me not to move, that there was a spider on the baby. I was frightened to death! He then proceeded to *catch* the imaginary bug, smash it and then lay back down beside me and fall asleep. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to wake him up and clobber him a good one for giving me the scare of my life, but once I regained control of my breathing, I was able to laugh it off, realizing he was sound asleep, and try and get back to sleep myself.

Another famous sleepwalking moment happened when the Smart One was around four. We were coming home from some event and were bringing home pizza with us. He wanted pizza, but fell asleep on the way home, so we put it in the refrigerator and put him to bed. A while later, we were sitting at the kitchen counter talking, and sleepy head walked in and headed straight for the refrigerator.

We thought, "Wow, he really wants that pizza!"

He opened the refrigerator door and stepped up into it and proceeded to open up the pizza box. In the next second, we realized that he thought he was in the bathroom and was urinating in the pizza box, in the refrigerator! We still laugh about that one to this day!

The most recent sleepwalking case happened last night. We had finally gotten the kids to bed and I was attempting to fall asleep. I've been suffering with bronchitis for six weeks now and was finally given some strong cough syrup that was supposed to "knock me out"…not so. Anyway, I'd just started dozing around eleven, when I heard a bang from someone falling. The bathroom light was on in the hallway, so I asked out loud,

"Are you ok?"

A girl's voice replied, "Yeah."

I continued dozing for a few moments and then realized I hadn't heard a flush and the light was still on, so I got up to go check on the Drama Queen. She was sitting there with her pants around her ankles, staring into space with a glazed look in her eyes. The only problem was that she was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with her bare fanny hanging over the tub!

I asked her if she had fallen into the tub. "Yeah."

I asked her if she had gone potty. "Yeah."

I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't tell if she'd gone in the tub or not, but I put her on the toilet and proceeded to clean the tub. By now she was awake and realized her pants were wet. From the way they were wet, it looked like she'd fallen into the tub onto something wet. Hmmm. I retrieved some clean underwear and jammies for her, got her dressed, and promptly guided her back to bed.

…and these, are the nights, of our lives.

Mar 24 2009

Life Everchanging

It's funny how things can drastically change in a matter of days, or even minutes. Just when one thinks life is finally there; we've reached that point, everything changes. And what once was, is no more.

Take my last post about my morning with B-Boo. Those precious mornings are now gone. It's only been two days, but I miss them already. And that's not to say that what they've been replaced with isn't good; it's just that it's no longer what it was. I now have a 6 year old that joins us for our breakfast and bible study. That's good. And before we're done, I also have a four year old that joins us. Adorable. The dynamics have definitely changed; not for the worse, just different.

I've spent the past few days in a whirlwind of emotions. You see, I'm back in a place where I honestly hoped I'd never be again. I'm exhausted. I'm stressed. I'm overwhelmed. But I have to remember there is a much bigger picture here that only God can see. In order to understand, you have to travel back with me five years into the past. That is when we received custody of our then, 14 month old niece. It was hard; one of the hardest things we've ever been through. And then, after a year of ups and downs and finally getting to where we thought we'd make it, she was taken out of our homes and out of our everyday lives. Honestly, I didn't know how we'd recover. We were crushed. It took time, but we healed and we moved on with our lives. Just last week, we talked about how we were finally out of the little kids stage. Our youngest is 8 1/2. She's old enough to dress herself; independent enough to want to accomplish things on her own. It's great, this new season in our lives.

Until Sunday. This time, not only is our now six year old niece in our home, but she came along with her four year old brother. He's adorable; but he's four. It's been a long time since I've had a four year old. That means bath time and cuddle time and shoe tying time and teeth brushing time and more. It means I have to think before I run out of the house without a plan.

It also means dealing with child protective services once again. Dealing with Family Court once again. Dealing with evil drug addiction and how it tears a family apart once again. And so my heart is broken, once again. Only this time, it's not for what I've lost, but for what these precious babies have lost. For they have lost their ability to have a normal, happy, carefree life. What I hope they gain is the unconditional love that will overflow to them. I pray to God that these children will be protected and that they will be put first.

And I pray for their parents, who are so lost, they don't even realize what they've lost.