pics...

Just some random pics of all the Avila's...Crazy how many we are! On May 21st we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. Man, we've been busy :) And Blessed!

Blast-Off

Every year, our church blasts of rockets they have made, to end the year of BLAST--our church's Wednesday night program for kids. It was just a wonderful night (except for the fact that daddy had to work late and missed it), but its always such a treat to eat dinner with friends and see the looks on the kids' faces when their rockets go HIGH into the air!

Alex's 12th Birthday

Alex turned 12 yesterday! I can't believe she's 12!!! She is such a tremendous blessing to our lives. She helps A LOT, she is so sweet and sensitive to others' needs, and is a great nurturer. She will actually get teary-eyed if one of her siblings gets hurt, and she'll always share her food with her sisters if there isn't enough. She loves Legos, Star Wars, The A-Team, softball and listening to music. We are in awe of how special our little girl is and we have enjoyed watching her grow up--it has gone way too fast! Next year, we start the teens. AGH!

We celebrated her big day by going to see Rango and eat at Red Lobster. It was an extra special treat to have indoor "field" day with some homeschool friends. Love you Alex! Happy Birthday!!

Newest Boy!!

We've been BUSY!!! Meet the newest member of our family: Scotty Dog Avila. Isn't he just precious?! It was truly a God thing how we got him! Vince and I knew we were going to get a dog after our trip in July. We were looking at small terriers; doing our research--watching Cesar Milan!! One Thursday, the day we get together for Bible study, one of my great friends, Jenny, had just returned to Lawrence from Oklahoma, to pick up a Scottish Terrier for her dad. It was going to be a surprise for him, and when he found out about it, he wasn't exactly ecstatic about his gift. I took the girls and T over to play with it, and then we went back home to pick up daddy so he could go see it! We just fell in love!!! That weekend, Jenny still took Scotty to see her dad, just in case he would change his mind, and it was torture for Vince. He came home and first words when he saw me were "has Jenny called yet??" Not, oh, I like your hair (I had just got it whacked). Well, on Friday night Jenny called and Vince answered. His face lit up and he started giggling (you know how he does...) and said "well, I bet the pound will take him!" We got him that Sunday and the girls were thrilled! We couldn't have hand-picked a better dog for our family. Lila has already trained him to sit and I just gave him his first haircut tonight. He reminds me of my childhood dog, Bridgette, whom I adored, and I am so thrilled to have another boy in the house! God definitely blessed us through our friends Jenny and Jim--who just gave him to us!!! Along with a kennel and carpet cleaner (which has been handy!) Thanks so much Jim and Jenny!!!