Catching Up

I'd like to catch-up and share some great things that have been happening in our lives. I've had this post started for weeks, but am just now getting around to finishing and posting it...It's been a draft since March 28th and today is April 15th....better late than never, right?!!

This past month has been very busy with kids, school, and the start of my own business. I'm realizing I haven't had much time for my blog :-( so sorry, since I love updating everyone on what's going on with The Rowells!

Well, I have 12 weeks left of school (since I started this post, now I have 10 weeks left ...graduation is on June 13th. I do plan on attending my graduation, that's part of the reward, right!?

Well, in the last few months I've decided to start my own business. I'm working with a company that helps families achieve their financial goals...getting out of debt (which saves families a significant amount of money not having to pay additional interest), showing families how to pay off their mortgage 5 to 10 yrs sooner, getting properly protected, planning for their childrens college education, and having a plan for retirement. It's amazing how we can spend more time on planning for a single vacation and forget or overlook putting that much thought on our plan for the future! If you'd like more information and are looking to reach your financial dreams & goals give me a call 562-572-1655 or email me at marirowell@hotmail.com If you are looking for extra part/full time income, this is also a great opportunity.

Below, we are pictured with a self-made millionaire couple (there were many in the conference we attended). We were honored in being able to hear them speak and train on building our business.


Now, on to the kids & family....
Korbin has been potty training for the last few months and is doing really good. He likes to wears chonies and big boy training pants. In the beginning he had several accidents but is now learning to "hold it" and make it to the potty.


Ryan has been off for almost 4 weeks now on Spring Break and has enjoyed being home, hanging out in the back yard, playing in the dirt with his army guys. He attends a year-round school, but that's getting ready to change since we are moving :-)

Meagan has a reborn thinking of the term "looking girlie & still be cute." She's all into fashion and has been putting together adorable outfits and hairstyles.


And on to our exciting news... We are moving this coming weekend to a cute 3 bedroom house with a pool... I get the keys tomorrow, Thursday, April 16th, and we move on Friday. We are so excited. We'll be down the street from the church!!

Welcome Baby Maya Alondra Herrera

Congrats to my sister, Nancy & her husband Sergio, who delivered a sweet baby girl, Maya Alondra, on February 26th weighing 7lbs (yes, I'm a bit behind on my postings and am working on catching up on a few :-}




Big Sister Ashlyn holding baby sister.



Big Brother Mason holding baby sister.

March Birthdays

We have lots of birthday's in March...my Dad, Ryan, Jared, Ashlyn & Sonia

We want to wish a very Happy Birthday to our brother, Jared Rowell, who celebrated the big "35" on the 7th.

Happy Birthday to Ashlyn Mia Herrera, who turns 4 on March 21st, and Happy Birthday to Sonia Holguin, who turns 11 on the same day.

Happy Birthday to our nephew Tristan Rowell, who turns 10 on March 26th. He's double digits now.

16th Year Anniversary

16 years ago Jason and I walked down the aisle. It's by God's grace, direction, and our love for each other & our beautiful children that we celebrate today!!

This year, we are celebrating with our dearest friends, Rudy & Valerie, who are also celebrating their 18th yr anniversary (March 2nd). I'm posting this from our timeshare, Angels Camp, CA, where we'll be thru the weekend. It's going to be a nice getaway with our kids and friends.

Slide show to come...

Happy Birthday Dad & Ryan

Today, March 3rd is a very special day. It's my Dad's 64th birthday and our son Ryan's 9th birthday.

Ryan has been very excited about his 9th birthday and has been counting down for months now! For his birthday he asked for money (so he could go shopping :-), a new army outfit (since playing army is one of his favorite things to do), and collector cars.




Today, my Parents are on their way to Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mx to visit my oldest brother, Felix, and his family. What a nice way to celebrate his birthday. Have a safe flight Mom & Dad...our love to our dear brother.

Babies, Babies, and more Babies

There are babies everywhere!!! In the next few months our combined families (my side and Jason's side) are expecting 3 newborns, and let's not forget the 3 babies that were born last year. That's a total of 6 babies in a years time...WOW!! We're growing fast!!

-Nancy & Sergio's baby girl is expected on March 6th
-Patty & Omar's baby boy is expected the end of July (beginning of Aug)
-Kristy & Jeff's baby (?) the end of Aug (beginning of Sept)
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Yesterday, my sister Patty, who's expecting her 2nd child had an ultrasound appointment, and she called us very excited and told us they are expecting a baby boy!! She's 16 weeks and is due the end of July (or first part of Sept). How adorable! Patty & Omar have a 2yr old little boy now, Omarcito, and he's going to be a big brother!
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This past Sunday, my Mom & Sisters planned a baby shower for my sister Nancy, who's expecting her 3rd child (a sweet baby girl, who's name will be Alondra). I was unable to attend the baby shower since I live 2.5 hrs away and was unable to make the trip :-( She had a nice shower with many cute gifts. Here are a few pictures.

Nancy was telling me she bought the most adorable baby bassinet...she brought it home, had it assembled, and realized it didn't fit through her doors...the whole purpose was to be able to push it back and forth from room to room...she ended up returning it...a new one is on its way, since baby Alondra is due in a few weeks and needs something to sleep in. Ashlynn, big sister, got to sit in it for a few minutes (it's a cute picture for Alondra's memory book).

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And.... my sister-in-law Lizetter sent me pictures of their baby girl that was born in December. She's a few months now and is adorable. Here are a few pictures of Camila Luisana, new baby, with her big sister, Ivanna, and 2 big brothers baby Roberto Carlo & big brother Francisco Daniel. ‏

The Beauty of Nature

This is the beautiful view we have, of the San Bernardino Mountains, on our 40 min drive to church several times a week.

Happy Valentines Day

Seventeen years ago today, being Valentines ♥ Day, my dear husband asked me to marry him. I remember the day like it was yesterday! He skipped going to work that night just for this reason, and I remember asking him why he didn't go to work, proceeding to tell him he needed to be responsible .... little did I know his plans, since we had only been dating for 6 months.

This coming March we will celebrate 16 yrs of marriage. I love you my dear husband, today, tomorrow, and forever!

♥

Ryan's ER Visit today

While playing outside, Ryan and a cinder block came into contact ~ Ouch!


Waiting to be seen and later in triage.


It's never a bad time for a snack! Ryan ready for a C.T. scan.

The end result...2 staples on the head and a clear C.T. scan.

Family

The Memories We Give May A Lifetime Live In The Hearts of Those We Hold So Dear and Close

~Unknown~

This past weekend, we made a visit to my hometown, McFarland, by the Bakersfield area, and visited with my family :-) & our dearest friends Valerie, Rudy & kids :-). We had such a great time!

(Pictures to come)

February Birthdays

Happy Birthday

February 1st: Happy Birthday to our brother-in-law Sergio Herrera (he's my sister Nancy's husband). His birthday was on Super Bowl Sunday, and they hung out with family and friends and enjoyed the game.

Also on February 1st: Happy Birthday to our nephew Logan Rowell. Logan turned 9 yrs old and had a birthday party last week Tuesday. His party was rock'n...with all you can eat pizza and tons of candy and soda!

January Birthdays

Happy belated birthday to my two nieces, Erika & Kristy Lopez., and my nephew Julian Holguin. Erika turned 15! years old on Jan 11th and Kristy turned 19 on Jan 28th. Julian turned 4 on the 12th.

Ryan's Kodak Moment

All about Ryan ...

Korbin's Kodak Moment

All about Korbin...

It's amazing what a few minutes and a camera can do!

Large Families

As a parent, I always wondered what it would be like to have twins. Two for one, who wouldn't want that, right? There are twins on my side of the family, and the possibility was there. I have heard that it skips a generation, but not in our family since the last three generations... My Dad's brother was a twin, my Mom was pregnant with twins (before I was born) but didn't carry them full term, and I have several first cousins who have twins...3 generations in a row!

Anyways, no, I'm not pregnant with twins! And no, we do not plan on having any more babies. However, I was reading an article on MSN about a lady in Bellflower, CA (Jason's hometown, just down the street from us) who delivered 8 babies!!!!

Here is an excerpt from that article:
BELLFLOWER, Calif. - Octuplets born to a mother in Southern California were in stable condition and breathing on their own, doctors said Tuesday. They were born Monday, six boys and two girls weighing between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds. The eighth baby was a surprise to the parents and doctors who had been expecting only seven children. Just five minutes after the first birth, the unexpected eighth baby came out at 10:48 a.m. There were 46 doctors, nurses and assistants who delivered the children by Caesarean section.

These are the world’s second live-born set of octuplets. The world’s first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City, but all died within 14 hours, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The United States’ first live-born octuplets were born in Houston in 1998, three months premature. One baby died about a week later. The surviving siblings celebrated their 10th birthday this last December.

The octuplet babies were dubbed with the letters A-through-H, and will probably remain in the hospital for at least two months. The mother plans to nurse the babies herself! While the babies came into the world nine weeks early, Dr. Gupta said it was enough time in their mother’s womb to give them a solid shot at survival. “We don’t have any historical data for eight babies, but we do have it if they’re born at 30 weeks, and they usually do pretty good,” he said.

MSNBC. 2009. Health/Kids and Parents. Octuplets born in California doing 'very well.' Jan 27, '09. Retrieved on Jan 27, '09 form http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28864195/?gt1=43001

Lazy Monday

Count our Blessings

On our long drive to church tonight (40+ min) our kids read the bible and quoted scriptures...WOW! We are blessed to have children that have a desire to learn about GOD and HIS Word! The boys also wanted to prepare for tonight's message and asked what scriptures the Preacher would preach on :-) (Don't get me wrong, they're not always angels on the long drive to church!

They also decided they now want to be called by their middle names... So, we have Nicole, Jenae, Nicholas, Drew & Chase :-)


Meagan Nicole & cousin Brooklynn Jenae Ryan Nicholas with cousin Tristan Drew, and Korbin Chase