Thank God for Warranties!

We had 2 really expensive things malfunction in the same week! Our Air Conditioning Unit and our Samsung Dishwasher! I am so thankful that the dishwasher was still under the 1 year manufacturer warranty and the service guy came out and fixed it today free of charge!

Then the air conditioner went haywire and froze over and was leaking inside the utility room!  The previous owners gave us a 1 year home warranty when we purchased the home for them and it only cost us $160 with the deductible and disposal fee! Now everything is back to working order in our home =)....although the toilet in our room has been running and I cannot figure out why?....might be calling the warranty people back again...lol...or I could watch a youtube video on how to fix toilets...lol =)

I didn't even know that part of the AC was inside our home.

Out with the old and in with the new!

Isn't it pretty?

You do remember how ugly the old one was don't you? I know Chris is just as glad as I am that these things were under warranty....although he just might have fixed something with that screwdriver...lol =)

I like Free! Fun things for kids to do for Free in Springfield, Missouri

"Mommy, I want to go to Chuck E Cheese, Can we please go to Chuck E Cheese?"  This is something I have been hearing in my house lately. I love to take my kids fun places. I do not like to spend money just for them to have fun though. I know children just want to spend time with their parents and feel loved and appreciated yet anytime I step foot outside our house it feels like all the fun for kids activities comes with a price tag. My kids are just about tired of the playground down the street and it has been really too hot to spend too much time there anyway.  The last couple days we have been blessed to find some fun things that were free =)

 There was a free train ride running of the 4th of July.

Then the kids posed inside lady liberty.

 There is also a really nice park here in Springfield called the Jordan Valley Park.

 It has running water and water fountains, the kids had so much fun!

 Then we found a really nice Library about 10 minutes from our house. It has a train you can go inside and lots of hands on things for the kids to play with.

Of course Chris came with me to all these places! After all fun things with 4 small kids by yourself can go from fun to frantic in about 30 seconds flat!

American Flag Toast

This flag toast has been circling the internet and I thought we would give it a try =). We put strawberry jelly on first and then added the fruit =)

 Okay the "stars" are on the wrong side must be the camera flip!

The boys loved them =)Where is Joshua in the picture....He is always wondering off with sticky hands.....

Rachel's first Pigtails! :Learning to do bi-racial girls hair

 Our children are just all mixed up and have different hair types.My dad is from Honduras and has a fro if he doesn't keep it super short, I wish I had a pic of it! My mom has super stringy thin hair. My hair is pretty nice I think not too thick not too thin....easily managed. Chris has really nice wavy hair but he has to put lots of oil gel stuff on it and wear a wave cap at night. That is just too much work for me! I was secretly hoping our first girl would have finer hair like Christian but she came out with hardly any hair at all!

Here is Rachel with my dad last year in Virginia.....I almost thought she was born without the DNA for hair....lol =) Just kidding!

 Now that it is growing in it is super tight curls. It was starting to get matted in the back and I didn't want to start dumping chemicals into her hair so I was so excited to find this Organic Olive Oil Smooth-n-Hold Pudding at WalMart =)

 Isn't she just so cute with Pig Tails ?!

and the back is still curly but can be combed though after applying the pudding =)

I am hoping to be an expert hair doer by the time Rachel is 6 or 7 hair twists and all! =)

Not a Good Time to have your AC Break!

Sunny

Hi 99°RealFeel® 105°

Day

• NNE at 7 mph
• Gusts: 13 mph

Sunny, record-tying heat and humid

• Max UV Index: 9 (very high)
• Thunderstorm Probability: 24%
• Amount of Precipitation: 0.00 in
• Amount of Rain: 0.00 in

On Friday afternoon I was feeling a little warm. I walked past our thermostat and saw it at 80. I thought maybe one of the kids touched it. Even though I have never seen any of my kids touch it before.....Then hours later it didn't change the temperature. Chris went outside to check on the unit. One of the cords had frozen over with ice.  First he called a repair company and they were going to charge $50 just to come and look at it. Then I remembered our home came with a one year home warranty. Chris cancelled the first appointment and made one through the HSA warranty company! In the mean time I checked the weather for the weekend since the repair guy couldn't come until Monday. It was going to be really really really hot! 

Chris decided he was going to try and fix something with a screw driver...until he heard a loud voice say, "Put the screw driver down and step away from the Air Conditioner!"

I couldn't stand the thought of sitting in a hot house with 4 kids all weekend! Especially since I promised all the bus riders waffles and bacon after church!  Then I remembered my neighbor across the street told me her hubby used to work for an AC company. She sent her hubby over to save the day and added some freon to cool our house down. Today the repair guy came and found a leak in the system so we are going to get a new one for the cost of the deductible and disposal of old unit a total of $160. That is a whole lot better than $2,600 for a new unit and install without the warranty! Praise the Lord for his provision!

Travelling Solo with Small Children

I have soooo forgotten what it is like to travel or even go to the grocery store with all 4 of my kids since Chris came home from Afghanistan 10 months ago! Since we share a car to save  $, when I go to the store it is with Chris or just me and Rachel while Chris watches the boys! Well Chris had a business meeting for 4 days in Ohio and his plane took off 3.5 hours away from home in ST. LOUIS. The rent- a-car was going to cost $156 each way! Chris did not want us to drive 7 hours in one day twice in a week. So spur of the moment I said why don't we all just come and stay in a hotel and drive back the next day =). We got ready super fast and headed to ST. Louis with our puppy too =).
I forgot all the comments you get when you have all your kids with you =). Here are some of my all time favorite comments from strangers

1) "Boy, you have got your hands full. "

2) "That's why they have Birth Control."

3) "You are done right?"

4) "You finally got your girl!"

5) "Are they twins?"

6) "Are they triplets?"

7) "Are they all yours?"

8) "That looks like a nightmare."

9) "You have got a cart full!"

AND MY FAVORITE OF ALL TO HEAR IS...............

10) "Your beautiful children are so well behaved!"

 Rachel jumping on the hotel bed.

 Free buffet dinner.

 Swimming time!

 Buffet Breakfast!

 We had 2 hours to kill after checkout before Chris' plane came back. It was super hot outside and so I wanted to go somewhere Brownley could come too! 

 We spent over an hour in Petsmart! We got Brownley a tag and a T shirt!

Poor Brownley was more tired than I was at the end of our trip!

Happy Father's Day 2012!

 Happy Father's Day everyone! Here is my daddy! Yes I know what you are thinking....he doesn't look like my dad or even related to me...lol. His name is Jose David Flores-Lopez. I would love to tell you that he is a godly man and raised me with Gods standards, but he is not saved. I am in no way dishonoring him and I am thankful for the times that he was there. He came to America some 30 years ago as an illegal immigrant from Honduras in the back of a trunk. He soon after married my mom and started work in construction. He is 53 now and still working construction. I do miss him and pray for him just about daily to be saved! My sister and I have given him gospel tracts and witnessed to him for  the last several years but he just doesn't think he is a bad person. It breaks my heart because Jesus did not come to call the righteous but SINNERS to REPENTANCE! Please pray for my dad on this fathers day =)

Yes that is me with blonde hair.....I used to think I was Britney Spears......thank God he saved my soul and changed my music I listen to now!