Briam's Family Blog

I got some pictures sent to me from Damian, Karin, and Liliana.  Very cute pictures.

Check out more pictures HERE.  More and More cousins...  :-) It would be nice to get them all together someday.

Last night, we were able to go out and eat at a restaurant with my sister and her husband (Astrid and Alex).  We were able to get a baby sitter.... so we were KID FREE!!!

Wow... it sure was restful.... no yelling, fighting, dirty diapers....   :-)   I was on my best behavior.

Well, almost... here is a picture of me tempting Paola with dessert.  She has been doing great on her diet... but I could not help but offer her something sweet...  not to break her diet... but as a small reward for the accomplishment.  We should do this more often.... to balance out the time with the kids.... and make it a habit to have time with the adults.  This will help us to keep sane.

You know the old expression "The grass is always greener on the other side"?  This picture reminded me of that old saying...

Where does that saying come from?  In today's society, we are constantly bombarded by commercials telling us what we should buy.... we start to look around at the things others have, and we say to ourselves... I wish I had that.  It is easy to get caught up in that... it is easy to forget about the things that really matter... and the allure of what is new and shiny...

Sometimes we have to focus on whats in front of us... and stop our son from killing his sister...  :-)  These are the things that matter more that "stuff"  ...not sure why Matthew was trying to flip his sister.... but a few years from now... when Megan looks back at this historical photo... I am sure she will get even...  :-)

Love you guys...

Today was a long hot day.... Temperatures reached 100+ today.... and on top of that.... the Air Conditioning upstairs is dead...

So, ... now it is bed time, and we are all sleeping on the main floor.... Even with the sun down, it is way too hot to sleep upstairs.  I have to see if we can get someone to come and fix it tomorrow.  Its amazing how the heat and sun drain you.... I am ready for some sleep...  Good night all.

Today we presented Sophia at the church.  She was so cute.  All dressed up and ready to meet the world.

Hard to believe she is a little over three months old!!  I added some of the pictures to the Gallery.

Un esposo fuè a visitor un sabìo consejero y le dijo que ya no querìa a su esposa, y pensaba separarse.  El consejero, miràndole a los ojos, le dijo solamente una palabra:

-         ¡Amela!.  Luego quedò callado.

-         “Pero, es que ya no siento nada por ella”

-         ¡Amela!, volviò repetir el sabio consejero.  Y ante el descontento de su oyente, y despuès de un oportuno silencio, agregò lo siguiente:

o        Amar es una decision, no un sentimiento.  Amar es dedicaciòn y entrega.  Amar es un verbo, y el fruto de esa acciòn es el amor.

o        Amar es un ejercicio de jardineria:  arranque lo que hace daño, prepare el erreno, siembre, sea paciente, reigue y cuide.  Estè preparado porque habrà plagas, sequìas o exceso de lluvia; màs no pore so abandone su jardìn.

o        Ame a su pareja, es decir, acèptela, valòrela, respètela, dèle afecto y ternura; admìrela y comprèndala.

-         Eso es todo… ¡Amela!

Colaboraciòn ; Marìa Josè Darquea

Ah ... A nice relaxing day at home.  We escaped to a trendy breakfast location that only societies elite can enjoy.  McDonalds.  Ah, a place not for kings.... (not burger king).

After that, it was a few fix up jobs around the house and some pool time (in the little inflatable pool).  A very relaxing day. 

A couple of weekends ago, we went to a birthday party for one of Matthew's friends, Drew.  It was a lot of fun, and very nice to see some old friends...(well, their not that old).

The party was at a park, that also had a pool park thingy next door.  Check out the pictures in the gallery.

Thanks to Drew and his parents for the invite, we had a good time.

"I think I ran over someone!!"

I had a couple of emails asking me how the working out was going…. And between the lines, I could hear the “did you give up yet?”

But NO… although sometimes I wish I could get more rest, I am still going at it.  I have gone for 200+ down to 185!!  J  I am proud of my accomplishments… but it is a bit discouraging that I am not going down any more weight.

I guess this is a good weight for me… but I had hoped to drop down to 175.  I am starting to get more tone, which is a good thing.  You know they say that muscle weights more than fat… but who are “they”?  I am sure that is also a good excuse not to keep losing more weight also…. So I won’t fall for that!!  175 is my goal… even if it kills me.

Well… maybe not if it kills me…. But you get the idea.  The other day Matthew and Megan woke up after their bed time and caught my wife and I doing Teabo.  It was the funnies thing seeing them work out with us…. They looked like they were having so much fun… laughing and jumping around….  I would have enjoyed that time more if only I was not suffering so much due to the pain in my abs.  J

(This is not that day... it was hard to think of getting the camera when I just wanted to lay down and close my eyes)

The invasion has started, so beware!!  The pod people are trying to take over and I have proof.  They look like you and me... mostly... but there are some differences.  They are smaller and cuter than we are.

Here is a picture of two pod people who tried to replace us.... right down to our shoes.  They put up a good deception and had everyone fooled that they were us.

Another way you can tell that they are not the original Paola and Briam is that they seem much more energetic with a strong desire to play non stop.  But maybe that is just part of their master plan to take over.

I am not sure how my wife did it, but she was able to neutralize our two impostors.  But I don't think we have seen the last of them...

You have been warned.... we may have stopped them this time, but they will be back.

I have never ever been one that loved silence…. Even in college, I would always prefer to study with a radio on … and a TV… and people hanging out drinking beer.  I guess that’s why my grades were so good.  Ha Ha

Well my son is 3 ¼ now.  His grasp of both Spanish and English are astounding.  He even corrects me from time to time.  One thing that is starting to concern me is the relentless non-stop questions that he barrages me with at all times!!

I know it sounds funny…. Even TV and movies depict it as funny, but when it happens to you… day in… day out, it can start to wear down your patience.  I don’t know how my wife does it all the time.

I worked from home today, and it seems be getting harder and harder to get things done.  No so much because of my job functions (I can connect to everything I need as if I were at the office), but more so because I get derailed from what ever I am working on with question after question.

My favorite questions today were along the lines of why there were no dinosaurs, and what we could do to get them back.  Obviously to much TV or cartoons has taught my son that we can make a machine to fix anything.  On a dozen different occasions, Matthew came by and asked me to show him what something looked like (normally an encyclopedia internet look up is sufficient)… a dinosaur, T-rex, Elephant with Giant Tusks, Squid, Octopus…etc..  I wonder how we ever got along without the internet…but I digress.

I just pray that God gives me more patience…. I can’t wait until our younger two kids start asking questions too.

Good Night All.  God bless!

I finaly got a chance to put the Museum pictures in a Gallery.  They can be found Here.  Enjoy!!

Long day.... long night.  Time for me to get some sleep.  My younger sister is in town!! and hopefully we will be able to all get together for dinner or something.  :-)

So here is my plan to become rich.  First I will have to open up a child labor camp.  But you can’t just jump into some decision of this type without doing some research.

First, I will need an assembly line.  Somewhere that I cant put a bunch of munchkins to work.  Here is my son and his friend, Drew, working the assembly line.  Their little hands will be perfect for moving and making the merchandize.

And in order to make the money, we will have to have people manning the registers 24/7.  It will all pay off in the long run.

Of course, we will need to have them wear the proper gear.  Some of the work conditions can be hazardous.  Here we have worker Megan sporting a lovely ladybug raincoat.

But I am sure that there will be moments when the stern hand of discipline will have to be used.  Here we have Matthew paying the price for a slow production day.

We were able to do our testing of our labor camp at this place:  Imagine It!     A very cool place!!  (More pictures to come to the Gallery when I get a little more time)

Dios quiere que usted sea fuerte en El.  Aùn cuando estè cansado o dèbil, su espiritu puede permanecer firme.  Dios le darà las fuerzas para afrontar las pruebas de la vida, porque El es su refugio.  La fortaleza al andar en la oscuridad porque el Señor es su luz.  La fuerza para resistir al enemigo, porque el Señor es us poderoso libertador.

“… en quietud y confianza està nustro poder.” – Isaias 30:15

Hello all! 

Today there was a sleep-over at our house for all the girls/young ladies from our church.  My wife was going to do a couple of the chats. 

A house full of girls!!  What fun.  So I did what any brave man would do.  I took the kids and fled.  :-)

So, Matthew, Megan, and I are sleeping over at my parents house...  where it will be nice and peaceful.....  Only time will tell if I have made a wise choice....

Night Night.

Growing up I always thought that when I grew up, everything would be better.  After all, when you are a grown up, you can do what ever you want.  I would be able to stay out as late as I wanted.  I would be able to buy whatever I wanted.  Grown ups have all the fun!!  Isn’t that what we all thought?

Well, I guess this is one of those, “the grass is greener on the other side” things.  Sure there are a lot of great things about being a grown up…. But there are some things that you also start to miss.  Remember the beauty in the simple things.  Remember being able to play the silliest games with almost anything and it was almost real.  The adventures I used to have!

Well, looking at my kids, I start to miss being their age.  At that age, you are able to have fun under the simplest of circumstances.  In a way, I guess it comes back to us.  Don't we also start to have fun because of the fun that they are having?  I know that when my family is happy ... that makes me happy....

...and I guess in some ways, thats even better.  Keep smiling!!

Supongamos que te invito a dar un paseo en barco, y aunque te he dicho que sólo aprendí leyendo un manual, eres lo suficientemente tonto para aceptar ... Te empiezas a preocupar cuando izo la vela un poquito, y empiezo a soplar.
-¿Porqué no izas la vela para que el viento la hinche?
-No puedo soplar toda la vela, y así yo puedo hacer que avance.
Mas tarde, se desata una poderosa tormenta que azota el barco.
-¡Bajaré el ancla!  Te sientes aliviado que, al menos, se donde está.
Pero te quedas asombrado,al ver que la pongo sobre el frente.(proa)
-Eso estabilizará el barco, grito.   Pero eso no lo hace, así que pongo el
ancla sobre la parte posterior  del barco.(popa)
-¡Ahora estamos seguros!
Pero el bamboleo continúa. Cuelgo el ancla del mástil, y nada.  Por fin, atemorizado, tomas el ancla y la hechas al mar, y exclamas: ¡No sabes que tienes que fijar el ancla en algo que no seas tú mismo!
Muchos no lo saben y se anclan a sí mismo. Su seguridad procede de lo que
hacen : linaje, ley, sus obras, ... Pero,...la salvación es asunto de Dios. Sólo hay un nombre (Jesús) en el cielo, que tiene poder para salvar, y no es el tuyo.

“No hay otro nombre, bajo el cielo en que podamos ser salvos”

Juan 1:12                                                                   

Max Lucado

Hey all.  I finaly got some time to add more of the photos from Tennesee into the Gallery.  Check it HERE.

Here is a cute one....  I guess I have been a bit tired lately... what I need is a nice vacation from my vacation to try to recover..  :-)  Maybe that is what sick days are for?  I wonder....

Ah, a break from the routine.  We got a chance to leave the city for a few days and visit my sister (Ivana) and her family (Tommy and Nicky).  The day we were driving up there (Friday), there were some storms where we live... and the lights went out.  So, my website was down for a few days, since I was not here to bring it back up.  I really should improve my backup power situation....

Well anyways.... we have a lot of fun visisting my sister and her family in Tennessee...  Here is a quick picture of My wife and kids, and Ivana and Nicky.  I will be able to add more pictures when I have a little more time.

It will all appear magically HERE in the gallery.  Thanks Tommy, Ivana, and Nicky for having us over.  We had a great time, and the kids love seeing you guys!!  I hope they were not too much.  [More to follow when I get some time]

Love you guys!