Boxes Anyone?

The packing has begun!

Urgent Prayer Requests:

Prayer Request #1- please pray for our dear friends Giles and Janel Litzner and their little baby boy- Elijah. He was born May 19th with some anatomical issues. Many of his little organs are up in his chest cavity. Once he is strong enough, they will do surgery. They are talking about doing it on Monday. I am so burdened for our dear friends- this is their first baby and I know the emotional stress of the NICU and our babies were there for just 10 days and very healthy. Pray that God will give wisdom to the doctors and skill for the surgeons and that little Elijah will pull though the surgery and heal quickly. Also, pray for grace for Giles and Janel- their testimony has been amazing and an excellent example of the grace God gives thru trials... Here is a little excerpt from their Facebook page (they write all their updates from Elijahs perspective:)

Elijah here--
Moment by moment...I'm in the hands of Jesus. I'm just hang'n out in the NICU getting better each day. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of me. I was so comfy-cozy today, as you can see from my pics earlier I got to lay on my tummy. And you wanna know what? My eyes aren't so puffy anymore...so I opened them...I saw my Mommy and Daddy. That made Mommy's birthday extra special. They told me my eyes are blue, just like Daddy's. This evening was tons of fun! After looking at my parents for a while I decided to check my room out--wow! Tons of wires and lights and machines and tubes, but amid all the gadgets they keep weening me off my meds and prepping me for the big day. They even moved that 'oscar-machine' (aka oscillator) out of my room 'cause they are for sick kids and that's not me anymore. I'm a tough guy. Yep, gett'n stronger every day. So keep praying. I definitely want to get stronger and have a good surgery; I want my parents to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; but above all, I want God to do what will bring Him the most glory. That may mean answering our prayers the way we want...but it might not. Remember, "God is not a means to an end---He will not be used" (A.W. Tozer). You see, some people try to play "let's make a deal" with God. They think that if we just do these religious things like praying and going to church then God will be more apt to give them whatever they want. No way jose! God doesn't play games like that. He IS merciful---not giving us what we deserve. He IS gracious too---giving us what we don't deserve. And He's been sooo gracious to my family. God doesn't owe us anything, but He's choosing to let me grow big and strong; and He's answering all your prayers. And we are so greatful! Why do you think all of this is happening anyway? He could have made me strong and healthy from the beginning, but He wanted to get your attention too. Does He have it?

Well, I'm kinda pooped. That last couple sentences of preaching has tuckered me right out. Anyway, we got a big week ahead of us so I'd better get my rest. Keep praying for wisdom and understanding for the nurses and doctors--we are so thankful for their skill. Sorry this message is coming so late, but sometimes all the fun stuff happens later in the evening. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Love tons,
Elijah Borne

Prayer Request #2-

I was looking for a picture of Uncle Luis but we only have video- sorry-
Marks Uncle Luis has cancer and has been told it is inoperable. We are not sure of all the details but please pray for grace for his family- he has 2 children- Wendy and Eddie- who are both out of college. His wife Nancy is Marks mom's sister. They live in Australia. Just pray that God will give wisdom to the doctors and comfort to all of his family...

"Now unto God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think...."Ephesians 3:20

Update:

The landlord lady called today and said she could give us $220 off of rent- its not much but its better than nothing- praise the Lord:) We also sold out humongous TV last night- God is Good! Today, life is looking better- the sun is shining, the birds are singing- its stopped raining and I am smiling!

I'm cold and its wet...

So, last night while the rain was pouring down, I walked near the TV and lo and behold wetness- Sure enough, our living room has flooded yet again- (3rd time in the last 6 months) I was so angry I was crying! Poor Mark- he never gets emotional but I was fuming and very upset. We called emergency maintenance and they brought over a fan an hour later near midnight. We had to move all our furniture and toys to one side of the room. Our entertainment center is ruined- the legs are SO buckled and warped from water damage that we had to take our giant TV off and put it in the floor (i am trying to sell it on Craigs list) so no more tv for us. So , here I sit today in a cold and wet apartment, confined with 4 children to the bedrooms while the living room dries and VERY ready to move out- only 30 days left! I am SO ready!

We Will Not Forget...

I am so grateful for the sacrifice men and their families have given to our country. I am so proud to be an American and I am proud to have people in my family who have served their country.
Poppy Brett- World War I- (passed away)
Great Grandpa Gomez- World War I- lost his legs (passed away)
Grandpa Gomez- Veitnam
Uncle Robert- many wars (he just retired)
Step brother- Jake- mechanic in the middle east right now
and I am sure there are more, but these are at the forefront right now.
Thank you for serving our country!
On our way to visit great Grandpas grave at Fort Logan

I wish my kids could have known their Great Grandpas..

LOVE this picture!

The Worst Thing to Happen to Me...

OUR COFFEE POT BROKE!!!!!
Mark went to make me coffee this morning and he cracked the canister. I was on the verge of tears! How am I to live without my 3-4 cups of coffee everyday (I know I am addicted). We went to church where I got coffee from the refreshment area (not as good as home) so I wouldnt have a headache by noon. On the way home, we realized we could still brew coffee, I just have to hold my cup underneath to catch it. It is not the best method, but since we have zero dollars to our name and we need money over the next few months (for our move, trip to PA and new place when we get back)
I figure it will work for now:)
And by the way, arent these the best mugs ever! Thanks Mom!

Sparklers

I found these sparklers so decided to bring them along to our BBQ. We waited till it got dark and the kids were SO excited! All of them enjoyed it so much except for Ellie and Arianna who ran away whenever anyone approached them with the sparkling stick! Poor Elijah, Ella and Elise burnt their hands trying to pick one up that was already burnt- oops. Thats probably why they are banned in Colorado!

Elijah's New Accomplishment

Elijah has learned to pull himself up to stand. It is so cute and he LOVES to stand now. He climbs up on everything! He is growing up- 11 months old in a few days.

Saturday with Sarah

Sarah so graciously invited us over Saturday night for dinner with Marcus, Ruth and Alana. It was a good time filled with many many kids, loudness and laughter. Here are the twins playing dress up- I'm thinking ballerinas!

Elijah and his buddy Marcus.

We celebrated Marcus's birthday with a yummy cake (my grandmas recipe)All the kids were so excited for the candles.Nuggets colors...

Random...

Arianna came running to me and told me to get the camera and close my eyes. She led me to her room and there was Sophia with all the potato heads dressed up. I took a picture and went back to what I was doing... Oh the joys of being a mommy!

Singing...

Here are the twins singing the Books of the Bible and We are AWANA Cubbies song.

We are AWANA cubbies...

Mrs Solich has been heading up Cubbies at Red Rocks for over 25 years! She is amazing!

Twin Power- the other set of boy twins in our church- Aaron and Zack

Mrs. Johnson was the Green Frog leader. She is also the Kindergarten teacher
so the girls may have her next year!

Sophia getting her ribbon and award.

Arianna getting her ribbon and award.

Arent they so cute- I am so proud of hem for finishing two years of Cubbies-
next year on to Kids for Truth!

Soakin Up the Sun

We had a nice 90 degree day, so we packed up a picnic lunch and headed over to Bear Creek Lake to swim and relax:) Sarah and her kiddos joined us and we had a fun time!

Ella and her friend Elijah!

All the kids!

Me and Sarah

Elijah loved eating the sand.

Sibling Love

Elijah just LOVES Ella and since they share a room, naptime can be quite interesting and frustrating. Often, I hear shrieks of laughter coming from behind closed doors and this is what I find- Oh my... The first few time sit was cute and funny bit not any more and Elijah and Ella know they are NOT allowed to "play" while they should be napping!







The twins LOVE to be "mommy" to Elijah. They carry him around the house, try to feed him, play with him and read to him. Here is Arianna reading to Elijah - he loves all the attention!

Too Cute for Words

The Close of Soccer

The Blue Butterflies season is over. Since they do not keep score, I have no idea who won or what there record was- pretty sure they came in last:) All of them were playing for the first time and usually played teams where the kids were older.

Arianna

Sophia

Ella needed one too:)

Sophia learned how to do thumbs up this season. Whenever she kicked the ball, she would turn and give us the thumbs up- she never ran with the ball because she was always watching to see if we were watching her:)

Sophia and Arianna always get a bit tired near the end and drag their feet when its their turn to go in! I dont think soccer stars are what they are meant to be(at least not yet)- maybe in a few years. Its so funny because they stay at least 4 feet away from the ball and follow it all over the field but they dont kick it- who knows! They are proud that they run though!

Its cute to watch...

We celebrated the end of the season at Coach Steve's house. We had a nice picnic and the kids enjoyed playing in the sandbox and on the swingset. The girls got medals which they cannot stop talking about- they think they got them because they won:)

Pizza Creations

Martha Stewart I am not but I do love this pizza recipe that my dear friend Christine passed along to me. I used to make it when we were first married and then I stopped but now that I need cheap and yummy meals, I went back to it! and it really is easy!
I love to load my pizza with veggies while Mark likes meat.
I really and truly think I could be a vegetarian. I LOVE veggies and all that weird stuff vegans eat- like hummus and pita, artichokes,etc. Not really sure about tofu yet! (Although I DO love fish and need to have a good filet mignon about every 6 months or so. )
Anyway, here is the super easy recipe if you want to try it:
1 packet yeast
Add 1 cup WARM water and mix
Add 1 egg yolk
Add 1/2 tsp salt
Add 2 cups of flour- mix on low speed
Keep adding flour till dough can be kneaded with hands
Knead dough till soft and pliable
Put in bowl and cover- let rise about an hour or a half- in a warm place
Roll out and top with yummy veggies and cheese and sauce
Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes- Its so good!

The crust doesnt really get brown- maybe brush with egg yolk and it would?